Clear Choices Remain in Tahoma Races
2023 Elections
It’s been tough to keep track of everything that’s happened in the past few weeks in the Tahoma school district, and the upcoming school board elections have just about gotten lost in the shuffle. We are going to have four (out of five) school board positions on the ballot in November, with a total of seven candidates. That is a lot of people to get to know in a short time, so make sure you’re watching out for opportunities to meet the candidates and pick their brains. We have included some links on our 2023 Elections Page.
The recent resignations of two of our board members – Haley Pendergraft and Malia Hollowell – and their subsequent statements have made this a particularly difficult election. These resignations and statements have made many folks (us, included) rethink their support for various school board members. Haley and Malia are respected members of our community, who served on the school board ethically and with passion. They demonstrated again and again that they cared deeply about every student in our district. Their words carry weight. Most of us at Tahoma Values supported their original candidacies and continued to support their work on the board. Here is the second statement Haley and Malia released, in case you missed it.
Despite these recent events, we nevertheless believe there are clear choices in this election based on the records and statements of the candidates, and how the issues these candidates represent align with our organization’s values including equity, diversity, and respect for all children and adults within the Tahoma community.
As just one example, we also know that two of the other candidates in contested races in this election are actively supported by the national hate group known as Moms for Liberty (often abbreviated as M4L), and thus we will absolutely not be supporting them. The Moms for Liberty platform is anti-sex education, anti-education on LGBTQ+ and BIPOC history and rights, emphasizes “parental rights” in education, and supports banning books that don’t align with their conservative beliefs, amongst other things. All of this is antithetical to our own mission and goals.
Two TSD school board candidates received Moms for Liberty support after attending their meeting on May 13, 2023 at the Red Dog Saloon. This email was sent by the King County chair of Moms for Liberty, Ann Streit, to their members and forwarded on to us:
The speaker at this meeting – which was announced ahead of time and known to the candidates – represents another hate group, called the Pacific Justice Institute. This group advocates for conversion therapy and fights against rights for LGBTQ+ people, including trans youth.
The third candidate in a contested Tahoma school board race this year has thrown his lot in with the other two. He has, otherwise, been a very quiet candidate.
We strive to advocate for what’s best for this district and the students here. Having three Moms for Liberty, far-right, “parental choice” candidates on our school board is, in our strongly held view, not in the best interests of this district or this community. Candidates like this could do serious damage in a position of authority, like the school board.
These contested races each only have two candidates in them, and we implore you to think carefully about the differences between them. We continue to support Matt Carreon, Pete Miller, and Malia Hollowell for school board. (For a better understanding of our recommended vote for Malia Hollowell, despite her resignation, see our article from yesterday.)
Next Day Update
Vincent Powell posted a statement on several local community Facebook groups this morning. He is not choosing to distance himself from Moms for Liberty. In fact, he praises them for their warm welcome.
This article was a collaborative effort of the Tahoma Values team, but we are always looking for people to write articles for us! If there’s something you’d like to publish with us, send your submission to tahomavalues@gmail.com
