Steve Best
Steve Best was a Republican candidate for the Bridgeport Board of Education. He lost election to the board against seven other candidates on November 5, 2013.
Elections
2013
Best sought election to the board against seven other candidates for five available seats on November 5, 2013. He earned the Republican Party endorsement in the election along with fellow challengers Joe Larcheveque and John Weldon.
Results
| Bridgeport Public Schools, General Election, 4-year term, 2013 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Dave Hennessey |
20.1% | 940 | |
| Democratic | Howard Gardner |
15.7% | 731 | |
| Republican | Joe Larcheveque |
15.1% | 706 | |
| Democratic | Andre Baker, Jr. |
15.3% | 714 | |
| Republican | Steve Best | 11.8% | 550 | |
| Republican | John Weldon | 10.3% | 482 | |
| Working Families | Eric Stewart-Alicea | 4.2% | 194 | |
| Working Families | Sauda Baraka Incumbent |
4% | 186 | |
| Working Families | Andre Baker, Jr. | 3.6% | 167 | |
| Total Votes | 4,670 | |||
| Source: Connecticut Secretary of State, "Municipal Elections - November 5, 2013," accessed December 16, 2013 | ||||
Funding
Steve Best reported no contributions or expenditures to the Connecticut State Elections Enforcement Commission.
Endorsements
Best was endorsed by Citizens Working for a Better Bridgeport PAC on October 3, 2013.[1]
Campaign themes
2013
In a letter to The Connecticut Post, Best explained his campaign themes for 2013:[2]
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"How do we achieve a better education for Bridgeport's children? A comprehensive and methodical decentralization of the Bridgeport public school system's infrastructure and its financial resources. This will push all of the variables of the public education formula to the grass roots level of principal, teacher, parent and student. If executed and implemented correctly, all decision-making and financial-allocation processes will be transparent and open. Develop, through universally accepted and agreed-upon standards, an effective benchmarking process and schedule that will measure student, teacher and administrator performance. This will insure the spirit and responsibility of accountability. And will remove debate from the day-to-day operations of the school system. By whatever means necessary, develop programs and safeguards that will ensure that all Bridgeport elementary school students get out of the starting blocks quickly. And are not left behind in the early laps of their young lives. Smaller classes and more teachers is the first step in this process. We must understand and address the social and academic reasons behind the 50 percent dropout and 66 percent graduation rates in Bridgeport high schools. Provide teachers with the resources to develop flexible and customized programs at each stage of educational development. Monitor the assimilation of Common Core curriculum standards into Bridgeport schools. Continue to evaluate the present and future role of charter and magnet schools. Engage parents at every level and at every opportunity. Their children are their legacy. Attract the best and the brightest to teach, work and contribute to the Bridgeport public school system: from recent college graduates to Fortune 500 companies. Our vision and our plan must start with the needs of today's children. And it must extend to the future needs of tomorrow's children. Why is it important to me, with no children in the school system, to improve the Bridgeport public schools? Why am I running for the Board of Education? Because it takes a village. I have made this village my home. And the children of the village need some help. This village has some serious problems that must be addressed immediately and at their source. These problems are manifested daily in unemployment and violent crime. Within the village, education can be the alternate path followed. When the village is better educated, it becomes smarter. When it gets smarter, it becomes healthier. When the village is healthier, it gets safer. When it is safer, it becomes more attractive. When the village is more attractive, it becomes more valuable. When it is more valuable, the village grows. And after the village grows, who knows, maybe the village will be able to lower its taxes." |
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Steve + Best + Bridgeport + Schools"
See also
External links
Footnotes
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