Voters in Baldwin County’s District 2 already know they will pick a new representative on the county Board of Education this November, since no primary challengers emerged to test either party’s nominee. Republican Andrea Lindsey and Democrat Clyde Jones will meet on the November general election ballot after each ran unopposed in their respective June 5 primaries, setting up a fall contest for a seat that oversees policy for one of the fastest-growing school systems in Alabama.
The two candidates are seeking to replace Republican David Tarwater, who decided not to run for another term on the board. Tarwater’s decision to back Jones as his preferred successor, despite Jones running as a Democrat, has stirred friction within local Republican ranks. In March, Tarwater received a letter from Baldwin County Republican Executive Committee Chairman Michael Hoyt informing him that he had been dismissed from the party for supporting Jones.
Tarwater has defended his choice as one rooted in what is best for students rather than partisan loyalty. He has described the school board seat as the community’s “Children’s Seat,” saying his focus has been on educational outcomes rather than political alignment, and that he intends to keep that focus through the remainder of his term, which runs until November.
Lindsey, a retired classroom teacher, has lived in Baldwin County for more than three decades after growing up in Montgomery. The District 2 race marks her first bid for elected office. She spent 23 years teaching in Baldwin County classrooms and served as a teacher representative within her school, experience she said gives her firsthand insight into the challenges facing students, teachers and administrators across the district.
Jones, a retired Army first sergeant, moved to Baldwin County in 2013 for a job with DuPont and now works as a training manager at FMC Agriculture Solutions. Originally from Charles City, Virginia, he has also become active in the Daphne community as an associate minister at Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church.
Both candidates point to Daphne and the surrounding District 2 area as the heart of their campaigns, and both cite the rapid population growth reshaping Baldwin County as the defining issue facing the school board in the coming term. Enrollment across the county has climbed steadily for years, straining classrooms, staffing and infrastructure alike, and school board members elected this cycle will serve six-year terms during which that growth is expected to continue.
Lindsey said she wants to see the board tackle a broad set of priorities tied to that growth, including school safety, expanded student services, attendance issues and continued gains in academic performance. She has called managing the district’s expansion the single biggest challenge facing Baldwin County’s schools in the years ahead.
Jones has focused much of his platform on facilities and teacher support, specifically pointing to Daphne High School, the oldest high school building in the county, as in need of major renovation. He has also called for increased funding for teacher professional development, arguing that additional training and resources for classroom instruction and technology use will benefit every student in the district.
District 2 is one of only two Baldwin County Board of Education seats up for election this cycle. The District 1 seat is also on the fall ballot, with Republican Michael Johnson facing Democrat Heather Karras. Both races will be decided in the November general election rather than in the June primary, since neither seat drew a primary contest.