RA Action:

News from the NEA Annual Meeting

July 5, 2007

Wrapping Up in Philly

Final day packed with business, presidential candidate visits.

On the final busy day of the 86th Representative Assembly, NEA President Reg Weaver lead delegates through dozens of new business items and welcomed three more presidential candidates--U.S. Senators Barack Obama of Illinois and Joe Biden of Delaware and the sole Republican to address the assembly, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee.

They were the last of eight presidential candidates appealing for education voters’ support. The impressive lineup of candidates at the RA demonstrated to many delegates NEA’s significant political influence. “We’ve proven it to ourselves, and now we’ve proven it to the country,” said Wyoming  delegate Don Mack. “They needed to be here.”

Sen. Barack Obama, (D-IL) addresses the RA in Philadelpha on July 5, 2007. RA Today photo by: Calvin Knight

Alabama  delegate Sarah Horton thought being able to evaluate the candidates “up close” was invaluable. “If you listen to them, you can weed out those who aren’t for real, those who are just saying things to hear themselves talk,” she said. Horton will report what the candidates said back to her local, the Mobile County Education Support Professionals.

And, of course, the candidates’ speeches delivered a tremendous jolt of excitement and electricity around the hall. “It’s an incredible forum,” said Pennsylvania  delegate Mike Ronan. “You don’t get this on television.”

In between discussions on new business, delegates heard from Utah Education Association President Kim Campbell, who reported on the Utah  referendum drive against a pro-voucher bill. It’s the first referendum in more than 30 years in that state, she said, because getting on the ballot is “almost impossible.” UEA members and supporters collected 133,000 signatures in “neighborhoods, parking lots, and even dog parks” on their way to meeting and exceeding the requirements, she said.

Earlier in the day, Weaver announced that Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is the recipient of the 2007 NEA Friend of Education Award . Delegates also heard from Pennsylvania Governor Edward Rendell. In addition to touting his administration’s record on education and urging delegates to keep education on the Campaign 2008 “radar screen,” Governor Rendell also revealed - just in time for delegates’ last meals at the RA - the secret of real Philadelphia cheesesteaks. Many unsuccessful imitators use good meat, he said, when “you need stringy, fatty meat to get the right taste.” Real cheese is a mistake, too, because “real cheese doesn’t melt properly and get into the nooks and crannies of the bad meat.” And finally, he said, “I’ve watched in horror as [non-Philadelphians] drained the grease off the onions.”