Published Sat, Nov 14, 2009 02:00 AM
The voters have spoken, and so has Clay AikenBY T. KEUNG HUI - Staff Writer
The new Wake County school board majority has an unexpected foe: Clay Aiken.
The tousle-haired "American Idol" runner-up, Leesville Road High School grad and single father used his blog to call the recently elected board members "selfish idiots."
His cyber-ambush on the Republican-backed board members, who oppose busing policies meant to encourage diversity, sparked a minor backlash. One board member made fun of his hit "Invisible." A conservative activist promised to investigate his voting habits. Board member Deborah Prickett, who has called for an end to busing, said that she plans to keep all her Aiken CDs despite the unpleasantness.
And, as befits a blog-launched controversy, there was a vigorous online debate. Its three main points:
1) He's right.
2) He's wrong.
3) Why should anyone care what Clay Aiken thinks?
Aiken himself may have wondered. He began his Thursday blog post like this: "I think sometimes I don't have anything to say, and then by the time I do have something to say there's just so much that I can't figure out what exactly to talk about. So here are the table scraps that have been piling up in my brain for the last several weeks."
His note to fans encompasses his plans for a new album, an insult to former Miss California USA Carrie Prejean, praise for the movie "Precious," a smiley-face emoticon and several interjections written all in capital letters. And Aiken said about the new board members that he hopes "we can get rid of them as soon as possible."
"What happened to Wake County Schools?!?1," Aiken writes. "Now that i have a kid i am so much more invested and I am EXTREMELY disappointed that so many selfish idiots ran and won seats on the school board. i hope we can get rid of them as soon as possible before they ruin my school system. Idiots."
Aiken, who could not be reached, has a 15-month-old son and a house in Chatham County, but he graduated from high school in North Raleigh. He had planned to become a special education teacher before his runner-up finish on "American Idol" in 2003 propelled him to fame.
Runner-up or first loser?New school board member John Tedesco said it's "repugnant" for Aiken to call him an idiot when he doesn't know him personally. He said it's ironic that a guy who finished second is writing about people who finished first.
"It's irrelevant," Tedesco said of Aiken's comment. "His words are invisible, like the name of the last song he wrote."
Aiken's complaints surprised Prickett, who remembers the entertainer as "Gonzo," the nickname Aiken used when he was a YMCA summer camp counselor to her son seven years ago.
"I may not like the choice of words, but at least he's taking a stand," said Prickett.
Not everyone was as accepting. Joey Stansbury, a local conservative activist who supported the new board members, said he intends to file a Freedom of Information Act request for Aiken's voting records. The state Board of Elections Web site shows Aiken, under his mother's address, voting in last month's school board elections.
Faye Parker, Aiken's mother, said Friday her son doesn't live with her although she still gets some of his mail.
Taking sidesAiken isn't the only one who is unhappy about this fall's election results that will lead to a new majority that backs neighborhood schools and opposes busing for diversity and mandatory year-round schools. The state NAACP threatened to sue if the new policies lead to resegregation.
The head of the group representing Wake school employees apologized this week for sending an e-mail message that accused the new board members of not caring about children and teachers.
School board member Keith Sutton, a supporter of the diversity policy, said he understands why parents like Aiken would be concerned about the change.
"We just have to wait and see," Sutton said. "Families are concerned right now."
Prickett said Aiken needs to realize how he benefited from attending neighborhood schools.
"Maybe it's scary to him because it looks different," Prickett said. "But just because it's different doesn't mean it's bad."
News researcher Brooke Cain and staff writer Matt Ehlers contributed to this report.
keung.hui@newsobserver.com or 919-829-4534
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