Byers-Bailey wins. Other incumbents swept out of office in CMS school board races.
Only one incumbent held on to her seat on the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education while three other incumbents failed in their reelection bids, according to unofficial election results Tuesday night.
With 100% of precincts reporting, Thelma Byers-Bailey held off two challengers to keep her District 2 seat. But Rhonda Cheek in District 1, Sean Strain in District 6 and Carol Sawyer in District 4 lost their seats.
Incumbents didn’t run for reelection in District 3 or District 5.
Races for the six district seats on the school board were crowded, with 18 candidates on the ballot whose experience ranged from former CMS educators and pastors to small business owners. The school board election is nonpartisan.
The at-large seats — held by board chair Elyse Dashew, Jennifer De La Jara and Lenora Shipp — were not up for reelection this cycle.
Challenges awaiting the new board include choosing a superintendent, narrowing achievement gaps and ensuring school safety. New members will be sworn in Dec. 13. Normally, district seats are four-year terms but because the election was delayed a year due to census data, new members will serve three-year terms.
District 1
22 of 22 precincts reported
With 30.14% of the vote, Melissa Easley took the District 1 seat, which covers northern Mecklenburg County. Cheek finished with 23.68% of the vote. Ro Lawsin had 17.44%. Bill Fountain had 15.38%. Hamani Fisher had 12.48%.
“Honestly, I’m a bit in shock right now,” Easley, 39, said. “I feel truly honored that the voters have such confidence in me to help lead CMS into the future.”
Easley is the co-founder of North Carolina Teachers United — a pro-public education support and resource group in the state.
Cheek, 61, was elected to the board in 2009. She started Families United for North Mecklenburg Education (FUME) in 2003 and has served on several education-related committees and the board of Charlotte Advocates for Education.
Cheek wrote on Facebook that she was proud of her campaign and even more proud of her accomplishments during her time on the board.
“While I will miss serving the community, I look forward to more time with my family, pursuing my other interests and focusing on my nursing career,” Cheek wrote.
Lawsin, 53, is the former president of the Filipino American Community Carolinas, former vice president of the NC Asian American Coalition and a member of the Huntersville American Legion.
Fisher, 46, is a member of the Mecklenburg County Task Force to Stop the Violence and the Village Heartbeat Initiative. He is pastor of Life Center International.
District 2
30 of 30 precincts reported
With 42.18% of the vote, Byers-Bailey won District 2, which stretches from uptown to the Gaston County line. Monty Witherspoon had 38.41% and Juanrique Hall had 18.04%.
Byers-Bailey, 79, was elected to the school board in 2013. She is president of the Lincoln Heights Neighborhood Association, serves as a member of the Friendship CDC Board of Directors and the African American Community Fund’s Board of Directors. She has served as an after-school math tutor for fourth- and fifth-grade students.
Witherspoon, 43, is the minister of Steele Creeke AME Zion Church. Witherspoon previously ran for school board in 2019. He is a member of the Black Political Caucus and an educate reform advocate.
Hall, 50, was a volunteer coach at West Charlotte High and works with the city’s Alternative To Violence program as a community advocate.
District 3
25 of 25 precincts reported
With 76.02% of the vote, Gregory “Dee” Rankin won District 3, which stretches from uptown to the Gaston County line. Steven Rushing had 22.64%. District 3 covers parts of northern and eastern Charlotte and extends to the Cabarrus County line.
Rankin, 47, made his first run for elected office. But he’s the former chair of the Mayor’s Mentoring Alliance, former chair of the Education Committee for the Black Political Caucus of Charlotte Mecklenburg. He’s also a member of the CMS Equity Committee.
Rushing, 48, ran for a public office for the first time. He owns a children’s taxi transport company that offers the ability for parents to get to work on time while his company picks up and drops off children at school.
District 4
39 of 39 precincts reported
With 43.68% of the vote, Stephanie Sneed won District 4, beating Sawyer, who had 36.63%, and Clara Kennedy Witherspoon, who had 18.38%. District 4 starts on the east side of I-77 and stretches to the county line in eastern Mecklenburg County.
Sneed, 47, previously ran for a school board seat and was chair of the Charlotte Black Political Caucus before deciding to run for school board in 2022. She attended Howard University School of Law and earned her license to practice law.
Sawyer has served District 4 since 2017. The 64-year-old previously served on the board’s Equity Committee and is co-founder of the advocacy organizations OneMECK and Mecklenburg ACTS. She now serves as the chair of the board’s Policy Committee.
Kennedy Witherspoon, 65, is a retired support specialist with CMS and school counselor. Before returning to CMS, she worked as an executive director for GPM Inc, a 501(c)(3) agency, and director of a 21st Century Community Learning Center funded by the NC Department of Education.
District 5
53 of 53 precincts reported
With 51.60% of the vote, results showed Lisa Cline winning District 5, which covers the Myers Park area, Providence High and Matthews. Trent Merchant had 47.48% of the vote.
Cline, 62, is a newcomer to public office. She’s a retired educator with more than 39 years of experience in the field.
Merchant, 52, joined what he called a broken CMS board in 2006 and served as an at-large member until 2011. He’s an executive search consultant who said his work experience will help in the superintendent search.
District 6
26 of 26 precincts reported
With 43.42% of the vote, Summer Nunn won District 6, which covers the southern part of Mecklenburg County. Incumbent Sean Strain had 31.30%, and Michael Watson had 24.18%.
Nunn, 39, is a marketing executive and served on a school parent leadership team for two years.
“(I’m) excited, humbled and ready to get to work for all of the kids and teachers in Mecklenburg County,” Nunn said.
Strain, 50, was elected to the board in 2017. He is a business and systems consultant and serves on four nonprofit executive boards and advisory committees in Mecklenburg County.
“I congratulate the new board on their election to serve the youth of Mecklenburg County,” Strain told The Charlotte Observer. “May it be the mission-focused, student-centric, deliberative board our youth, district and staff desperately need to transform into the system our community needs and deserves.”
Watson, 41, has served at the elementary school level on an administrative team for All Pro Dads, a school improvement team and as the PTA vice president of events at Polo Ridge Elementary.
This story was originally published November 8, 2022 at 8:01 PM.
