Hi John --
Amongst the current health crisis, thousands of first-time candidates continue to campaign -- safely -- for state and local offices across the country. These inspirational hopefuls are working in their communities to provide support, structure and care where it is most needed.
Take a look at one of these candidates in our spotlight on Dalbin Osorio, who's running for Montgomery County Board of Education in Maryland. Dalbin is running to close the opportunity gap, recruit and retain quality teachers, partner with the school system to develop culturally-competent curriculum, and implement culturally-relevant instruction.
Take a minute to read our chat with Dalbin, then chip in to help us find and support candidates like him.
Thanks,
Run for Something
Hi Dalbin! What or who inspired you to run for something?
I’ve always been motivated to direct service since I stepped foot into the first school I worked at and helped my first student understand a Math problem that they were really frustrated with. That motivation turned into inspiration the first time I was able to help a family stay together despite generational trauma that was impacting their day to day. My mentor once told me that, as long as whatever I do I do it for the kids I taught and the families we served, the definition of the right thing would not change. I have been incredibly fortunate because the inspiration that drove me to teach, has now inspired me to run for office. I knew that, in order to enact real progressive change in my community, the people closest to the pain should be those closest to the power and the people closest to the power did not look like people like me. My professional experience has molded me into the best candidate I can possibly be, for this very moment, and it’s because I did the work before running for office that the inspiration I feel will not go away.
What issue is most pressing in your community and how do you plan on remedying it?
Right now, the most pressing issue in my community is the ever-widening opportunity gap. COVID-19 has really made crystal clear the inequities that my neighbors currently face: From the lack of consistent high-speed internet in black and brown communities to a lack of financial resources that could be used to fill in the academic gaps during out of school time, we are seeing live and direct how an investment in education in our county is not the same for every student, and that your zip code really does determine the quality of that investment. My plan to remedy this is, if elected, to work with the other members of the Montgomery County Board of Education to utilize policy to reallocate resources across the board. I want to work with members of the Board and our community members to create a Create Your Own initiative where we activate a funnel between our local area universities and our school system, so that students that live here and choose to go to college here and choose to be a Teacher can teach right in the same schools they graduated from. Their experience should power innovation and they should be invested in as they transition from Teachers to School Leaders. I want to work with the Teachers and Support Staff Unions to increase Teacher and Support Staff salaries across the board, so our hardworking personnel is rewarded for their tireless work by being compensated appropriately so they can also remain in the County.
How has the COVID-19 outbreak affected your campaign and your community? What have you been doing in your community as a candidate?
We have transitioned to entirely online campaigning, and that has been definitely different for my team and I. We have weekly Facebook Lives planned, and we are rolling out a Youtube series where I provide tips to safely manage anxiety given my experience as a therapist. We are sharing resources on distance learning and tips for parents on differentiating instruction on my candidate Facebook page daily. We are, also, using twitter and facebook ads to reach more voters in areas we obviously cannot get to during this time.
What’s surprised you the most about being a candidate?
The biggest surprise, I think, has been just how receptive people are to speaking about academic issues. To borrow from Senator Kamala Harris, who is one of my political heroes, education justice is very much on the ballot in Montgomery County, Maryland. I have a 20-month old daughter who will enter MCPS in a little over a year, and I view her education as an investment into her. I have spoken to people struggling to make ends meet and to families financially well off, and the one constant thread is that they want what’s best for their kids. As a parent, I understand that intimately, and I can relate to that fundamental desire to make sure your kids are better off than you are.
As you’ve been meeting with voters in your community, what is something new that you learned?
I’ve learned that this race is about so much more than me: This is the continuation of what we hope is a movement and it means continuing to ensure we have adequate qualified representation at all levels of government. It means making sure we elect folks who have done this work to the Board of Education, to the General Assembly, to the United States Congress, and all the way to the Presidency. I hear from voters how they are scared: scared that their children may develop health conditions because of the crumbling infrastructure in their schools, that their children won’t be able to obtain a job after high school, that their children will be treated as less than if they choose to not continue school and would rather earn a vocation, and how all of those different things reflect on them as parents and communities. It’s a fear I know personally, as a first-generation college graduate raised by a single mother who is an immigrant. To see my mother’s fears expressed by voters in my community is something that grounds me in the reality of this work.
What is one takeaway you’d like to leave your constituents with?
I am asking for your vote, sure, but even more than that I’m asking for you to believe. I am asking for you to believe that our Board of Education needs a 34-year old social worker who has taught, run programs, protected children, kept families together, and has always been entrusted to do the right thing no matter what the outcome may be. I’m asking you to believe in your neighbor, who you see dance with his daughter in the cereal aisle of the community Giant. I’m asking you to believe in the Program Manager that works tirelessly to find a Spanish-speaking therapist that takes your very specific insurance to work with your son or daughter. I’m asking you to believe that it is time we brought progressive change to our community when it comes to education. Everything ever worth having has taken time and effort and for people of all walks of life to come together and stack pieces of equity together to mold our community into one we can continue to be proud of. I want you all to leave with the belief that I will be right there with you building that equitable education system brick by brick.
