Shady Local Politics: A Timeline
I have a bad habit of trusting people. Of stepping up when asked to do so. A neurotic need to help. And it bites me every time.
In this particular instance, it got me dragged into local politics. So here is my story from start to, well, current.
On February 25, 2024, a current school board trustee named Kristie reached out to me via FB Messenger. When we finally connected via phone, she told me my name kept coming up as a potential candidate for the upcoming election. She wanted to set up a meeting to discuss it. See, she is not seeking re-election because she’s aiming for our city council instead.
We met at her house on February 29. She invited a local activist to join us. They voiced concern about one particular candidate who had run previously and come close to winning a seat on the school board. The candidate is a conservative, and they were (and still are) worried about the possible disruption she might bring to the board if she wins a seat.
For clarification, our Board of Education (“school board”) has five trustees. There has been a big push to present a united front in the face of recent political pressures. The trustees have heretofore been mostly Moderate to Liberal from what I can tell, and local progressive groups are pushing to further that. I don’t disagree with a lot of their points, but I am more moderate/centrist. Yes, even as someone who writes stories that feature queer characters and relationships! (And even as the parent of a non-binary student.) Mostly, I don’t think we should be politicizing a position—school board trustee—that is ostensibly a non-partisan role. The school district must serve ALL students and families in the district and should not be taking political stances on most things.
To be clear: I don’t think it’s radical to believe that everyone, regardless of color, creed, gender, or sexuality, should be treated with equal fairness. All these students deserve the best education our district can provide. All of them deserve to feel safe in their school environments. And teachers deserve our respect and support and every possible resource we can give them to help them and their students achieve. And of course I don’t agree with banning books, either. So, you know, I’m probably more blue/left leaning than some would like, but I’m also probably not as far left as others would prefer. ::shrug::
ANYWAY… After meeting with Kristie and her friend, I went on to do some additional informational interviews. A few of the teachers got wind of my possibly running for school board and were very excited and supportive. (I’ve been pretty active in the schools, and my kids are well known for ~mostly?~ good reasons.) Some teachers set me up to meet with their union president, and I also met with one other school board trustee, who told me he hoped I would run. On May 9, when I made the official decision to run, this trustee (named Steven) told me he’d help spread the word.
So far, so good. People *said* they were excited I was running. I made an appointment to file as a candidate as soon as appointments were available. On July 16, I was, in fact, first to file in our district. Two seats are actually currently being vacated; besides Kristie aiming for city council, another trustee chose not to seek re-election.
AND THEN… the politics started politicking.
We sent out a press release right away, but suddenly the people who had been encouraging and supporting me went quiet. I did the requisite endorsement interviews with the groups that had asked me to run. The teachers all thought for sure I’d be endorsed by their union. But I was not. And even the teachers and administrators were confused as to why. But then I received an email from a friend whose spouse was part of that circle:
Basically, Kristie—the trustee who had originally reached out to me—had made backroom deals well before the candidates were even decided. It didn’t matter who the teachers wanted; the union had already agreed to back whomever Kristie personally selected. (I’m not including the emails referred to in this email, which were attached, because I don’t want to give my political rivals any additional exposure, but it’s sufficient to say that Kristie had sent out an email introducing her chosen two candidates, and the union and other groups immediately fell in line and endorsed them.)
At that point, I still had teachers and administrators who supported me regardless. But they have been coerced, bullied, and strong-armed into voting for these other two candidates. Kristie and her people are using the spectre of “splitting the vote” to scare people into voting for the other two, even if they want to vote for me. My supporters are being told that, if they vote for me, the conservative will win a seat.
In fact, I received this email from Steven, the trustee who originally said he hoped I’d run, spelling it out:
Other things that make these endorsees suspect: one is a local pastor (yet the progressives are supporting him?) and the other told me she thinks teachers should have more frequent performance reviews (yet somehow the union endorsed her?)…
Basically, Kristie wants to play kingmaker. Maybe she wants to exercise some kind of control over the school board even after she exits, so she’s choosing people she can puppet. In any case, she and her people believe the ends justify the means. So long as they keep this one woman off the school board, they feel fine about literally telling people not to vote for me (despite having originally encouraged me to run). In fact, they’ve told me that it’s “not my time,” and that they think I should put my campaign on hold and try again in 2026. The president of the teacher’s union even told me there’s “a very good chance” they’d endorse me in 2026. But nah. You took me to the party and stranded me when you took someone else home; I have no reason to trust you to take me to another soirée. If I don’t win, I won’t do this again. Fool me once…