File this one under interesting political potpourri: Ray Martin, a public-school teacher in Cary and Republican candidate for state schools superintendent, describes himself as “very close” friends with Democrat June Atkinson, the woman he might face-off against in November.
“She is a very close friend of mine,” Martin said. “We go to the same church together. I’ve talked to her for 20 years. I encouraged her when she did run for state office.”
Martin is one of three Republicans who have announced plans to seek the GOP nomination for superintendent of public instruction. Atkinson hasn’t decided whether she’ll seek a third term in office (she was first elected to the post in 2004), and she could face a primary challenge from her own party if she does decide to run.
An Atkinson-Martin matchup, apparently, would be a rivalry of friends.
Martin said that Atkinson was the second person he called, besides his family, after deciding to run for office. “I’m putting my name in the race,” he says he told her. “I don’t know what you’re planning on doing. I think we’d have a good competition.”
Asked how Atkinson responded, Martin said, “She was a little taken aback,” but she welcomed him into the race.
Despite his candidacy as a Republican, Martin was mild in his criticism of Atkinson. He praised her for defending the role of superintendent when Gov. Bev Perdue tried to strip the post of its power in 2009. Overall, Martin rates Atkinson’s performance as an A- to B+.
At the same time, he says that Atkinson hasn’t used the office’s bully pulpit enough. “I think she’s done a good job in what she has done, but I don’t think the vision is there anymore,” he said.
