Statement Delivered to the Guilford County School Board on June 27th

I am David Coates, the Democrat running for the third District seat on the Board. I have been attending meetings, reading and listening to people and filtering what I have learned through decades of experience as a school board attorney in New Jersey. My perception is that the children of Guilford County have allies on this Board and that you and Dr. Oakley and her administrators are striving to maximize the experience of all of our students. I want to join you in this effort.

 Last month Bill Goebel spoke from your podium and offered a debate challenge  to Michael Logan, the official Republican candidate for District three, but not to me. Curious omission. Why? I think it is because for him this is a grudge  match and Mr. Goebel wishes to obtain the votes of Democrats and Democratic leaning independents, so it is better for him if I am sidelined. The problem for him is that he does not deserve  their votes. Mr. Goebel's website proclaims that he is a "compassionate conservative", but as was said two thousand years ago " where your treasure is there your heart will be also". Public records reveal that in 2021 Mr. Goebel gave $500 to Curtis "Trey" Allen, a Republican candidate for the North Carolina Supreme Court in 2022. In 2022 that Court held in Leandro that, on a statewide basis, North Carolina had failed to meet its state constitutional duty to the children of North Carolina to provide a "sound basic education" and ordered a remedy that would have brought an additional $184,500,000 to Guilford County over a five year period. The money was not appropriated and a rehearing of Leandro supported by now Justice Allen has been scheduled. He is thought to be a vote to overturn the 2022 order. More recently Mr. Goebel contributed in 2023 and 2024 a total of $1,200 to Mark Walker's primary campaign. Mr. Walker, now the head of the Trump campaign's  outreach to religious communities and minorities, is no friend of public education. I could go on.

So I challenge Mr. Logan and Mr. Goebel to debates and joint appearances. I offer "a choice not an echo" to quote Barry Goldwater. This November's election is not a Republican primary.