{news} StamfordTimes- "GP candidates say their youth is a plus"

[Green Party-CT]

Green party candidates say their youth is a plus
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By A.J. O'CONNELLaoconnell at thestamfordtimes.com
STAMFORD  — At 23 and 24, the Green party's two candidates are by far the youngest running for the school board. 
But Nina Sherwood, 23, and Matt Loter, 24, don't think their campaigns should be taken lightly just because they're half the age of some of the incumbents. 




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"I think my age is an asset," said Sherwood, a recent graduate of UConn-Stamford, who works at the Giuliani School of Music in Darien. "I know what it's like to be a student."Sherwood, a Stamford native who was asked to run for school board by the Green Party leadership, thinks some new blood on the board would be a good thing, and feels she could broaden the viewpoint of the district.
"Because of my age and because of my experience in the schools, I think I have a lot to offer," she said. "I think I'd bring a new dynamic to the board of education."
Loter, a recently-married Stamford native, is running his second school board campaign this year. He also feels his age is a plus for his campaign, although it takes a back seat to issues such as No Child Left Behind and the treatment of teachers.
"The board of education has no [members] who are educators," said Loter. He takes issue with incumbents like Democrat Susan Nabel, who insists it is not the job of the board to be educators, but to manage an educator — the superintendent — who runs the schools. Loter says the board members must become educators because they are responsible for running the schools.
"They're the boss," he said. "They're telling  [the superintendent] what to do."
Loter, who works at Go Vertical Indoor Rock Climbing in Stamford while he studies to be a teacher, was raised by teachers. His mother, Carol Loter, is a first grade teacher at Springdale Elementary School. He said the city's teachers are being hung out to dry by Superintendent Joshua Starr and the current board. 
"Teachers get charged with all the responsibility for failure, yet they have no real control outside of their classrooms," he said. 
Sherwood is dismayed by the amount of money allotted Stamford under the current Education Cost Sharing [ECS] formula. She feels the feels the district, which is already involved in a lawsuit to receive more funds, should be pushing harder for better funding. She thinks Stamford ought to present a mock budget to legislators to convince them the district needs more money.
"They should come up with a budget saying exactly what they would do with the money if they were to get it," she said.
Sherwood is also a supporter of arts programs as a way of reaching students who don't like school. She said there were times when Stamford High School's arts programs kept her in school.
"It gives a more positive feel to school," she said. 
Both Green Party candidates also acknowledge that in a town where two parties have dominated for so long, they run the risk of not being taken seriously by older voters or traditional supporters of the Democrats or Republicans. 
"I think instantly, people look at us and they write us off because [we] look so young,'" said Sherwood. "I think it's a challenge for us. But I'm really serious about it. I've done my research."
Loter says that after his first debate at Westover School he heard from several people in the community and he thinks that the message of achievement for all students espoused by himself and Sherwood is reaching the community.
"If I ran the exact same campaign but I were a Democrat, I think I would pick up a lot more votes," he said. "And that's a shame."


       
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    Tim McKee cell (860) 778-1304 or (860) 643-2282
   National Committee Member of the Green Party(Connecticut)
    Cliff Thornton for Governor- Campaign Manager


  Paid for by Thornton For Governor, Max Wentworth, Treasurer-   www.VoteThornton.com
   



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