However, because one person in the crowd, who was a stranger to me, chose to protest this vote with an obnoxious and unfair insult to the school board, I have been called a Nazi for the past week (see details in next section).
My sin was voicing an opinion - #MaskChoice - which I have held very publicly for months and have spoken up about at past board meetings (
watch my June 8 comments or
read this post). But it is politically helpful to some to call me this name now, so there it is.
This past week raises an important question I hear a lot, from supporters and opponents - "why run for school board, Greg?"
The arguments against running are obvious: outlandish personal insults about my parenting decisions and job and volunteer choices; a torrent of unhinged hate in local facebook groups; and, my own school-aged child will be attending the Catholic school where I teach, so she won't be impacted.
Let me answer with my ABC's.
Accountability - Two years ago, a slate of three candidates ran on a platform of accountability and transparency. That cabal, along with FCASD mainstay Ron Frank, now runs the school board. They were not elected to condemn our community as racist (see
June 2020 George Floyd Resolution), impose endless and draconian mask and quarantine rules, or increase taxes repeatedly, but that is what they have done. They should be held accountable, and
electing me will put someone at the table who answers to voters, not to the Democratic Party of Allegheny County.
Balance. Last week's
9-0 vote to forcibly mask everyone at FCA schools is just the latest in a series of decisions that don't represent this community. The
George Floyd Resolution last summer that accused this community of carrying out "explicit racism" was another
9-0 vote. The board's repeated attacks on parents who choose different learning options for their child, like public charter schools, are also
9-0 votes. The school board should have
at least one member willing to speak for the other side of these contentious questions and challenge the groupthink.
I am running to be that person.
Choice - My opponent for the November school board race is always trying to denigrate choices that differ from what she and the school board want.
Watch her comments here . Unlike my opponent,
I won't attack parents for making the best decision on behalf of their child. Mandating masks actively excludes people from our community's schools and tramples parental rights. If parents choose cyber charter schools because it's a better fit, or a private or religious school because it serves their needs, or homeschools because they feel called to -
I support those decisions. All parents, wherever their child is for school, should feel welcome at our public schools anytime, not demonized for making a different choice at different times. I want excellent and welcoming schools for my kids and for everyone else's kids.
Those are my ABCs for running - restore Accountability, bring Balance, and empower Choice. Please forward this whenever anyone asks you about my campaign.