From the 11/15/2023 Courier:
Close race should be a message
We were so proud to be a part of the campaign for Keegan, Mike and Seth. They ran a clean, honest campaign without negative false attacks on their opponents. We personally know them. They are good people of this community whose only concern is for a strong public school system that offers a valid academic curriculum with appropriate support structures in place.
Of course, the election did not completely go in the direction we had hoped. However, there is an important outcome that needs to be stated. The election results were close. Very close, which means almost 50% of the voters selected the above candidates. That 50% of voters included many traditional conservative voters who disregarded the false accusations against the candidates.
This election should never have been about politics. It should only have been about education. If the new board listens carefully to all of the voters, all the parents, all the taxpayers, they may be much more in line with the values of the whole community.
True leadership includes compromise, compassion and commitment to open conversation. It does not include bullying and closed-door deals or stacking meetings with young people who have no connection to the community other than the courses taken at the local bible school and being bused to the voter polls. The 50% of the community that voted against the present board are here to stay and are watching.
Michael Stewart and Darlene Schmurr-Stewart, Woodland Park
Outside influencers
As a fascinated outsider looking in, I believe that the two incumbents who won re-election surely must realize that their razor thin victories were due exclusively to Andrew Wommack and his Christian nationalist group known as the Truth and Liberty Coalition.
This should be a frightening wakeup call to the residents of Woodland Park and Teller County. Unless of course, in the not-too-distant future, you are at ease of living in a hierocracy with a religious autocrat in control.
Steve Plutt, Lake George