Lately, I have been studying the voting guide, to prepare myself to be a well informed voter. The most difficult races to figure out are the non-partisan races, such as Judicial and Superintendent of Public Instruction. Judicial is easy enough, because so many organizations make endorsements. SPI on the other hand is not as easy. Even though this position does not really affect our family since we homeschool, it kind of does, considering the recent situation in California where homeschooling was under attack. So, I e-mailed all the candidates, except one (more about that later) asking this question:
"Considering the recent situation in California, regarding home education, what would your position be if such a situation was to happen here in Washington?"
I made sure not to tip my hand in either direction, to ensure a truthful answer. Out of all five candidates, only one answered my e-mail. Here is his reply:
"Dear Sarah:
I don't have complete information on the situation in California, but want you to know that I value homeschooling very highly., I have many friends who homeschool their children, and I find that they are very dedicated to the education of their children. If elected SPI, I want to do whatever I can to make the OSPI more friendly to both homeschoolers and private school parents, as long as it doesn't violate the constitution."
Don Hansler, candidate for SPI
I am quite pleased with this answer and he seems to have many good answers for solving some of the problems in the public school system. I hope he does well and encourage other homeschoolers here in Washington to support him. I know the incumbent is not friendly to homeschoolers and has little to show for improving the schools. Here is a video of Mr. Hansler stating his platform:
Here is a video of one of the other SPI candidates--one who I did not contact!
Sometimes, I wonder if people try to run just for humors sake or if they are really serious!
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4 comments:
Well, you know Sarah, that Blomstrom guy did mention he liked humor in politics... maybe he's add a little already! :-)
Actually, he really scares me.
-Graydon
Hey Sarah -
I just saw your statement:
"Sometimes, I wonder if people try to run just for humors sake or if they are really serious!"
That just made me think. It really is quite sad how many people think that campaign donations are unnecessary. The vast majority of today's voters pick a candidate like a piece of pie off of a platter and then say, "Oh yes, I passionately support Mr. So-and-so", without donating a dime. It takes quite a bit of money to do any type of advertising, including door-belling. Lots.
Anyway, all that to say that as every candidate ALWAYS puts personal money into their campaign, I highly doubt that anyone would ever do it just for the fun of it; unless, of course, they were a billionaire with little or nothing to do with their time, I suppose...
Mr. Bloomstrom scares me as well. He used to be a teacher--can you imagine having your children under his teaching! :O Who knows what they would learn. There have been quite a few candidates who have created interesting parties such as the "Salmon Yoga Party." Go figure!
My Mom and I had a pretty good laugh over Mr. Bloomstrom in the voters booklet. The guy is so totally into himself. We also wondered about the fact that he USED TO BE a teacher. Did he leave or was he fired? (And no, we did not vote for him)
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