PeakNation™ may remember Adams 12 School Board candidate Amy Speers from her husband’s experiment in teaching their toddler Klingon as a second language. Now, voters will remember her because she’s the school board candidate who realized less than a week before the election that she wasn’t actually eligible to run because she does not live in the district for which she is running. How do you say that in Klingon?
Adams County blog, Tony’s Rants, broke the story late last night. Apparently, the boundaries shifted in mid-2012, making her ineligible. Too bad, so sad for the local teachers union that blew through over $30,000 in cash in the hopes of replacing education reformer Rico Figeroa with their puppet, Speers. The school district issued a press release explaining how the mix-up occurred:
“All candidates must sign an affidavit confirming they are eligible to run for the director district they intend to represent. The district received the signed affidavit from Speers. Additionally, it is the district’s practice to verify a candidate’s eligibility. An oversight was made, and the candidate’s residency was not verified. The district believes both parties operated in good faith.”
Speers also issued a statement on her Facebook page thanking her supporters and withdrawing from the race. While Speers seems contrite, the union wasn’t so klassy. The District 12 Educators Association issued this snarly response:
“According to school board policy it is the District’s responsibility to verify that a candidate meets all the legal requirements to run for office, and it is the District who certifies who will be on the ballot. ‘DTEA will take every step to hold the district to their word that they will take additional measures to confirm the legal requirements, including residency, have been verified before certifying a candidate on the ballot.’
The fact of the matter is that it’s her responsibility, as a candidate, to verify that she’s eligible to run for office. She signed an affidavit saying that she lived in the district that she was running to represent. Michelle Lyng from the Adams County Reform Project issued this response to the unions incorrect assertions:
“We’re disappointed but not surprised that the DTEA is so dedicated to stopping reform that they’ve hastily invested tens of thousands in a candidate that does not even meet the minimum requirements to serve…. We extend our congratulations to Rico on his victory and we’re pleased he can continue the fight for reform on behalf of every student and parent in the District.”
Oh well, all’s well that ends well. Local unions blew $30,000 in cash on the election, which could have gone to other embattled union hacks, Adams 12 gets a pro-reform director, and Adams County students don’t have to learn Klingon. Sounds like a great outcome to us.
It's Bush's Fault!!!
And all's well that ends well.
Suggestion to the DTEA: Do your own research on candidates before blindly endorsing them and handing over tens of thousands of dollars of your members' money. Take responsibility for your own actions and failures and perhaps issue an apology to the teachers whose money you just threw away.