FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Tuesday, October 13, 2020
CONTACT: Liz Doherty
Dan Forest, 2012: “I will be there” for every State Board of Education meeting
While running for Lt. Governor in 2012, Forest promised that he would attend every State Board of Education meeting. He has missed nearly half of SBE meetings as LG.
RALEIGH — In 2012, while running for Lt. Governor, Dan Forest critiqued his predecessor’s State Board of Education attendance record and promised “I will be there” for every State Board of Education meeting, the Hickory Daily Record reported. In 2012, Forest also said he would “take being on the State Board of Education seriously,” according to The Mountaineer.
Let’s take stock of how well he kept his promise…
As Lt. Governor, Forest has MISSED:
| 44% of | State Board of Education meetings (2013-present) |
| 44% of | State Board of Education meetings during the COVID-19 pandemic (March-present) |
| 84% of | State Board of Community Colleges meetings (2013-2019) |
| Over 75% | Military Affairs Commission meetings (2013-present) |
| Over ⅓ | Senate sessions* (2013-2018) |
*In some years – such as 2014 and during the last few months of 2017 – Forest missed nearly half of Senate sessions. In 2018, he missed over 70% of sessions.
A few recent examples of what Forest did instead of showing up to work →
- On October 6th, Forest attended a vineyard fundraiser for his campaign instead of attending the State Board of Education meeting.
- On June 3rd, Forest missed the State Board of Education meeting and instead interviewed on Fox Business.
- On four separate occasions, Forest opted to give interviews on conservative radio instead of dialing into the State Board of Education meeting.
- On at least two separate days where Forest failed to show up to the State Board of Education Meeting, he found the time to squeeze in multiple campaign fundraisers.
Forest’s Vineyard Fundraiser, 10/6/2020
Forest’s Live Interview with Fox Business, 6/3/2020
Forest’s Fundraisers, 5/21/2020
Forest’s Fundraisers, 5/7/2020
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