I'll be honest here - we just have a school board ballot, and I was going to blow it off. Don't have kids, don't know what is going on with the school board, didn't recognize the names running, but then I saw this...
... and I received a post card in the mail with a nasty little picture of a supposed stereotypical "union boss" chomping on a cigar and wearing sunglasses. The card says the union has "set a course to tear down the superintendent, blow safety concerns out of proportion, and ignore the district's financial realities", and they named three names (Baker, Griffin and Martin) as candidates that will work the will of the union and "derail the current reform efforts".
Now, who do you know that a) spends a lot of money on school issues and can afford a billboard and mass mailing, b) hates teachers unions, c) needs secrecy to carry out their plans (the domain is registered as "private") and d) is concerned about "reforming government spending"?
Well, it could be any number of people, but the wording, targets, and tactics on this are all too familiar.
"You have no control over what other persons do, and if that's what they want to do and the public receives it," added board president Kenneth Hoskins.
Hoskins is referring to the EAG, which is based in Muskegon, and started up in June 2007. The group has lined up to oppose the union, which has sent out its own mailings recently.
So how does a group like that pay for a big billboard? 24 Hour News 8 searched online for its latest IRS return but couldn't find one because the group is new.
Kyle Olson of EAG says the group will file in November. He said it raises a lot of money from those concerned about reforming government spending.
Based in Muskegon (strange) and will file in November (convenient). Hmmmm... wonder who this could be.
Whoever it is, I promptly went out and voted for Baker, Griffin and Martin for the Grand Rapids school board. Congrats "MEAexposed", and thanks for alerting me to this issue.