Bellevue Teachers Strike

While my kids are busy packing for their first day of class here in Mercer Island public schools, their friends in nearby Bellevue get to take the day off now that the union representing Bellevue teachers voted to go on strike.  I'm not from Bellevue, so I can't claim to understand the issues  (something about a 6% raise and flexibility in easier curriculum), but I'm pretty sure that the teachers in India and China are going to work today.  If this were Mercer Island public schools I would be pretty irate, so I'm a little curious why the Seattle Times this morning only had quotes from parents and students who support the strike. 

But who cares what I think?  This is a perfect opportunity to find out more about the candidates for the Washington state 41st legislative district.  Both Marcie Maxwell (who is endorsed by the teachers unions)   and Steve Litzow are running on strong pro-education platforms.  What do they think about the strike, and what if anything would they do as legislators? 

A typical politician will just say, ambiguously:  "I urge both sides to show restraint and focus on our children".  I want a legislator who says something more meaningful.  As of this morning, neither candidate has anything on their web site discussing Bellevue schools explicitly, so I sent email to both campaigns to see what, if anything they have to say.

What do you think?