Campbell praises NEA, state affiliate support for anti-voucher campaign

“You need to know how proud we are of the kind of campaign we ran,” UEA President Kim Campbell told members of the Association’s Council of Local Presidents (CLP) on the Saturday following the defeat of Referendum 1. She was referring not only to the decision by Utahns for Public Schools (UTPS) to stick with the facts about vouchers and avoid attack advertisements, but also the level of support from the National Education Association and its affiliates across the country.

During the course of the eight-month campaign, four NEA Executive Committee members – Lily Eskelsen (NEA secretary-treasurer), Mark Cebulski (Wisconsin), Christy Levings (Kansas), and Paula Monroe (California) – visited the state and did everything from attend debates and anti-voucher demonstrations to provide moral support to “ground troops” in cities and towns across Utah.

A number of NEA staff members – NEA Western Region Director Marilyn Rogers, and Organizational Specialists Michael Pons, Lisa Nentl-Bloom, Tricia Bosak, and Dottie Hubbard – helped coordinate earned media, phone banks, lawn sign distribution, door-to-door canvassing, and Get Out The Vote operations. Many were on the ground in Utah during the petition-gathering and final phase of the campaign. They often worked from 8 a.m. in the morning until 8 p.m. in the evening, Monday through Saturday.

In addition to staff assistance, the NEA contributed $3.1 million – approximately $1 per NEA member – to help defeat Referendum 1. Thirty-one NEA state affiliates donated $164,000, and NEA staff and officers headquartered in Washington, D.C., contributed $23,570.

Lew Granofsky, a seasoned campaign director from Oregon, and Danielle Nantkes, a state senator from Nebraska, directed the grass roots organizational effort. They were assisted by Rebecca Mickelsen, former public relations director for the Visalia, California YMCA. The state was broken down into six geographic regions, each with its own coordinator responsible for two-way communication between the campaign and the local education associations, distribution of materials, and coordination of volunteers for canvassing and other activities. More than 15,000 lawn signs were distributed during the months of October and November. Amber Schwartz, UEA director of teaching and learning, coordinated the Northern UniServ and Ogden-Weber Region. Courtney White, UEA director of research, bargaining, and legislative services, coordinated the Color Country and High Desert Region. Charles Hasse, former president of the Washington Education Association, and Dottie Hubbard, NEA organizational specialist, coordinated the Utah County and Eastern Utah Region. Michael Pons, NEA organizational specialist, coordinated the Davis and Tooele Region. UniServ Directors Star Orullian (Granite) and Laura Black (Jordan), and Robin Frodge, president of the Jordan Education Association, coordinated the Granite, Jordan, and Salt Lake City Region.

Carol Cremer, UEA director of advocacy, directed data input operations during the petition-gathering phase of the campaign and continued her work as UEA Convention director during the peak of the Referendum 1 battle. Mark Mickelsen, UEA director of communications and public relations assisted Communities for Quality Education (CQE) in its efforts to develop radio and television advertisements, attract earned media, and prepare UTPS spokespersons for debates and interviews with reporters and talk show hosts. CQE provided expert assistance from Pat Rusk, Corina Cortez, Damien Filer, and Bob Cherry. Michael McCoy, UEA general counsel, made hundreds of calls to voters during the UTPS phone-banking effort. Vik Arnold, UEA director of government relations and political action, served eight months as chair of the UTPS Coalition. Susan Kuziak, UEA executive director, not only managed the budget for the campaign, “but did it all with grace,” Campbell told the CLP.

Campbell thanked the many local education association leaders who made victory possible. “You stepped in and acted as part-time staff on this issue.” She credited UEA members with leading the successful petition drive, keeping the voucher discussion focused on facts, and maintaining a commitment to their students — all at the same time. Campbell also praised the UEA Board of Directors and the UEA PAC Committee for supporting the fight from the beginning and helping to coordinate the successful effort.