Motsinger: Fifth District
voters want change
BY LAYLA GARMS
THE CHRONICLE
Over the last eight years,
U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx has
slaughtered a slew of
Democrats who have chal
lenged her for her Fifth
District seat.
Winston-Salem/Forsyth
County School Board
Member Elisabeth Motsinger
is the latest Democrat stand
ing between Foxx and re-elec
tion, and she has a sense that
many in the largely
Republican Fifth District want
a change.
"I think things are going
really well," Motsinger said of
her campaign." I think there's
a lot of excitement throughout
the district about the cam
paign. Everywhere we go,
people are enthusiastic."
Although she admits she's
not a "natural politician,"
Motsinger says the time she
has spent on the Board of
Education has taught her
many valuable lessons that
would help her in Congress.
"By being on the school
board for six years, I have cer
tainly learned to work with
people," she stated. "...I've
learned that there are unin
tended consequences to deci
sions, so you have to be
thoughtful about how the
choices you make will affect
everyone."
Motsinger said children,
marginalized children in par
ticular, are one of the main
reasons why she's running for
Congress.
"The issues facing poor
children cannot be solved in
public schools alone," she
remarked. "If I thought I
could solve it all (locally), I'd
have no reason to run for
Congress. If I thought I could
handle it at the local level, I
would."
Many in the community,
however, have criticized the
School Board for allowing
poor children, particularly
minority ones, to fall through
the cracks. Motsinger and her
fellow School Board members
have also been accused of
pushing bond referendums
that have largely ignored
existing inner-city schools in
favor of new ones in the sub
urbs.
If elected, Motsinger said
she will also make environ
mental conservation a priority.
"Protecting our environ
ment, it's really funny that
that's considered a progres
sive issue, because we all
have to live on this beautiful
planet," she commented.
"There's nothing more conser
vative than conserving the
planet."
Motsinger's stance on
environmental issues recently
became a target for the Foxx
campaign, which sent out a
mailer slamming Motsinger
for her arrest during a protest
opposing the controversial
Keystone oil pipeline. The
Foxx flier labeled Motsinger
"out of touch" for opposing
the pipeline at a time when
gas prices are at a near-record
high.
Motsinger believes the
mailers are a good sign for her
campaign.
"(Foxx) is responding like
she is in campaign mode," she
said. "She did not send out a
mailer for any other cam
paign, so this is a first."
Regardless of what comes
next, Motsinger says she will
not resort to insulting her
opponent.
"I believe that it is reason
able and responsible for us to
directly quote Mrs. Foxx ...
and say how she has voted on
something," she remarked. "It
is not our job to interpret what
that means. We assume voters
are capable of doing that
themselves
Despite a redistricting
plan that has moved some of
Democrat Rep. Mel Watt's
former 12th District con
stituents into the Fifth
District, the district, which
includes most of Forsyth and
all or parts of 11 surrounding
counties, remains largely
Republican. Motsinger, a
mother of three, believes she
can win over Republicans.
She says many have already
voiced their support for her.
Among them is Landon
Baucom, a 21-year-old politi
cal science major at Wake
Forest University. The regis
tered Republican said he was
disenchanted with Rep.
Foxx's highly publicized
remarks about college loans.
Foxx, chair of the House
Subcommittee on Higher
Education and Workforce
Training, was quoted as say
ing she had "no tolerance" for
people who graduate from
college with debt, because
"there's no need for that.''
Baucom said Motsinger's
strong support for education
made him take a closer look,
and he liked what fie saw, so
much so that he signed up to
be a Motsinger campaign vol
unteer.
"When you have someone
who's committed to the future
through empowering young
people to compete in an
incredibly complex global
economy, that just speaks to
me," commented Baucom, the
oldest of four children.
This will be the first time
that Baucom is old enough to
vote in a presidential election,
and he said the elevated stakes
make working with the
Motsinger campaign even
more engaging.
Photo courtesy of Mottinger for Congress
Above: Elisabeth
Motsinger announces her
candidacy earlier this year.
Left: Mostinger speaks and
US. Rep. Virginia Foxx at
a recent debate.
"It gives me a little bit
more incentive to not only
vote, but get involved because
I hear so many people com
plain about politics," he said.
"If you're going to complain
about the situation, you have
to be the change you want to
see. You have to go and make
your voice heard."
If elected, Motsinger said
she will speak for all people in
the district, regardless of their
political affiliation.
"My goal is to represent
the people of the Fifth
District, all of them, those
who vote for me, and those
who vote for my opponent,"
she said. "When I'm elected, I
won't be making distinctions
between my supporters and
other voters. I'll be represent
ing everyone and most impor
tantly, the children because
it's their future."
The office of Rep. Foxx
was contacted for this story,
but an interview with Foxx
was not forthcoming by press
time on Tuesday.
For more information
about Motsinger, visit
wwwiic5thMS.
Baker
from page A2
where she was named
Teacher of the Year in 1995.
She was assistant principal at
Jefferson from 1997 to 2001.
Baker has also worked as
an adjunct instructor at
Salem College and Forsyth
Technical Community
College.
Baker has held several
leadership positions, includ
ing president and secretary
of the Forsyth Principals
Association. She earned a
bachelor's degree in science
from the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill and a
master's degree in education
from the University of North
Carolina at Greensboro.
Baker will now compete
to be named regional princi
pal of the year. Seven region
al principals of the year will
then compete to be named
N.C. Principal of the Year.
Riffo
from page A2
kindergarten assistant who
had come in for the surprise,
said, "She is the hardest
working teacher I _____
have ever met."
Riffo is the
only winner in
Forsyth County.
After things set
tled down a bit,
the people from
OfficeMax read
the letter that
Robert Ash, the
principal at
Ashley, sent when
? ? . If 441
ne nominated ner: ms. miiu
is an excellent first-grade
teacher. She not only teaches
her students all subjects for
first grade, but she does it in
English and Spanish. She is
part of our school's Dual
Immersion program that
helps students become bilin
gual in English and Spanish
by the end of fifth grade. Her
class of 24 students consists
of native English and
Spanish students. She does
all of this while
maintaining a
wonderful sense of
responsibility,
humility and com
passion. She
strives for all of
her students to
reach far beyond
their own abilities
and sees her stu
dents excel. She is
a remarkable
teacher who well
deserves to be recognized tor
her efforts."
"Thank you so much. I
just love what I do here,"
Riffo said. "I love being with
the kids. And I love teaching,
and I love being in this
school."
Ash
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