As your MACCC representative in legislation advocacy, this is an extraordinary year in politics! With the excitement of the Presidential race in November, it is amazing to see the official nomination from the Democratic Party with Senator Barack Obama for President, with his running mate of Senator Joe Biden for Vice-President. Then, the astonishing announcement of Republican Senator John McCain’s choice for Vice-President from Alaska, Governor Sarah Palin. Fasten your seat belts, for it will be a wild ride up to the election date.

I have just returned from Denver and Minneapolis with NEA, and what stood out was the importance of supporting public education, regardless of the party affiliation. All fifty states were present and in the Pre-Conference activities, there were music teachers from Colorado and Wisconsin giving presentations with the grass roots efforts in bipartisan issues, such as budgets, keeping the doors open, and the importance of connecting and getting involved at the local level. As the higher education representative from California, I networked with the professors from the University of Virginia, Colorado University, and Georgia Tech University. The highlight was hearing the remarks of Congressman Rep. Jim Ramstad from Minnesota, Rep. Thaddeus McCotter from Michigan, Georgia Republican Party Chairwoman Sue Everhart, and Governor Tim Pawlenty from Minnesota. It was reassuring to hear them all include verbiage pertaining to higher education and Governor Pawlenty said, “Advocates should never quit if constantly butting up against a group, for it takes discussion to make progress.”

The state budget is still up in the air after deadlines have passed. Several community colleges are at risk of losing their accreditation, as well as striving to elect pro-education candidates in their local campaigns for Board of Trustee elections, as well as bonds, measures and parcel taxes. It is an exciting time to witness a historical election in 2008 at the national, state and local levels!

As I was looking at the vendor displays, a few T-shirts caught my eye. I’d like to share a few slogans with you as my closing paragraph. “Election 2008: Same Old Song and Dance!” and “VOTE--or Don’t Blame Me!”

Chaumonde Porterfield-Pyatt