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An in-depth look at our region's emerging economic, social, political and cultural identity.

Your 2015 Candidates For CMS At-Large Board Seats

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board has some big decisions to make over the next year.  Who should be the next superintendent?  How should new boundaries for schools be drawn?  We put those questions and others to the nine candidates running for three at-large seats on the board.  

You can listen to them all below.  

Credit Lisa Worf / WFAE
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WFAE

The Candidates

Angela Ambroise

Angela Ambroise is a realtor and president of the Villa Heights Neighborhood Association. 

Party affiliation: Democrat

Campaign site:Angela Ambroise for School Board

LW101315Ambroise.mp3

Credit Charlotte Observer File

Janeen Bryant

Janeen Bryant is the current regional director for Leadership for Educational Equity. She taught at CMS’s Briarwood Academy for three years.  

Political affiliation: Democrat

Campaign site: janeenbryant.com

LW101315Bryant.mp3

Credit Charlotte Observer File
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Charlotte Observer File

Larry Bumgarner

Larry Bumgarner is a retired business owner and West Charlotte graduate.  This is his fourth run for school board. 

Political affiliation: Unaffiliated

Campaign site: makelivesmatter.com

LW101315Bumgarner.mp3

Credit Charlotte Observer File
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Charlotte Observer File

Elyse Dashew

Elyse Dashew is a co-founder of MeckFUTURE and a co-leader of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Public School Friends. This is her second run for school board. 

Political affiliation: Democrat

Campaign site: elysedashew.com

LW101315Dashew.mp3

Credit John Daughtry

Ericka Ellis-Stewart

Ericka Ellis-Stewart is a current CMS at-large board member.  She’s the former director of Right Moves for Youth and of the Johnston YMCA. She now works for Mental Health America of the Central Carolinas.    

Political affiliation: Democrat

Campaign site: ericka4cmsboard.com

LW101315Ellis.mp3

Credit Charlotte Observer File

Levester Flowers

Levester Flowers is a Bank of America retiree.  He founded the Save Our Schools Community Initiative and ran for city council in 2014. 

Political affiliation: Democrat

Campaign site: voteflowers2015.com

GG101315Flowers.mp3

Credit Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools

Mary McCray

Mary McCray is the current chairwoman of the CMS school board.  She was a CMS teacher for many years and served as president of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Association of Educators.

Political affiliation: Democrat

Campaign site: on Facebook

GG101315McCray.mp3

Credit stephensonforschoolboard.com

Jeremy Stephenson

Jeremy Stephenson is a labor and employment lawyer and does pro-bono work for the Council for Children’s Rights.   

Political affiliation: Republican

Campaign site: stephensonforschoolboard.com

GG101315Stephenson.mp3

Credit ameliastinsonwesley.com

Amelia Stinson-Wesley

Amelia Stinson-Wesley is a pastor at Purcell United Methodist Church. She served two years on the school board representing southern Mecklenburg County.  

Political affiliation: Democrat

Campaign site: ameliastinsonwesley.com

GG101315Stinson.mp3

Tags
Lisa Worf traded the Midwest for Charlotte in 2006 to take a job at WFAE. She worked with public TV in Detroit and taught English in Austria before making her way to radio. Lisa graduated from University of Chicago with a bachelor’s degree in English.
Gwendolyn is an award-winning journalist who has covered a broad range of stories on the local and national levels. Her experience includes producing on-air reports for National Public Radio and she worked full-time as a producer for NPR’s All Things Considered news program for five years. She worked for several years as an on-air contract reporter for CNN in Atlanta and worked in print as a reporter for the Baltimore Sun Media Group, The Washington Post and covered Congress and various federal agencies for the Daily Environment Report and Real Estate Finance Today. Glenn has won awards for her reports from the Maryland-DC-Delaware Press Association, SNA and the first-place radio award from the National Association of Black Journalists.