Wow.
First off, congratulations to the candidates for all running a good race. What is surprising about the results is that the lefties in the district were pushing for Larson and Donath. The conservatives were pushing for Schmidt and Marquardt. But the results are split, by that measure. On the other hand, Larson ran as a conservative despite which lefties supported her. No doubt she picked off a number of people who wanted a conservative, but were dissatisfied with Marquardt while holding onto the minority liberal vote.
What the results tell me is that the voters definitely wants conservative leadership. Schmidt and Larson both ran as staunch conservatives and Donath ran as an honest liberal. But the voters want a change from Marquardt’s style or direction. Then again, it is a 4-way race where neither of the victors topped 28% of the vote, so don’t read too much into it. In local races, the ground game has a tremendous impact and Larson and Schmidt were both very active.
Congrats to Ken Schmidt and Tiffany Larson. They ran as conservatives. May they govern as conservatives.
I don’t remember any Slinger school board member campaigning as a conservative or liberal
They do their job and stay out of the newspaper other than to announce high test scores , new programs or new projects
The adding of partisanship into non partisan elections is a plague in WB school board elections .
No wonder that parents are voting with their feet out of a dysfunctional school district and city .
Conservative vs. liberal are not partisan labels. They are governing philosophies. It’s perfectly acceptable for candidates to share what they believe their predominant governing phiosophy is.
Oh yes, can’t stop gnawing on that “Slinger” bone, can we? Considering that the majority of Slinger’s incoming (70% or so), DO NOT COME FROM WEST BEND might indicate that West Bend has a lot in common with the likes of Hartford, Kewaskum and whatever other bordering school districts provide the lion’s share of Slinger’s incoming students. Some school districts become “magnets” because they are perceived to be better. And “perception” is the operative word.
Interesting that Owen terms those less conservative than he “lefties”, while those he agrees with are “conservatives”. Why don’t you use “liberal” and “righty”.
Up here we don’t put labels on our school board candidates. We try to select the best ones for the tough job ahead resulting from the massive funding cuts to rural districts.
Baldy,
I’ve always been partial to “communist” or “conservative” in description of governing philosophy. :-)
kev:
No doubt you are partial to a lot of things that I would never indulge in, but there is a huge difference between a communist and a liberal. Just like I don’t call you a stalinesque dictator (FYI: stalin, by definition, was not a communist). Theocrat for sure, but you are not quite up to stalin yet. But you are getting there.
“Up here we don’t put labels on our school board candidates.”
Sorry Baldy, but down here we have to put labels on our candidates. Otherwise we wouldn’t know who to vote for.
Baldy,
So then “swell guy” is out for terms to decribe me?
Don’t worry, I am far less Stalinist than your average liberal. In fact, I pride myself in being anti-Stalinist. I’m well versed in the grotesque evils of socialism/communism.
kev:
OK then, compare/contrast socialism and communism. They teach that in Poli Sci 101, or at least did in 1969 (back then it was Poli Sci 5 at WS-SP).
Pat:
Here the labels up in this neck of the woods: farmer, landscaper, VP at the Co-op, retired professor, PE, funeral director, county employee, etc. I don’t recall liberal or conservative ever being part of the discussion. Maybe we are missing all the fun you guys are having by disrespecting your neighbors in the name of political purity.
Baldy, down here it’s lefty, righty, socialist, fascist….you can name the rest. Personally, I like moderate, the state of political discourse wouldn’t be what it is if more would choose that label. But, all in time.
Owen ,
thats reasonable if it were used in strictly budgeting terms . You and I know that’s the tip of the iceberg that is WB
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Slinger is the best run school district in the area . You compare yourself to the best when you want to improve , not against the other mopes as bad as we are .