RALEIGH, N.C. — The first of four school board candidate debates organized by Wake Education Partnership and local area chambers of commerce will be held from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday at the main campus of Wake Technical Community College.

Watch and Chat Live Online at 7 p.m.

The event will be will be attended by all four of the candidates still actively campaigning for the District 2 seat: Carlene Lucas, Horace Tart, John Tedesco and Cathy Truitt. District 2 represents schools in the southeast part of the county.

The debate will be held in the second-floor Conference Center of the Student Services Building. It is open to the public and will also be streamed live on the web by WNCN NBC-17.

The format and questions will be the same in each district, although the length of the events will vary depending on the number of candidates.

Debate Schedule:

Date: Sept. 1
Time: 7 pm
District 2
Location: Student Services Building of Wake Technical Community College Main Campus, 9101 Fayetteville Rd., Raleigh
Chamber of Commerce partners: Garner; Fuquay-Varina

Date: Sept. 9
Time: Noon
District 9
Debate location: Cary Chamber of Commerce, 307 N. Academy St., Cary
Chamber of Commerce partner: Cary

Date: Sept. 10
Time: 7 p.m.
District 1
Location: Administration Building of Wake Technical Community College, Northern Campus, 6600 Louisburg Rd., Raleigh
Chamber of Commerce partners: Rolesville; Wendell; Knightdale; Zebulon, Wake Forest

Date: Sept. 22
Time: 8 a.m.
District 7
Location: Morrisville Chamber of Commerce, 260 Town Hall Dr., Morrisville
Chamber of Commerce partners: Morrisville; Raleigh

Wake Education Partnership is a 501(c)(3) non-profit created in 1983 to support public schools, in part by educating the community on current school issues and supporting efforts to recruit and retain quality teachers.

The Wake County Board of Elections has established a new voting location in Raleigh. Voters in Precinct 01-11 will now be voting at the following location:

North Carolina PTA Office
3501 Glenwood Ave.
Raleigh, NC  27612

All voters affected by the new voting location will be notified by mail. All voters must vote at the location assigned to them.

Residents who receive new cards from the Wake County Board of Elections addressed to previous owners or tenants are asked to not open the envelope, but instead write on it that the person no longer resides at that address and give the letter back to the postal carrier.

For more voting information, contact the Wake County Board of Elections at 856-6240 or visit the Web site.

RALEIGH, N.C. – The Take Wake Schools Back political action committee (PAC) has made its endorsement decisions for the October Wake County Board of Education races. The PAC endorses Chris Malone in District 1, John Tedesco in District 2, Deborah Prickett in District 7, and Debra Goldman in District 9.

All four candidates passionately advocate Take Wake Schools Back’s mission of bringing common sense back to the Wake County Public School System (WCPSS) on behalf of children and families; focusing on community schools, system accountability, flexibility, transparency and excellence.

“Our PAC is thrilled to support four dynamic candidates who have the right ideas and approaches for improving the quality of education in Wake County and better serving the needs of families and taxpayers,” said Dennis Berwyn, a founding member of Take Wake Schools Back. “District 2 was a difficult decision for our PAC, because we believe that Cathy Truitt also has the expertise, forward-thinking ideas and leadership qualities that the WCPSS desperately needs. We hope Dr. Truitt will be a valuable asset to the WCPSS in another capacity.”

Take Wake Schools Back is actively raising money to support Malone, Tedesco, Prickett and Goldman. The members of the PAC are also volunteering their time to help individual campaigns. Those who wish to support the PAC’s efforts can do so at www.takewakeschoolsback.com. The PAC also encourages people to volunteer to help the candidates in their campaigns, especially those who live in one of the four districts up for election.

RALEIGH, N.C. – The Executive Committee of the Wake County Republican Party has announced its candidate endorsements for the Oct. 6 elections.

On that day, voters in Wake County will go to the polls to elect candidates in various municipal offices and four districts in the Wake County Board of Education.

Claude E. Pope, Jr., Chairman of the Wake GOP, said, “We are delighted with the high caliber of candidates who sought our endorsement, and look forward to providing significant support to these candidates, including financial contributions, volunteer workers, training, and election day efforts.”

