Romero loses seat: Sanderson says voters have spoken

By Mary Carey
Staff Writer

Published on April 04, 2008

The key point to take home about the School Committee election is that the town wants "academic excellence for all kids," says Amherst College professor Catherine Sanderson, winner and top vote-getter in the April 1 election.

Sanderson, a psychology professor and co-founder of the parent group Amherst Committee for Excellence, got 2,354 votes for School Committee to Chrystel Romero's 907. Voter turnout was 22.6 percent, with some 3,695 ballots cast.

The victor said her campaign stressed the need for careful comparisons with other districts and the need for "an analysis of what we're doing."

"I think there is a perception - and Chrystel articulated this clearly in her campaign - that Amherst is unique and so different that we couldn't possibly compare ourselves to other districts."

Romero had held the School Committee seat won by Sanderson for a year, having been appointed by a joint School Committee-Select Board panel to fill a vacancy in 2007. Romero had narrowly lost election to one of two seats, earlier that year, getting 1,273 votes to Andrew Churchill's 2,306 and Kathleen Anderson's 1,288.

On Wednesday, after her second unsuccessful bid, Romero said her loss wouldn't stop her from working on behalf of the schools.

"Just because I didn't win a seat on the School Committee doesn't mean I'm going to give up on my town," Romero said.

She has a few projects in mind she planned to do as a School Committee member - and still hopes to accomplish. "They're issues that matter to me, such as the quality of the food our kids are eating and the quality of education the kids at Crocker Farm are getting, specifically because of the population of the kids there."

Although she didn't win in any of the town's 10 precincts, Romero's message - that she represented Amherst parents whose families have struggled with the schools - resonated in some quarters.

Bob Hepner, of Leverett, whose daughter attends Amherst Regional Middle School, said he met Romero at the recent ice cream social at the school and liked what she seemed to stand for. An art teacher at the Smith College Campus School, Hepner drew attention to Romero's campaign in its final days by driving around in an eccentrically painted vintage truck with a Rube Goldberg-like contraption on it and festooned with Romero lawn signs.

An Amherst College graduate himself, Hepner said he distrusted Sanderson's claim that she is interested in lifting all boats. He believes ACE parents are primarily interested in a school system designed to promote their own children's interests.

Familiar thoughts

Sanderson said she is familiar with the sentiments Hepner expressed.

"I absolutely hear that," she said. "My response is that if you look at the very first set of priorities that ACE put forward, one of them is eighth-grade algebra for all kids. If you look right now at the kids in eighth-grade algebra, they tend to be white, male, Asian and not on free or reduced lunch.

"When people say, it's really about 'my kid being a genius' or 'my kid being special' and getting special services for 'my kids' - those kids are already in eighth-grade algebra. What we're trying to do is get every kid in the eighth-grade taking algebra."

Adrienne Levine, Sanderson's campaign manager, said the campaign heard from people impressed with her presentation and message. Levine said Sanderson's performance at forums was probably key to her winning.

For her part, Sanderson said she was not sure she would win. She credits it to a strong turnout of parents and to the fact that voters want their elected officials to get things done.

"I think there is a tendency for incumbents to be re-elected and re-elected handily," Sanderson said. "Being an incumbent is helpful if you demonstrate the types of things you have contributed. But I think being an incumbent is less important if you don't have evidence that you have been doing the kinds of thing voters are looking for. It is clear that people are paying attention."

Mary Carey can be reached at mary.carey@att.net.