On September 19th at 7pm, the Montgomery County Tax League (MCTL) will be hosting a virtual forum for candidates of the Board of Education (register here). Teaming up with MCTL are several co-sponsors: 480 Club, Gaithersburg/Germantown Chamber of Commerce, Moderately MoCo, Parents Coalition of Montgomery County, and CleanSlate MoCo.
I volunteered to represent and ask the questions on behalf of CleanSlate MoCo. I have previously submitted articles for publication on CleanSlate MoCo anonymously, and greatly appreciate having a local journalism outlet that allow everyday people to contribute their opinions and ideas to the dialogue across the County. Do I agree with everything that gets published? No. But I value much more the existence of divergent viewpoints in the community’s dialogue. I also highly value the ability to stay anonymous. Unfortunately, a culture has crept into Montgomery County public debate where individuals are personally attacked for sharing their ideas. Anonymity helps counter this.
This morning, I came across a Facebook post made by one of the Board of Education candidates, Laura Stewart. Laura has declined to participate in the forum and this Facebook post sheds light on her reason why. In reading the post it appears she feels she would be legitimizing CleanSlate MoCo, an outlet that she finds to be incendiary, transphobic, race-baiting, and harmful to the student body and county. She advocates that others decline attendance and stop following CleanSlate MoCo. This type of mentality alarmed me, and after reading the post I asked myself: If Laura was elected would she be open to different viewpoints and opinions? Would she actually engage with those she disagrees with, or would they be written off, having failed her litmus test of legitimacy?
The scenarios are numerous:
What if someone wanted to engage with Laura on re-opening schools during COVID? Would they be delegitimized as a teacher killer and someone who doesn’t care about kids?
What if someone wanted to meet with her to discuss MCPS no longer reading LGTBQ materials to 8-year-olds? Would they be delegitimized as being anti-LGBTQ?
What if someone went to a school board meeting and argued that electric school buses should be removed from circulation? Would they be delegitimized as an environmental terrorist and someone who does not care about the climate crisis?
What if someone advocated that SROs be installed at every school building and given more of a role with the student body? Would they be delegitimized as being racist?
What if someone wanted MCPS to spend less money, cut programs, and become a leaner, more efficient organization? Would they be delegitimized as being anti public schools?
What if someone didn’t want children to be bussed into different schools? This actually happened….and yes, people were delegitimized as being elitist and racist.
What if someone wanted to ensure that their daughter play sports with only biological females? Would they be delegitimized as being transphobic?
What if someone argued that the school system should not provide free lunches to all students? Would they be delegitimized as being heartless and cruel to children?
The scenarios are endless. When someone is running for public office, they have a responsibility to listen to, discuss, debate all points of view. To do anything less only hurts this county and the democratic process we all enjoy. They certainly do not have a responsibility to attend every forum, and Laura is free to decline participation. The show will go on. But the transparency she provided in the reason why made me ask: Will I meet the criteria to be seen as legitimate by Laura?
In speaking with the other co-sponsors in preparation for this forum, each has the same intention: to enable the community to learn as much as possible before casting their vote. I hope you can attend, and I hope you find the questions and answers beneficial in making your selection for school board.
