NAME: Graeme Reid, Candidate for Washoe County School Board, District F
AGE: I do not feel this is a relevant question regarding school board elections. I am a married father of 4 children, 3 of school age.
PARTY AFFILIATION: This likewise is not a relevant question. School board is a non-partisan race so there are no party affiliations (superficially anyway). That said, and because the left of the political spectrum has moved so far left, I have no problem nowadays being referred to as a “conservative”.
DAY JOB: Attorney (32 years). I have owned and operated Reid Law Offices since 2015.
EDUCATION: All from Scotland and all public including two public universities – undergraduate law (University of Dundee) and postgraduate law (University of Glasgow). I have been admitted to practice law in Nevada, California, the District of Columbia, Scotland and England & Wales.
HOW LONG YOU HAVE LIVED IN NEVADA: 20 years (since January 2002).
WRITE A BRIEF (TWO TO THREE SENTENCES) SUMMARY OF YOUR PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE THAT WOULD ENABLE YOU TO PERFORM THE DUTIES OF THIS OFFICE:
I try not to be a lawyer in my private life, however the ability to listen, interpret, analyze, advocate and implement should be valuable on the board.
WHAT IS YOUR TOP PRIORITY IF ELECTED?
To help right the sinking ship. Public schools are in crisis all across the country. They have become politicized, there is little accountability, even less transparency, ineffective leadership, ineffective discipline, excessive data collection, excessive testing, teachers are unhappy and are leaving, parents have been squeezed out and are fleeing (tempered by lack of alternatives) and there is significant financial mismanagement.
IN JUST A FEW SENTENCES: WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE IS THE BIGGEST PROBLEM FACING THE SCHOOL DISTRICT, AND HOW WOULD YOU FIX IT?
We need to end the politicization of education, as stated above. Step one to achieving that goal is to replace the three incumbents on the board who are up for election. Public school is not a place to push political agendas whether left, right or other.
IN ONE SENTENCE: WHAT’S THE MOST IMPORTANT THING VOTERS SHOULD KNOW ABOUT YOU?
While I am generally lighthearted and good natured, I have no tolerance for people who put politics before principles particularly when it is to the detriment of children.
YES OR NO: WILL YOU ACCEPT THE RESULTS OF THIS ELECTION, WHETHER YOU WIN OR LOSE?
I feel this is another irrelevant question. I have no control over the conduct of the election. If the election is competently administered and fair, then, of course, yes. According to yesterday’s RGJ poll, only 31% of respondents have very high confidence in our elections. That number is shockingly low and over 40% scored at 5 or less on their 1-10 scale. To anyone objectively evaluating how people feel about election integrity, there is clearly a problem. It may only be a perception problem, but that, in and of itself, is still a problem. It is a problem that has, unfortunately, become highly politicized, but one which needs to be resolved in a non-partisan way. It is a problem that is beyond the scope of school board but has implications for everyone.
