Local Politics is a Big Deal!
Two conservative Sunol Glen School board members - Ryan Jergensen and Linda Hurley - faced the end of a year-long campaign to recall them. Jergensen and Hurley voted to instate a policy that would ban the display of all flags except the American and Californian flags in schools, intentionally targeting pride flags. This vote was one of many for anti-LGBTQ policies in schools in small California school boards, many of which faced significant backlash from the communities that led to recall efforts. This controversy has divided the small unincorporated community of Sunol and the Sunol Glen Unified School District, which is made up of one single school with around 270 students.
This recall vote shows the importance of being involved in local politics. One leader of the recall vote, Kelly Goldsmith, said “People can’t be asleep at the wheel when it comes to consequential local elections and local seats of influence,” which is a spot-on assessment. Many Californians turn a blind eye to local politics, preferring to focus on national politics or in some cases, not vote at all. This is a civic engagement problem needing to be rectified, as it allows school boards like this one to pass right-wing policies in schools and local government right under peoples’ noses. In fact, it’s refreshing to see us learn from local politics and use the conservative recall strategy against them. Local and state politics are the vehicles by which most policies that affect day-to-day life in California are passed, including Prop. 13 in 1978, which devastated funding for our schools and communities. It is essential for every Californian voter to not only pay attention to national politics, but take an active role in local and state politics in order to steer our state in the right direction.
Photographer: Jessica Christian / The Chronicle
After a yearlong Pride flag fallout, Bay Area school board members face a recall vote
By Erin Allday | SF Chroncicle | July 2nd, 2024