This excerpt is from an article that was originally posted at the Eagle Forum upon Betty’s initial election to the Alabama School Board in 2002.
Election Update – Good news for grassroots!
Grassroots activists in many states have much to celebrate following last month’s mid-term elections. Pro-family candidates prevailed in a number of important races at the federal, state, and local levels, some despite tremendous odds. One David vs. Goliath effort occurred in Alabama, where Eagle Forum leader Betty Peters was elected to the State Board of Education by 1,700 votes out of more than 150,000 cast. Her opponent, Democrat Charlotte Kirkland Williams, was supported by the Alabama Education Association (AEA), the state affiliate of the NEA.
“Betty knew her real opponent was the AEA,” Alabama Republican Assembly President Frank Myers stated in an editorial on Nov. 6. “The Birmingham News actually called the race one between the Eagle Forum and the AEA. The AEA-supported PACs and other liberal PACs heavily financed the Democrat candidates, while Betty had only a few thousand dollars in contributions.”
Myers noted that “many friends and supporters” helped Mrs. Peters win, adding that “she had the right message” in promoting education based on proven methods and common sense.
Mrs. Peters is a self-made education expert. As conservative political pundit Diane Alden noted, “Betty is not an educational hack but an accountant who has become one of the South’s most knowledgeable experts on the failures of public education and alternative plans to counter those failures.”
Peters will represent both city and county public school systems in 14 counties as a member of the state board. “She will bring a breath of fresh air to the board,” Myers asserted.