I was invited by Sean Braisted to attend a lunch with Councilman (and mayoral candidate) David Briley today. I want to thank Sean for thinking of me. It was great to get out and discuss politics with a group of adults, which is a rare treat these days. I’ll write a bit now while Catherine enjoys a snack of graham crackers and peaches, and hit more details later tonight.

First, I want to thank my fellow bloggers for kindly tolerating my daughter. Almost everyone in my circle of mom friends who could normally babysit either has a sick kid or is out of town (and Catherine’s nose is a bit of a runny faucet as well), so Catherine came along for the meeting. I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to hear from Briley, so I strapped Catherine in her car seat and hoped for the best. She had never been in a restaurant with cloth tablecloths before! Thanks in particular to Ned Williams for walking around the room with her and giving me a chance to eat!

Councilman Briley spent a good portion of the lunch discussing education, which makes sense as schools are the primary responsibility of local government. He appears to be a strong advocate for school choice, specifically mentioning the option for parents to choose single-sex schools or schools with uniforms. When asked about the role of the teachers’ union, he said that his occasional disagreements with the political function of the MNEA (such as over incentive pay) was no reflection on his respect and admiration for teachers. I was pleasantly surprised by his strong support for providing parents with options and enjoyed the fact that he didn’t automatically give a warm and fuzzy embrace to the MNEA (not that he doesn’t support the union, but it doesn’t seem like he will be beholden to its leaders if it’s not in the best interest of our kids). I would love to see a mayoral candidate promise to actively work to end the MNEA … oh what grand dreams I have.

I have more to write on today’s lunch, including the nice conversations I had with the other bloggers who were present (thanks for the compliments, John … you are too kind!) and the rest of my thoughts on Briley’s plans, but I’ll have to do that once Catherine is asleep and not when she’s screaming for release from her high chair.