SEA President Runoff!

The first round of elections for SEA officer positions is complete and the Schools Seattle Deserves slate won every single position that ran! Congrats to the newly-elected anti-racist educator leaders!

The fight isn’t over, yet, though! Jon still needs support to win his bid for president of SEA. WAESN is endorsing Jon and the slate because we are excited about the possibility of it becoming a model for educator locals across the State! We compiled a pro/con list prior to the first round of voting that has been updated to include only Jon and his opponent, Jennifer Matter.

And now that the slate has won several victories, we want to share what the newly-elected leaders have to say about why they’re supporting Jon for SEA President! Imagine the power of anti-racist educators holding nearly all leadership positions in SEA!

Jennifer Dunn – SEA Board of Directors, High School
I am voting for Jon Greenberg because he is the organizer we need to lead the fight against white supremacy and white fragility in Seattle Public Schools. He knows how to uplift the voices of students and educators of color and knows how to build strong relationships with families and communities to counter the hierarchy of SPS.
Michelle Vecchio – SEA Board of Directors, High School
Jon has the support of members of SEA, parents, community activists, and Seattle leaders, because he knows that our success in strengthening and supporting the schools Seattle deserves rests upon building strong ties within and across schools and in our homes, neighborhoods, and communities beyond the walls of our buildings.
Edmund Trangen – SEA Board of Directors, High School
Jon Greenberg has inspired his students, colleagues and community through his activism and advocacy, and as our union president, he will do what he’s always done: demand better for our members, our students and our society.
Jeff Treistman – SEA Board of Directors, Middle School
I am voting for Jon Greenberg because I believe he understands that the fight against white supremacy culture means utilizing our power as a union, our collective labor. With us at his back he will not back down and together we will work for the schools that we deserve.
Amanda Hubbard – SEA Board of Directors, Elementary School
I believe in hard work and I believe in action and Jon Greenberg has both of these qualities in spades. He’s been an educator and community organizer for 20+ years working alongside BIPOC to make our schools better for our students. I believe in his experience and frankly, his results. We deserve a partner and leader who’s not afraid to stand up for racial equity and demand our district be better. It’s the right time to hold SPS accountable to its policies. It’s the right time to continue our fight for racial equity. It’s the right time for Jon Greenberg, veteran educator and steadfast union member, to lead.
Bruce Jackson – SEA Board of Directors, Paraprofessionals
Both candidates are strong, but I’ve worked with Jon on the front lines in our struggle for Ethnic Studies and Racial Equity. I know he can lead us to new levels of Educational Justice while maintaining fair pay. He is the one we need to get us through the eminent contract negotiations and the blowback from Covid 19.
Sarah Lockenvitz – SEA Board of Directors, Middle School
I’m voting for Jon because he has such skill mobilizing members and community members to challenge the status quo and white supremacy. Also I admire how he uplifts and emboldens students’ voices!
Jennifer Lee Hall – SEA Board of Directors, High School
I am voting for Jon Greenberg because he understands the urgency of rooting out the white supremacist constructs that still abound in the Seattle School District — the policies and practices that harm our students and staffs, and effectively stop real education from happening. He is the leader who will work to effect lasting, needed changes in the way the SEA advocates for our members, our students, and our families. Vote Greenberg!
Marquita Prinzing – Director of the Center for Racial Equity
I am voting for Jon because in my work as the Director of the Center for Racial Equity, I have experienced the way Jon centers POC voices, specifically women of Color. I have seen him in spaces with educators and students of Color where he is being visibly reflective on how much space he’s taking up and checking himself on when to step forward or step back. His ability to recognize and use his privilege gives him one of his greatest skills – collaborating with diverse groups, and when the most equity literate people feel seen and heard when working with him, that is a sign that he’s the right person to lead with us, not for us, in achieving racial justice. I know this because I feel seen and heard by Jon. I’m voting for Jon because I know he isn’t in this for personal power or gain; the power in everything he does and every issue he values is with the people, and he will infallibly fight for meaningful, systemic change to achieve what we know is right for us and our students.

Published by Dr. Tracy Castro-Gill

WAESN Co-Founder & Executive Director

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