If Scott McVarish had been in a courtroom last Thursday morning instead of a sun-splashed breakfast nook at the Four Points by Sheraton hotel, the jury might have stood immediately and announced, “We agree with you, sir.”
Possibly it was the luck of the blind draw. Mr. McVarish, an attorney, was nominated the leadoff speaker at the Chamber of Commerce’s endorsement party.
All three contenders – Anne Burke, Mr. McVarish’s teammate, and Prof. Kelly Kent – are rookie candidates, even if none sounds like a first-timer.
The tandem of Burke and McVarish, a conceptual departure from School Board elections this century, was endorsed later in the day by the Chamber board. There was little to quibble about because Dr. Kent also made a persuasive presentation.
As the leadoff batter, the uncommonly thorough Mr. McVarish arguably may have had an advantage. He reached for his well-honed mantra, and the result was a home run.
“I am very passionate about this (campaign),” said a man who also can drink a chocolate soda or order a dish of applesauce with a surge conviction.
“I am not running for the School Board because I want a career in politics. I am running because I have a wonderful, precious daughter who is about to enter Middle School.”
That is the neon sign at the top of his election drive.
He does not propose to save the world for noble reasons but rather for parochial parental ones.
What kind of a father is he?
“Even before I came to El Marino (Language Immersion School),” Mr. McVarish said, “I first went to the Middle School. I wanted to make sure it was a school I could send my daughter to.
“What I saw then and what I saw now is different. Then I was, eh, not really sure this was going to work out. But I trusted El Marino enough that I was going to give it time. Now, I see exciting things happening at the Middle School.
“So much potential. We have a great leader in our superintendent, Dave LaRose, and he has put in a great team.
“I have just realized,” Mr. McVarish said, “that I have enough background in the School District, enough energy, and I am someone who is a magnet for good ideas. Nothing stops me when I have a good idea.”
Ms. Burke and Dr. Kent are young mothers with two young children apiece, a son and a daughter in each case. But, in another interesting departure from tradition, it is the father who is writing headlines about his child rather than the moms.
This is the first time in recent years that all of the candidates are parents of pre-teens.
