Candidate Biography (submitted by campaign):

Professionally, I am the Assistant City Treasurer for the City of Charlotte.  I'm part of a small team of professionals, chiefly responsible for the formation of the City of Charlotte's operating revenue budget and managerial oversight of the City's nearly 4-billion dollar municipal debt portfolio.

Prior to joining the City, I worked in private industry serving as a Senior Consultant with Big 4 accounting firm Deloitte & Touche. With D&T, I have traveled extensively around the country meeting with business clients, serving on a team of financial watchdogs monitoring and auditing the financial statements for many of America's largest corporations.

I am also a proud adjunct Professor for Central Piedmont Community College. I teach evening Economics courses and have had the pleasure of meeting and mentoring many of the best and brightest students to come out of the CMS system.

Additionally, I have also served as a congressional intern, News Reporter and Associated Press stringer. I was part of a team that won an award from the Associated Press for Excellence in Reporting in part for my coverage of the September 11th terrorist attacks.

I married my High School sweetheart, Monica Stankowitz Levy, a former CMS math teacher. We are the proud parents of our son, Benjamin.

I have a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) from Wake Forest University. I also hold a Bachelors and Masters degree in Economics from the State University of New York at Albany.

My family and I are active members of St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in Charlotte. My past volunteer experience includes various summer camps and youth groups, the community hospice, food preparation for the homeless shelter, Volunteer ambulance corps, Right Moves for Youth Twilight 5K race and as a new student mentor for Wake Forest University.

Candidate Statement:

Few people in our community dispute that we have overcrowded classrooms, dismal test scores and a general defeatist attitude toward our public schools. We can fix the problems but it starts with taking away the layers of government between the school and the students. It means making the teachers and administrators who run the schools on a daily basis accountable for their decisions. It means making the school board accountable with your vote.

For too many years, Teachers, Administrators and the School Board have let our children down. Ill-equipped children have been pushed along year after year creating frustrated and demoralized adults who drop out of school.

Our education professionals deserve our respect but, like all professionals, they should be held accountable for their successes and their failures. We are all thankful to the good teachers in our lives for their dedication and commitment.  I want to reward good teachers and dismiss poor teachers.

We need to get serious about reducing the dropout rate and financing our schools. 

As a homeowner, I want to avoid the crushing property tax burden that plagues many communities. Throwing money at a problem seldom fixes the underlying issue.  We need to first assess if we efficiently allocating our resources.

Money matters:   According to a 2008 US Census Report, NC ranked 44 in the nation in education spending per student.  Can our students remain globally competitive with such a substantial funding gap? 

Many in our community talk about applying business principles to the public sector. I agree and ask you, "Would a business truly remain competitive long-term annually funding at 80% of the AVERAGE competition?"

I don't want to throw money at the problem -- I want to create a system that rewards excellence.

Failure is not an option.  Our children depend on our leadership.