School Board Members Put Foot on Scale on Election Eve!

Voting Guide

Before I get into the news, if you just want to know how to vote or where to access information on the candidates, please see my last post:

 Voting Guide to the Tuesday, March 8, 2022 Oyster River Cooperative School District Election.

The guide is unbiased until the end where I tell you my picks: Giana Gelsey and Matt Bacon for School Board, YES on the all the questions, and for Lee Select Board, the wonderful Rebecca Hawthorne over the Trump-adjacent incumbent Cary Brown.  Durham folks, you're on your own with the dam.

Two Board Members Endorse Candidates

In a surprising and arguably unseemly election eve development, Chair Michael Williams and Member Brian Cisneros, acting as individual citizens not board members, have each endorsed two candidates, collectively endorsing everyone except Giana Gelsey. The last board member endorsing a candidate I noted in this blog was March 5, 2013's Breaking News: Jim Kach Endorses Carl Piedmont, so not the best footsteps guys.  [EDIT: Actually Mr. Kach was an ex board member at the time, so not then crossing this particular line, sorry.]  Since the gloves are off I'm not going to link to either endorsement until after the election.

Candidate Giana Gelsey

The endorsements came after my strong endorsement yesterday (Sunday) of Ms. Gelsey, who I described as "a bold, progressive voice in the mold of previous school board members Maria Barth, Kenny Rotner and Ann Wright."

Despite there being five candidates for two open seats in this time of political turmoil, except for some technical difficulties the race has been pretty uneventful. OK, I'll say it: it's been boring. All five candidates have run positive races, are extremely qualified, and have the best interests of the district at heart, so whatever happens at the polls tomorrow, the community can't lose.

Though the candidates are behaving very well, two board members have decided to put their thumb on the scale with endorsements. This is of course perfectly legal; they're citizens like everyone else.  While it's common in more partisan contexts, it's been mostly avoided in Oyster River School Board races.  I don't know if there are policies that speak to the issue.  One thing is for sure; come next meeting Brian or Michael or both will be looking across the table at someone they didn't endorse -- awkward. 

My guess is the two members would prefer not to push back against attacks on public education by the governor and legislature, the position most closely associated with Ms. Gelsey.  

A search of the minutes shows some other reasons why Brian might not be partial to Ms. Gelsey.  [EDIT: I see on my phone these images are unreadable unless you magnify; in this first Ms. Gelsey calls out Member Cisneros for misspeaking about COVID and asks him to "recant and apologize."]

There's also this disagreement on saying the Pledge of Allegiance, Brian in favor, Giana against (along with the rest of the board -- there was no second of Brian's motion):

Ms. Gelsey apparently did not endear herself to some board members when she organized a petition of over 200 community members to call for mask mandates in accordance with science at the beginning of the school year.  Despite being restricted to 90 seconds each, they read it to the board:

[interposed comments removed]

I don't know why anyone at the board table wouldn't want to hear this support from the rational, science-believing folks, especially after some of the less than polite anti-mask comments.  I was sure cheering them on from home -- finally voices of reason at the podium.

Sure Giana Gelsey is a troublemaker.  But it's good trouble, the kind we all give lip service to supporting. Tomorrow we get to back it up with our vote.