Michael Maher (North Carolina)

Michael Maher (Democratic Party) ran for election for North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction. He lost in the Democratic primary on March 3, 2020.

Maher completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2019. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Maher attended Belmont Abbey College for his bachelor's degree and North Carolina State University for his graduate degree. His professional experience includes teaching for Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools and Wake County Public School System and working as a teacher educator at Saint Augustine's University and North Carolina State University.

Maher has been associated with the North Carolina Professional Educator Preparation and Standards Commission, the Institute for Educational Leadership, the North Carolina Association of Colleges and Teacher Educators, and the American Association of Colleges and Teacher Educators. He received professional membership from the American Educational Research Association, the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, the North Carolina Association of Colleges and Teacher Educators, and the Association for Moral Education.

Elections

2020

See also: North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction election, 2020

General election

General election for North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction

Catherine Truitt defeated Jen Mangrum in the general election for North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Catherine Truitt (R)	51.4	2,753,220
		Jen Mangrum (D)	48.6	2,605,169

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 5,358,389
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction

Jen Mangrum defeated Keith Sutton, Constance Johnson, James Barrett, and Michael Maher in the Democratic primary for North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction on March 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jen Mangrum	33.2	378,396
		Keith Sutton	26.6	303,592
		Constance Johnson	21.1	240,710
		James Barrett	10.8	122,855
		Michael Maher	8.3	95,239

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,140,792
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction

Catherine Truitt defeated D. Craig Horn in the Republican primary for North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction on March 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Catherine Truitt	56.7	391,915
		D. Craig Horn	43.3	299,578

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 691,493
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Michael Maher completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2019. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Maher's responses.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Michael Maher has dedicated his career to positively impacting the lives of children throughout North Carolina.

After teaching high school science in Forsyth and Wake counties, Maher moved to a university career at Saint Augustine's University, and then to N.C. State University in an administrative role. As the assistant dean of professional education at N.C. State, he was able to work with talented professionals to develop one of the most effective teacher preparation programs in the nation.

Maher currently serves as the president of the North Carolina Association of Colleges and Teacher Educators and also serves as vice chairman of the North Carolina Professional Educator Preparation and Standards Commission. He's also on the board of directors of the American Association of Colleges and Teacher Educators. Through his service with these organizations, Maher has directly impacted public education by collaborating with others to develop programs and policies that positively impact teachers and students.

Not only is Maher an experienced educator, he is the candidate with the most experience in building effective educational programs and educational policy. He is the leader we need to drive the positive changes necessary to support and improve public education for the children, families, and teachers of North Carolina.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• EQUITY. Michael Maher commits to developing a comprehensive plan to address systemic inequity to ensure that the academic failure or success of our children is not predictable based on race or socioeconomic status.
• EXCELLENCE. Michael Maher commits to restoring North Carolina as a leader in public education through programs and policies that serve the needs of all children and provide districts and teachers professional autonomy.
• INNOVATION. Michael Maher commits to working with stakeholders and thought leaders to identify ways to engage in innovation and continuous improvement in North Carolina's public schools.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

We endeavor to return North Carolina to a leader in public education in the southeast and the nation by focusing on strategic priorities that place an emphasis on Equity, Excellence, and Innovation. On key performance metrics we expect North Carolina to rank in the top 25 by 2025.

We are committed to developing a comprehensive plan to address systemic inequity to ensure that the academic failure or success of our children is not predictable based on race or socioeconomic status. Addressing inequity begins with reforming our public school accountability system by eliminating North Carolina's A-F school report card system and replacing it with a dashboard that includes meaningful measures of student performance, school performance, access and equity.

We commit to restoring North Carolina as a leader in public education through programs and policies that serve the needs of all children and provide districts and teachers professional autonomy. Our commitment involves advocating for the restoration of funding for our public schools, appropriate school professional compensation, and developing high quality, on-demand professional development for teachers and other professionals.

We commit to working with stakeholders and thought leaders to identify ways to engage in innovation and continuous improvement in North Carolina's public schools. Our commitment includes identifying and supporting state and district level pilot programs that improve learning for all children.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

I have been fortunate to have had a mentor at each critical juncture in my life who imparted wisdom, knowledge, and habits that I attempt to emulate today. My first mentor was my father who taught me the value of working hard to achieve your goals. When I went to college I built a relationship that continues to this day with Abbot Placid Solari, the Abbot and Chancellor of Belmont Abbey College. Abbot Placid was a model of what it means to be thoughtful, caring, and ethical person. As a graduate student my advisor, Dr. Alan Reiman, was instrumental in teaching me what it meant to be an academic and to hunger for knowledge to improve the lives of others. As a college administrator I looked to Dr. Gerald Ponder, Dean Kay Moore, Dean Jayne Fleener, and Dean Mary Ann Danowitz who provided examples and opportunities for me to grow as a leader in education.

In each of my personal and professional endeavors I attempt to embody what I have learned from these individuals. Our lives are made up of experiences and we can choose how we let those experiences define us and our future. I attempt to use every experience and interaction as an opportunity to grow and learn.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

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