By Adam Pagnucco.
Last week, I reported that a Super PAC funded by the state teachers union planned to spend $134,995 on MoCo’s school board races. At that time, I posted a positive digital ad from the Super PAC promoting the teachers union’s endorsed candidates: at-large challenger Rita Montoya, District 2 candidate Natalie Zimmerman and District 4 challenger Laura Stewart.
That turned out to be just half of the story.
The Super PAC is now running negative digital ads against school board incumbents Lynne Harris and Shebra Evans as well as Brenda Diaz, who is running against Zimmerman. The screenshot below shows one of those ads.
The ad links to this website set up by the Super PAC. This particular page is customized for Montgomery County, but the site has pages applying to Anne Arundel, Calvert, Frederick and Howard counties as well. All of these pages attacks candidates running against teachers union endorsees.
Teachers unions have been active in school board elections for decades. But this has to be the most aggressive – and sophisticated – effort I have so far seen from them. And it’s backed by half a million dollars statewide.
Te salut, MSEA.
Websites of this kind are often taken down when campaigns end. So to record this effort for posterity, screenshots of the MoCo page appear below.
