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Imagine teaching our children that bullying, name-calling and personal attacks are acceptable ways to get what you want. Now imagine those tactics showing up in the homes where children
live. That is exactly what Alpena voters received last week in a political mailer attacking four candidates for our school board.
What makes this even more troubling is that the mailing was paid for by the Alpena County Republican Party, for an election to nonpartisan school board seats.
School board elections are supposed to be about the people willing to serve our children, their qualifications, their character and their vision for our schools. Instead, voters received a personal attack filled with inflammatory language, mocking photographs and political rhetoric. Is this really what we want to bring into our schools? What are we teaching our children when adults use smear tactics to attack people who are willing to step forward and serve their community? We tell our children to treat others with respect, disagree without bullying and judge people by their actions and character. Those standards should apply to those seeking to lead our schools as well.
Voters should recognize this mailing for what it is, partisan politics being injected into an election for nonpartisan school board positions.
The four candidates targeted by this mailing should be judged on their own merits, not through the lens of a political party determined to discredit them.
Alpena deserves school board members who will work together, support public education and put students and families ahead of partisan agendas.
The question voters should ask is simple, What kind of behavior do we want to model for our children?
I know my answer. Bullying, smearing and political character assassination are not it. My vote is for Kayla, Claire, Evan and Sarah.
Vicky Lindsay
Alpena