The Spotsy Wire has a list of endorsements for the upcoming school board election. We endorse Larry DiBella, Lisa Phelps, and April Gillespie. Below is our rationale.

Battlefield District: Larry DiBella

We choose to endorse Larry DiBella because of his unique qualities. First, he works as a school resource officer. He has first hand knowledge of student discipline issues. He has insight and ideas on how to better address discipline. He is the only candidate that focuses on mental health of students.

We did not select Nicole Cole for 2 reasons. First, in social media posts she has supported candidate Terry McAuliffe. McAuliffe famously said “I don’t think parents should be telling schools what they should teach”. This arrogant elitist “I know better than you” attitude has no place in public office. Second, Cole has a college financial advising business that works directly within the school division. This is a clear conflict of interest. If Cole is elected to the board, there are ethical concerns on whether she will make decisions that could primarily benefit her business.

Lee’s Hill District: Lisa Phelps

We choose to endorse Lisa Phelps, the incumbent school board member. She is an advocate of financial transparency in the school division. She supports parental choice and community input into the school decisions. She is also easy to reach, responsive, and a kind person. Plus, she likes cats and we like cats too. She has done an excellent job over these past 4 years so we are proud to endorse Lisa Phelps.

We did not select Rich Lieberman because he is embroiled in scandal. We are surprised he has not had the decency to drop out of the race. He claims that he wants to engage the community yet turns off comments on his Facebook posts. When the cameras are off, we have received witness accounts of his arrogant behavior and his temper. We have covered the Rich Lieberman scandal extensively https://spotsywire.com/2021/10/24/the-rich-lieberman-scandal/

Berkeley District: April Gillespie

We choose to endorse April Gillespie for the Berkeley District. She is the only candidate with the endorsement of the Spotsylvania Republican Party. She believes in parental choice, removing critical race theory from schools, and reducing wasteful spending. Gillespie’s platform makes her more than qualified for the position. She is a conservative unlike her opponent.

We did not select Erin Grampp because she has a tendency to stand on both sides of the fence on an issue. We suspect the reason she does that is because she holds liberal positions and needs to portray herself as a psuedo-conversative is in a heavily conservative district. We have covered this topic here – https://spotsywire.com/2021/10/29/erin-grampp-is-really-a-liberal-democrat/