The Republican endorsement is given on the basis of a vote of the party’s executive committee, which met Monday night at the NCGOP headquarters on Hillsborough Street in Raleigh.

The candidates endorsed at the meeting are as follows:

Wake County Board of Education:

District 1: Chris Malone
District 2: John Tedesco
District 7: Jerry Ballan
District 9: Debra Goldman

City of Raleigh:

Mayor: Larry D. Hudson II
At-Large: Champ Claris
District B: John Odom
District E: Lisa Elliot

Town of Cary:

At-Large: Philip Scarsella
District A: Jennifer Robinson
District C: Jack Smith

RALEIGH, N.C. – Wake GOP Chairman Claude E. Pope, Jr. is assailing the Wake County Public School System’s (WCPSS) decision to send all students on year-round calendars to school on Memorial Day.  These tens of thousands of students, along with traditional calendar students, instead did not go to school the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, a convenience holiday.

“Memorial Day, which was established in 1868, is a national holiday of remembrance of the millions of American patriots who have fought to protect this country’s freedom.  It is shameful that the WCPSS decided to make this special day a school day for Wake students who attend year-round schools,” said Pope.  “On behalf of the Wake County Republican Party, I urge parents to keep their children home from school so that they can honor our veterans with their families.

“Decisions by the school board and WCPSS like this once again illustrate that the needs of Wake parents and students are not a priority.  This is why the Wake GOP and PACs like Take Wake Schools Back are working hard to recruit and elect four new school board members who will make common-sense decisions and listen to parents,” Pope added.

RALEIGH, N.C. — Newly-Elected Wake County GOP Chair Claude Pope Jr. tonight promised Republican Delegates at the party’s 2009 county convention that under his leadership, the GOP would “recruit and endorse and support and elect common sense candidates” who support community based schools, and who oppose the constant reassignment of students solely for the purpose of achieving so-called “economic diversity.”

“The real North Carolina Education Lottery is busing our school children from one end of Wake County to the other to meet the liberals’ social agenda.  It’s time to stop gambling with the future of our children and restore community based schools,” Pope said in his acceptance speech.  School Board elections are scheduled for this coming October.

Pope said the Republican Party would concentrate on four themes under his leadership:  Fiscal Conservatism, Personal Responsibility, Focus on Families and Neighborhoods and Government Accountability.

The annual County Republican Convention, held at Daniels Middle School in Raleigh, had twice as many attendees as the 2008 convention, and elected new officers for the 2009-11 term.  The delegates also heard speeches from several candidates for the office of state party chairman, and from Ron Margiotta, the only current Wake County School Board member opposed to the reassignment plan. Mr. Margiotta’s opposition to the reassignment plan has the full support of the Wake County GOP.

Pope, a Wake County native and Raleigh businessman, addressed the convention after thanking outgoing Wake GOP Chair, David Robinson for his 4 years of leadership.  Delegates gave Robinson a standing ovation for his job performance.

Additional convention business included the election of delegates and alternates to Congressional District and State Conventions, which will be held later in the year.

RALEIGH, N.C. – The chairman of the Wake County Republican Party wants to lead the North Carolina GOP.

David Robinson said Tuesday he will seek the party chairmanship during the state Republican convention in June. Current chairwoman Linda Daves has said she won’t seek another two-year term.

Robinson said he has a long record of Republican activism and believes the party must use every method of modern communication to tell its story. Robinson also currently serves as the state party’s assistant treasurer.
 
Former Guilford County chairman Marcus Kindley also has entered the race.

Former state senator and gubernatorial candidate Fred Smith has decided not to seek the job. He told The News & Observer of Raleigh he needs to focus on his family and business interests.

RALEIGH, N.C. — The Democratic Women of Wake County will hold their monthly luncheon meeting on Thursday, Nov. 20 at the NC State University Club, 4200 Hillsborough Street. The featured speaker will be Jerry Meek, Chairman of the North Carolina Democratic Party.

The buffet lunch lines open at 11:30 am with the program starting at noon. The cost of the luncheon is $13 payable at the door. For reservations email Nancy Looper at info@dwwc.net or call Martha Farmer at 782-1272. The deadline for reservations is Tuesday, Nov. 18, at 10 a.m.

A Democrat-controlled Wake County Board of Commissioners will take over in January for the first time in six years.