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Truitt annouces withdrawal from runoff

By Paul Tambasco
News Editor

School board candidate Cathy Truitt withdrew from a runoff with John Tedesco for the District 2 seat at a press conference this morning in Garner.

Cathy Truitt talks to members of the community and media about her decision to concede in the school board election Monday, Oct. 19. BARRY MOORE, GCNT

Truitt’s withdrawal comes less than two weeks after filing for the extra contest. Tedesco grabbed the most votes on Oct. 6, but fell shy of enough to avoid a runoff with Truitt.

Her decision secures a 5 to 4 majority on the incoming school board for opponents of the district’s policy of bussing for socioeconomic diversity.

Truitt said the race had been boiled down to whether or not to bus for diversity.

“People were not ready to hear that there was a third voice,” she said, on a staircase at the Grand Marquis Ballroom. She said she did not want to further divide the community and had realized she was unlikely to win on Nov. 3.

In the Oct. 6 election, Truitt finished with 24 percent of the vote in District, besting incumbent Horace Tart, but failing to grab half of John Tedesco’s 49 percent.

The rhetoric between the two leading candidates had become contentious during the campaign. Tedesco called Truitt a hypocrite; she dubbed him a political pawn. On Monday, Truitt said she was ready to make the peace. She said she will remain an advocate for local schools and urged Tedesco to call on her and her supporters while on the board.

“We are here — use us, let us be involved,” she said.

In the meantime, she implored parents and others to get involved in shaping the likely changes to board policy.

A part-time consultant and a former Johnston County administrator, Truitt brought the most education experience to the District 2 field. From the start, she said that dialogue on issues in Wake’s public schools was misguided, focused too much on bussing. In the end, she repeated a call for improving American schools so as to compete with those in China and India.

“Our time in the sun as the number one nation is coming to a close,” Truitt said.

Of the three leading candidates, Truitt raised the most in campaign funds, much of it from individuals in Garner’s business community. She says she tried to gain support in other parts of the District, which includes Fuquay-Varina and Willow Spring. Despite a financial advantage, limited funds made the effort more challenging.

“We had to get more bang for the buck,” she said.

Truitt’s defeat places many of her supporters, members of Greater Advocates for Garner, on the losing end of two straight school board elections. The group backed Debra McHenry in 2005.

Though unsuccessful, the campaign helped shed light on issues involving Garner’s schools, said supporter David Williams. The group has become more politically savvy, he said, but there is work to do.

“The question is how do we get people in Garner invested in schools where their children don’t go,” he said. “We don’t own these 8 or 11 schools, but we own their reputation.”

Related articles:

• School board runoff will proceed
• District 2 race offers options to voters
• Five file for District 2 school board seat

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