On Monday, I published an interview with David Thompson, the general counsel for the HISD Board of Trustees, about the forthcoming recapture referendum. Thompson, who said in the interview that he would vote against the referendum, joins a long list of people who hope that by opposing it they can spur the Legislature to take action and fix the underlying system. Jay Aiyer, an assistant professor of political science and public administration in the Barbara Jordan-Mickey Leland School of Public Affairs at Texas Southern University and a former HCC Trustee, is the most prominent voice I know who believes a Yes vote is the prudent choice. This is an issue that is both vitally important and devilishly complicated, and I want to do what I can to help everyone – myself included – make an informed choice on it. Some of the items we reference in our discussion are in this op-ed by Ben Becker of HISD Parent Advocates. After talking with both Thompson and Aiyer, I’m still not sure how I’m going to vote, but at least I’m less ignorant about it. Here’s my conversation with Aiyer:
Interviews and Q&As from the primaries are on my 2016 Election page. I will eventually get around to updating it to include links to fall interviews.