Mom of 4, two veterans on the ballot for the Manatee School Board District 5 election

BRADENTON — Rev. James T. Golden faces two opponents in his bid for a second term in the District 5 Manatee County School Board seat in this year's Aug. 23 election.

The seat represents a large portion of southern Manatee County — the area spans from Lockwood Ridge Road east across Interstate 75 and encompasses the communities of Lakewood Ranch and Myakka City.

Challenging Golden are Rich Tatem and Chantal Wilford, both newcomers to seeking political office.

In Florida, school board races are nonpartisan; the winner receives a four-year term. If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote in the Aug. 23 balloting, the top two will face off in the November general election.

Early voting for the school board election Aug. 13 and ends Aug. 20.

Here is a look at the three candidates:

James T. Golden

From 2021: Manatee School Board names James Golden chairman

Golden is a U.S. Army veteran and Florida native who graduated from Stetson University in 1970. He earned his juris doctorate degree in 1974 from the Frederic G. Levin College of Law at the University of Florida.  

Golden has worked in the Manatee School District for over 30 years, serving as a substitute teacher for all grades, kindergarten through 12th. He is also past chairman of the School Advisory Council at Louise R. Johnson Middle School.

A native of Jacksonville, Golden grew up attending racially segregated public schools on Florida’s east coast before volunteering to join the Army in 1967.

Golden was elected to the District 5 seat in August 2018 following a two-term stint on the Bradenton City Council in 1999 and again in 2003. On the council, Golden led successful efforts to annex Mixon Fruit Farms and Tropicana into city limits, providing a larger tax base for the municipality. The city of Bradenton’s Central Community Redevelopment Area was also a priority of Golden's during his time on the city council.

In November 2021, Golden was named chairman of the School Board, marking a historical moment as he is the first Black man to hold the position in the district.

Golden's campaign leads the District 5 race, having collected just under $29,300 dollars in donations and contributions.

Rich Tatem

Tatem is a Beavercreek, Ohio native, retired U.S. Air Force colonel and former French professor. Tatem works as a substitute teacher at a local military academy in Sarasota County.

Tatem and his wife Regine relocated to Manatee County four years ago. Tatem has been involved with Manatee schools through volunteering and community work for the past few years, following a stint as a French professor at State College of Florida in Bradenton.

The 30-year Air Force veteran spoke about his platform and plan for the district during a recent Tiger Bay Club candidate forum in Bradenton, citing his military and leadership background coupled with his experience with large fiscal budgets and contracts as strengths.

“There’s just no substitute for it,” Tatem said. “It's not time for on-the-job training. You can't go into that organization like that, a large bureaucracy, without really understanding how these large government bureaucracies work.”

Tatem says he would provide district families and students with four things that could help transform Manatee schools — transparency, accountability, participation, and patriotism. Tatem said he supports top-tier pay and benefits for teachers and school district employees, and wants to increase parental involvement in classrooms, and create more participation from the board within the local community.

“We need to get all paying benefits into the general fund and not use our employees as what I call political pawns every four years,” Tatem said.

Tatem also hopes to rebuild trust with parents by spending more time in the community and being more accessible to constituents.

Tatem has been endorsed by Manatee County Sheriff Rick Well and his campaign currently reports $28,342 in contributions and donations.

Chantal Wilford

Wilford is a mother of four children and an educator who earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Durham in Durham, England. She has linguistics certification and has worked as a freelance translator since 1997. Wilford is a certified English as a Foreign Language to Adults (TEFLA) instructor and earned a post-graduate certification as a translator and interpreter at the Monterey Institute of International Studies in California.

Wilford, her husband Andrew, and their four children relocated to Manatee County in 2005. She homeschooled each of her children through elementary school for a total of 14 years before transitioning them to the public school system for middle school. Wilford’s youngest children currently attend a Manatee County public school in District 5.

She said she wants to promote a supportive, collaborative, and transparent school board by removing political agendas, putting students first, maintaining accessible educational materials, and listening to the community and parents.

Teacher retention and recruitment is another top focus for Wilford if elected, she said.

“We have to work on attracting and retaining some excellent teachers, and we have them, here, in our county,” Wilford said.

Student support in classrooms, she says, is also an area where she said the district could improve its efforts.For example, Wilford said she wants to invest in people by adding support staff instead of computers to classrooms. Supplemental support such as reading specialists, guidance counselors, and play-based learning for the youngest students aspects she wants to focus on if elected.

She cited Rowlett Elementary as an example of a local school that she believes is doing strong work with the individual needs of its students.

Wilford has collected $3,390 in contributions and donations for her election campaign.

On the issues: Critical Race Theory

Critical race theory is a graduate-level academic principle that asserts that racism is more than prejudice towards marginalized groups but that it is systemic in the U.S.'s laws and institutions.

Golden: “I oppose the notion that critical race theory is being used in classrooms and I oppose the use of the term critical race theory to hide the objectives of people who want to not help diversity, equity, and inclusion in our public school system.”

Tatem: "When I look at a child. I don't see a Hispanic child or a Black child, I see a child that needs to be looked at individually based on what does this child need now to succeed through the system, instead of grouping people into different skin colors … The idea that somehow I wouldn't want factual and true history to be brought forth is kind of nonsensical and against everything that I stand for and believe in, but there's so much that goes on with this issue … but I would like to see a patriotic focus on history. We can show the success people have had over the course of that time in history. That's what I what I'd like to see.”

Wilford: "I have had an opportunity to look at (my children's) textbooks, to ask them questions, and to reach out to their history and civics teachers to ask about critical race theory and whether it is present in the curriculum. The answer has unequivocally been no, that it is not included in any of our current state standards and all textbooks must be approved by the state. Critical race theory is a graduate level theory that is not designed or appropriate for our K-12 schools."

Parental Rights in Education Act

The Parental Rights in Education Act (HB 1557) was dubbed the "Don't Say Gay" bill by critics, following being signed into law by Gov. DeSantis this year. The multi-page law states, “Classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards.”

Golden: “By and large, most parents and educators want the same thing for children —knowledge, and education that helps them create a better society. It’s nonsensical to believe that professional educators cannot set aside personal or partisan beliefs to provide quality public education to all children in cooperation and collaboration with parents and the district.”

Tatem: "I support parental rights. I have a patriotic gratitude attitude. It is an important quality for a public servant. We've all had instances in our life but I'm grateful for the opportunities this country have given us... I'm supportive of increasing parental involvement in what children are learning."

Wilford: "This legislation was unnecessary and politically motivated. Every student and teacher should feel safe, respected, and welcome in the classroom. Our students come from many different family units and we should make sure all children feel comfortable talking about theirs, whether they live with grandparents, single parents, a foster family, two dads, two moms, or a traditional family unit."

Samantha Gholar covers social justice news for the Herald-Tribune and USA TODAY Network. Connect with her at sgholar@gannett.com or on Twitter: @samanthagholar

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Manatee County School Board District 5 race sees two veterans, mom of 4