Kathy Maness is an American educator and politician. Maness serves as a member of the town council from

Lexington, South Carolina Lexington is the largest town in and the county seat of Lexington County, South Carolina, United States. It is a suburb of the state capital, Columbia. The population was 23,568 at the 2020 Census, and it is the second-largest municipality in th ...

, and has been the executive director of the

Palmetto State Teachers Association The Palmetto State Teachers Association ( PSTA) is the largest professional organization for educators in the U.S. state of South Carolina. PSTA was founded in 1976 as a non-profit organization and currently has 12,500 member teachers. Histor ...

since February 16, 2005.

Politics

Lexington, SC Town Council

Maness was first elected to the town council in November 2004, taking office on the following December 1. In 2020, she was elected as the president of the

National League of Cities The National League of Cities (NLC) is an advocacy organization in the United States that represents the country's 19,495 cities, towns, and villages along with 49 state municipal leagues. Created in 1924, it has evolved into a leading membership ...

, succeeding

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

councilman

Joe Buscaino Giuseppe "Joe" Buscaino (born ) is an American politician and former police officer, who served as a member of the Los Angeles City Council for the 15th district from 2012 to 2022. A member of the Democratic Party, Buscaino served as President ...

. She served a one-year term and was succeeded by the mayor of

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, Washington, Olympia, and northwest of Mount ...

Victoria Woodards Victoria R. Woodards is an American politician serving as the 39th mayor of Tacoma, Washington. She formerly served for seven years as an at-large member of the Tacoma City Council. Career During Woodards' tenure on the Tacoma City Council, she ...

. Maness currently serves as the Immediate Past President of the National League of Cities. As president, Maness organized a conference to discuss nation-wide advancements in economics, COVID-19 relief, and infrastructure. Speakers included

Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...

Kamala Harris Kamala Devi Harris ( ; born October 20, 1964) is an American politician and attorney who is the 49th vice president of the United States. She is the first female vice president and the highest-ranking female official in U.S. history, as well ...

and

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...

Nancy Pelosi Nancy Patricia Pelosi (; ; born March 26, 1940) is an American politician who has served as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives since 2019 and previously from 2007 to 2011. She has represented in the United States House of ...

Superintendent of Education

On June 14, 2022, Maness finished first in the Republican primary for state superintendent for South Carolina's

superintendent of education In the American education system, a superintendent or superintendent of schools is an administrator or manager in charge of a number of public schools or a school district, a local government body overseeing public schools. All school principa ...

, receiving 31% of the vote. However, since none of the six candidates received 50% of the vote, Maness and Ellen Weaver entered into a runoff two weeks later. Maness was defeated by

Ellen Weaver Ellen Weaver (born March 26, 1979) is a Republican Party (United States), Republican politician and former conservative think-tank leader who has served as South Carolina Superintendent of Education since January 11, 2023. She defeated fusion can ...

in the runoff. Maness campaigned against the teaching of

Critical race theory Critical race theory (CRT) is a cross-disciplinary examination, by social and civil-rights scholars and activists, of how laws, social and political movements, and media shape, and are shaped by, social conceptions of race and ethnicity. Goa ...

, citing it as a "political agenda." Beginning her campaign on

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...

Day, she said critical race theory was "liberal politicians...trying to use classrooms across the country to undermine Dr. King's dream and focus on the color of skin instead of the content of character." Maness claimed she was the best candidate to alleviate teacher vacancies, reduce class sizes, and increase teacher pay. Outgoing superintendent of education,

Molly Spearman Molly Mitchell Spearman (born January 23, 1954) is an American educator and politician who served as the South Carolina Superintendent of Education from 2015 to 2023. She is a Republican. She grew up on her family's farm in Saluda County, South C ...

, who declined to serve a third term, endorsed Maness. In a video conference, Vice President

and Speaker

praised Maness for her leadership as president of the

. Weaver used this praise against Maness in an attack campaign, accusing Maness of being "too liberal."

Electoral history

Personal life

Maness was born in

Lancaster, South Carolina The city of Lancaster () is the county seat of Lancaster County, South Carolina, United States, located in the Charlotte Metropolitan Area. As of the United States Census of 2010, the city population was 8,526. The city was named after the famou ...

, where her father served as a member of the city council. Maness and her husband have three children. In 1993, she joined the

, the largest teacher organization in the state, as a staff member. Currently, she serves as the executive director of the organization.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maness, Kathy Living people 21st-century American educators 21st-century American politicians Year of birth missing (living people)