Carstensen, others advance in School Board primary
0:15 AM 2/20/02
Doug Erickson Education reporter

indentVeteran Madison School Board member Carol Carstensen, who was heavily criticized last fall for her part in a controversy over the Pledge of Allegiance, topped a three-candidate field in Tuesday's primary.
indentShe earned 53 percent of the vote and will face Roger Allen in the April 2 general election for Seat 7. Allen, with 23.4 percent of the vote, squeaked by Kirby Brant, who finished with 22.9 percent.
indentBrant immediately endorsed Allen and predicted a tough time for Carstensen in the general election. But Carstensen said she did better Tuesday than she thought she would. "I think it's a fairly comfortable margin for me."
indentIn the race for Seat 6, William Clingan and Scott Fromader advanced to the general election as expected. The third person on the ballot, incumbent Calvin Williams, had dropped out of the race and endorsed Clingan. Still, Williams received about 9 percent of the vote.
indentClingan earned 55.6 percent of the vote to Fromader's 33.6 percent. Fromader, the more conservative of the two, said he was disappointed that the pledge controversy didn't bring more people to the polls.
indent"The Madison public as a whole spoke on the pledge issue last fall, but it certainly didn't fire them up to go vote," he said. "That's disheartening. The fuse was lit, but it went out."
indentThe city clerk's office estimated Tuesday's turnout at about 8 percent of eligible voters.
indentAll board members are elected districtwide, but a candidate must run for a specific seat. The elections are nonpartisan.
indentCarstensen, 59, a former teacher, is running for her fifth three-year term. Her liberal views came under fire last fall during a divisive community debate over patriotism in schools. She voted with Williams and Bill Keys to prohibit use of the pledge as a way to comply with a state law requiring a daily moment of patriotism. A week later, she reversed her vote at a board meeting attended by about 1,200 people.
indentWhile neither of her opponents focused solely on the pledge issue, they both said it showed the board at its worst - delving into social policy and micromanaging the classroom.
indentCarstensen said she thinks the community has dealt with the pledge issue and moved on. But Allen, 42, an assistant city attorney, said that's wishful thinking on her part.
indent"People still want to know our positions on it," he said. "Some people would like it not to be an issue, but it's one of many that we're going to have to talk about."
indentAllen said he was surprised that Carstensen, who is endorsed by the teachers union, didn't get more votes Tuesday. "I think it shows she's very vulnerable."
indentBrant, 64, an attorney, said the pledge issue has not died. "I don't think that it has receded into the background. I think you'll see it come to the fore."
indentBrant said he'll support Allen. "He's basically a moderate and I'm a conservative. But a moderate is better than someone on the left. Carol has demonstrated an adherence to what I call the loony left."
indentIn the other race, Williams, the board's president, dropped out of the race on the final day of candidate filings. His name remained on the ballot because he had already filed all of his campaign papers.
indentClingan, 47, a manager with Dane County Human Services, is a former PTA president at Lincoln Elementary who has helped manage the campaigns of other board members, including Williams and Keys. He has the backing of the teachers union.
indent"I think one of the factors in the success of my campaign was people understanding that I had longstanding ties to the community, kids and schools," Clingan said.
indentHe's pleased with his showing but said it is a first step. "As gratifying as this win is, this just gets me to the general election," he said. "It's another six weeks of campaigning and trying to get my message out to people."
indentFromader, 46, an education consultant for the state Department of Workforce Development, is a former teacher who served 11 years as director of operations for former Republican Gov. Tommy Thompson. He twice ran for School Board in the early 1990s.
indent"I think there are plenty of people who support me, they just didn't vote," Fromader said Tuesday night. "Our charge is getting to those people."
indentMany people criticize the School Board, Fromader said. Now, with two distinct candidates running for Seat 6, they need to back up their criticism by voting, he said. "It's time to put up or shut up."
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