Every Vote Counts

Educators Volunteer, Candidate Wins by Slim Margin

by Mary Ellen Flannery

Educators in North Carolina campaigned hard for their candidate of choice in a congressional primary. Their activism paid off when their Roy Carter — a former teacher — scored a victory by the slimmest of margins.

Tripp Jeffers, president of the Forsyth County Association of Educators, distributes information on his local association's preferred candidates.

If you don't think every vote makes a difference, talk to Roy Carter.

Carter, a candidate for U.S. Congress, won North Carolina's Democratic primary this week by a razor's edge. With more than 80,000 votes cast, this lifelong teacher and football coach — a member of both NEA and the North Carolina Association of Educators for nearly 40 years — grabbed a margin of 531.

Now, all over his mountainous district, Carter's former colleagues are gleefully patting him — and themselves — on the back. "I think we could be fairly credited for his victory in the primary," said Tripp Jeffers, president of the Forsyth County Association of Educators.

"I'm sure we got him 500 votes from our members on Saturday."

Carter didn't go alone to the polls. Nor, for that matter, neither did the state's Lt. Gov. Bev Perdue, a former public school teacher who won the gubernatorial primary. At every step along the way, an army of educator volunteer worked tirelessly for these candidates, making calls, talking to voters, writing letters, and raising money.

"It was rare when someone was not interested in the information that we were giving them. Most people were very interested, very open, and very responsive... they'd say things like, 'I wish we could pay you more!'"

And, around the state, more than 1,000 educators were doing the same kind of volunteer work — sending text messages, writing activist newsletters, and building a record voter turnout. Because they know that every vote does make a difference. And they also know that a win for their candidate means a win for them.

North Carolina is not a "bargaining state," which means teachers don't sit down with school district officials to negotiate contracts. Instead, they rely on state and local legislators to win salary raises on their behalf. That means it's absolutely vital for them to elect men and women who understand the significant value of a high-quality teacher in every classroom.

"Whatever we get, we have to achieve through lobbying — very, very intensive, grassroots lobbying. We email, we send letters, phone calls, all done from the grassroots level," said Jeffers. They even take annual trips to Raleigh, where they sit down with state legislators and gently persuade in person. Last year, after Jeffers met with a well-connected state senator, a provision on paid personal leave for educators was suddenly back on the table.

Because they're effective — first, at getting the right people elected, and then at keeping their ears open — North Carolina educators have won 18 percent salary increases over the past three years. With Perdue's help especially, the average teacher pay in North Carolina has soared from 43rd in the nation to 21st, and she also helped create the Teacher Academy, a state-funded professional development program.

"North Carolina's public school employees made it clear on Tuesday that we intend to make public education a priority in every election this year," said NEA President Reg Weaver on Wednesday. "And we intend to do everything necessary to energize and mobilize our members in every election in every state from now through November."