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

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

, and has been the executive director of the Palmetto State Teachers Association 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 American advocacy organization 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 membership organization provi ...

, succeeding

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

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 Presiden ...

. 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, southwest of Bellevue, Washington, Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia ...

Victoria Woodards Victoria R. Woodards (born July 16, 1965) is an American politician serving as the 39th mayor of Tacoma, Washington. A Democrat, she formerly served for seven years as an at-large member of the Tacoma City Council. Early life and education V ...

. 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 or 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 vi ...

Kamala Harris Kamala Devi Harris ( ; born October 20, 1964) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 49th vice president of the United States from 2021 to 2025 under President Joe Biden. She is the first female, first African American, and ...

and

Speaker Speaker most commonly refers to: * Speaker, a person who produces speech * Loudspeaker, a device that produces sound ** Computer speakers Speaker, Speakers, or The Speaker may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Speaker" (song), by David ...

Nancy Pelosi Nancy Patricia Pelosi ( ; ; born March 26, 1940) is an American politician who was the List of Speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 52nd speaker of the United States House of Representatives, serving from 2007 to 2011 an ...

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 principals ...

, 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 politician and former conservative think-tank leader who has served as South Carolina Superintendent of Education since January 11, 2023. She defeated Democratic candidate and current school ac ...

in the runoff. Maness campaigned against the teaching of

Critical race theory Critical race theory (CRT) is an academic field focused on the relationships between Social constructionism, social conceptions of Race and ethnicity in the United States census, race and ethnicity, Law in the United States, social and political ...

, 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, civil and political rights, civil rights activist and political philosopher who was a leader of the civil rights move ...

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 ...

, 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 Palmetto State Teachers Association, 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 South Carolina politicians Year of birth missing (living people)