The candidate who is campaigning to take legislative responsibility over the divided West Jordan education fiasco is still a student.
John Rendell, a Democrat, aims to take Chris Buttars’ District 4 Senate seat this year. When he isn’t campaigning and going door to door every night, talking about his campaign’s emphasis on education, Rendell is studying at the U. He is working towards an Executive Masters of Business Administration degree.
Every alternating Friday or Saturday, Rendell attends class at the U and meets with his program teammates throughout the week8212;a juggling act that he describes as one of the more challenging aspects of his campaign. Rendell said that because he would have to start the entire program over in a year if he were to put a halt on it now, he has to find time for both.
For instance, Rendell had to arrange to get his entire previous Friday off from campaigning to work on a school project, and has to make regular judgment calls between his nightly door-to-door travels and attending a meeting with his classmates.
Rendell, a 3.6 GPA student, has been keeping up with his responsibilities in Taylor Randall’s accounting class, the associate professor said. The work load is divided up into informal study groups, who are all working professionals. Randall’s class, including Rendell, has been good about communicating special arrangements to balance their job and their education.
Homework isn’t Rendell’s only obstacle on the road to the Senate. The race is still either man’s to take, since most of District 4 is registered Republican and might vote for Rendell’s GOP opponent anyway, Rendell said. He cited a recent Dan Jones & Associates poll that puts him 28 points behind.
“But I’m just not seeing those numbers,” he said.
Of all the 3,000 people he’s talked to going door to door, only one has slammed it on him outright, he said. If only one out of thousands has decided to vote for Buttars, he still might have a chance against the numbers.
But that isn’t the only campaign chip in his favor.
Buttars suffered a personal blow with his racially slanderous remark during the last legislative session when he referred to a bill by saying, “This baby is black. It’s a dark, ugly thing.”
Rendell has also outraised Buttars by almost two to one. According to the most recent tallies, which were turned in Sept. 2, Rendell has raised more than $46,000, mostly from private individuals around the state, while the primary bulk of Buttars’ $25,680 is from co-workers within the Senate.
Facing whoever wins is the divisive situation with the West Jordan school district. Officials have yet to decide what to do with the divided school’s assets. Rendell said a solution is impossible to speculate until then. If Buttars hadn’t been distracted by the flood of press over his baby comment, he might have been attentive enough to prevent the divide, Rendell said.
When the next Legislative session begins, Rendell will still be working on his degree. He’s been making arrangements well ahead of time, just in case, so that his school work doesn’t distract him or conflict with his Senate responsibilities.
