The official voter guide and sample ballot of the Talbot County Board of Elections for Talbot County voters includes the following introduction on upcoming Board of Education elections.
Non-Partisan Contest
Candidates in this contest may or may not be affiliated with any political party.
This election cycle, at least three Maryland political party organizations will be involved in local board of Education elections at significantly different levels.
One is the Maryland Democratic Party. Recently Maryland Matters reported “The Maryland Democratic Party will spend “tens of thousands of dollars” targeting at least eighteen school board candidates that they maintain are looking to bring a “hateful” and “right-wing agenda” to schools.”
The article noted the Maryland Democratic Party has never before been involved in nonpartisan races for local boards of education.
The article also noted the Maryland Democratic Party plan includes hiring workers to canvas, knock on doors, and urge voters not to elect twenty-six school board candidates whom the Maryland Democratic Party says support rewriting history, discriminating against kids, and book bans. The Maryland Democratic Party will also provide resources to local Democratic Central committees for helping candidates who support “Democratic and inclusive values.”
Nowhere currently on the Maryland Democratic Party website is a definition of “Democratic values,” nor a mention of supporting candidates who back efforts to improve student achievement scores and ensure safe classroom learning environments.
Maryland Democratic Party leaders say this unprecedented initiative is needed to fight “extremist” agendas favored by certain candidates in eleven Maryland counties — Anne Arundel, Calvert, Carroll, Frederick, Howard, Montgomery, St. Mary’s, and Talbot. The party also plans to warn against eight other candidates in Allegany, Cecil, and Washington counties.
In Anne Arundel County, the Maryland Democratic Party has identified three candidates as “extreme” candidates who not only support book bans but are also against those in the LGBTQ community. In a post on “X,” the Maryland Democratic Party has referred to the three candidates as the “Anne Arundel Hate Slate.”
The Maryland Democratic Party is not the first or only political organization to target candidates in school board elections. At least two Republican County Central Committees have either done it or are doing it, albeit on a much smaller scale than the Maryland Democratic Party.
The Cecil County Republican Committee endorsed three Republican school board candidates in 2022. The Calvert County Republican Central Committee endorsed Republican school board candidates in at least two election cycles – 2022 and 2024.
This year the Calvert County Republican Central Committee website lists three issues for their endorsed candidates – safety and discipline, fiscal responsibility, and educational excellence.
Going forward, it is impossible to predict if, how, or how much, state, and local political party organizations may be involved in local board of education elections and what their campaign messages may be.
Some may suggest state and local political party organizations have a right to endorse and support local school board candidates.
They do have that right. The larger question is if they will exercise that right in the correct way.
The correct way is embracing the principle of civil discourse even with those who hold widely differing opinions. In other words —agree to disagree without being disagreeable.
Incorrect ways include referring to certain school board candidates as the “Anne Arundel Hate Slate” and targeting at least eighteen school board candidates who are characterized as looking to bring a “hateful” and “right-wing agenda” to school boards.
Our society is already dealing with deeply held and seemingly irreconcilable differences on a wide range of public policy issues based largely on vitriolic and divisive messaging from political party organizations. Their continued involvement in local school board elections is almost guaranteed to generate even more divisiveness.
Voter access to information to make informed voting decisions is not an issue.
Voters already have numerous opportunities to research and evaluate every school board candidate’s background, experience, and views on what they consider to be the most critical issues of the day, as well as their positions, or lack of positions, on those issues.
These opportunities include but are not limited to information posted on candidate websites, candidate campaign literature, candidate meet and greets, and candidate forums where all candidates are invited to speak and answer questions from attendees. Voters can use all these opportunities to draw their own conclusions on which candidates have views on education matters that resonate best with their views.
Voters do not need any political organizations to make those conclusions for them. Let the voters and the voters alone decide.
Accordingly, with regard to all future local school board elections, no state and no local political party organizations need to be or should be involved in any way in those elections.
David Reel is a public affairs and public relations consultant in Easton.
Wilson Dean says
It is extremely unfortunate that some individuals running for the school board favor book banning and discrimination on any basis. Researching each candidate is time consuming so I appreciate the notification given by the Democratic Party when such people are trying to restrict and edit the education of our children to suit their own agendas.
C Paul Cox says
This articles “blends” information reported in Maryland Matters by William J Ford 10/17/24
https://marylandmatters.org/2024/10/17/md-democratic-party-targets-extreme-candidates-in-local-school-board-races/
To see what is actually posted by the MD Dems – it is here
https://mddems.org/news/vote-against-these-extreme-school-board-candidates/
The 3 candidates targeted in Talbot County are
Anne O’Connor (District 2)
Karla Wieland-Cherry (District 5)
Kerri Gunshenan (District 6)
Patrick Firth says
Mr. Reel’s column calls for a return to civility and departure from the partisan tack our local school board races have taken over the years. I join him. As a former Chairman of Talbot GOP, I wish Mr. Reel had made this call in 2022 when Talbot GOP first went down this path. You can see one (of many) of these posts here: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/Q8m3EWxx11FiKJTh/ (Those posts have only continued, including for this election)
For those interested, Talbot GOP has gone so far as to give substantial financial contributions to GOP candidates for school board. View their filings here: https://campaignfinance.maryland.gov/Public/ShowReview?memberID=7618%20&memVersID=118%20&cTypeCode=05
In full disclosure, Talbot Dems has tried to combat this influx of cash into these nonpartisan elections by countering those GOP contributions to right-wing, Moms For Liberty candidates. But it is not easy – especially in this election when a nationwide PAC, the 1776 Project, has decided to put its thumb on the scale for the MAGA school board candidates.
This is a feel good (I suppose) Letter to the Editor roughly 2 weeks before an election and at least two years too late.
But I would recommend voters support candidates on the side of schools, teachers, students, and keeping nationwide culture wars out of our classrooms. Vote for the candidates that will work on classroom sizes, teacher retention, improving our sports programs, expanding opportunities for students, and raising test score. I think the answer is pretty clear when you consider those metrics.
David D Reel says
Mr. Firth,
You write “Mr. Reel’s column calls for a return to civility and departure from the partisan tack our local school board races have taken over the years. I join him. As a former Chairman of Talbot GOP, I wish Mr. Reel had made this call in 2022 when Talbot GOP first went down this path”. I resigned as chair and as a member of the Talbot GOP on January 29,2021. Since then, I have not had any involvement with the committee. No attendance at formal meetings, no attendance at informal meetings and no verbal or written communication exchanges with past or present committee members on any issue. The timing of my most recent commentary was triggered solely by a 10.17.2024 article in Maryland Matters. The article included the following news – “The Maryland Democratic Party will spend “tens of thousands of dollars” targeting at least 18 school board candidates that it says are looking to bring a “hateful” and “right-wing agenda” to schools. It is a first for the party, which has never before involved itself in the nonpartisan races for local board of education seats.” I decided such an unprecedented action merited an unprecedented effort on my part to express my position that no local or state Republican or Democratic central committee should be involved in any way in local school board elections.
David Reel
Willard Tod Engelskirchen says
Mr. Reel states that he would like to see school board elections return to nonpartisan races. It is a little late for that. The Talbot GOP should not be allowed to throw its support to some candidates without being called out on this. One Talbot GOP member told me that he wanted a school board which is “more conservative.” What the heck does that mean?
Do we want books banned? Do we want to look like we want to support right wing positions on the school board? I don’t think so. The school board should focus on education of children not indoctrination and fear of the other.
All you need to do to get some of these people riled up is to mutter “LGBT”.
Does everyone know that the Southern Poverty Law Center has classified Moms for Liberty as a hate group? Think about that and what it means.