Election Profile: Virginia Cannon

CONCORD, NH — Virginia Cannon is running for the District C (Wards 8, 9, and 10) Concord Board of Education seat. She filled out this candidate profile for voters to read:

Education: High School : Cherry Hill High School East (Cherry Hill NJ); College: Dartmouth College (Hanover NH); Law School: Vermont Law School (South Royalton VT); Seminary: Episcopal Divinity School (Cambridge MA) - Did not complete MDiv degree.

Occupation: Lawyer: 15 Years; Private Professional Guardian: 10 years; Management Support: 3 months.

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office: None

Campaign Website: None

The single most pressing issue facing our (board, district, etc.) is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it: The fallout resulting from the Leung incident. The Leung incident brought many School Board governance issues to light. The school Board needed, and continues to need, updates to their policies and practices surrounding student safety, harassment (sexual and non-sexual), bullying, reporting, and retaliation. Policy updates require changes to protocols and procedures which, in turn require administration, faculty, staff, tangential support staff and volunteer training. Additionally, it has become clear, that the relationship between the administration and the school board has become too enmeshed. Clear lines of responsibility and accountability need to be re-established.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?: I think that the current incumbent is not sufficiently engaged in trying to solve the critical issues facing the Board. The issues facing the Board are complex, no doubt. The citizens, taxpayers and parents of Concord deserve a Board representative who is actively engaged in solving those issues. The Board Member needs to be asking thoughtful questions, requiring clarification, striving for solutions to the the weighty obligations to the community. This is where the current incumbent seems to be unable or unwilling to shoulder the required responsibilities.

If you are a challenger, in what way has the current board or officeholder failed the community (or district or constituency)?: See above

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform: We have the issues of the Leung incident; student safety; administrative accountability; we need to search for, vet and hire credentialed administration; we need to re-establish clear lines of responsibility and authority between the Board and the administration; we have enormous budgetary issues; contract negotiations; aging school buildings; tax implications for budgetary funding; fulfilling the community expectations of clarity, transparency, accountability and responsiveness and, certainly not least, providing our students with the opportunity to achieve academic excellence.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?: I practiced law for 15 years in various different practice areas and then acted as an independent, private, professional guardian for 10 years. This work required a number of skills, including advocacy, negotiation, logic, accounting, organization, time management, writing, leading groups, compromising, planning, and coordination of a variety of personalities.

The best advice ever shared with me was ... Never forget your past, You cannot map out the route to your future without acknowledging the failures and successes of your past.

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?: I listen. I think deeply. I firmly believe that the cornerstone of our community must be CIVIL discourse between those who hold different opinion. Without that, there can be no way to move forwards towards a better future.

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