Yesterday I wrote that Medford voters said "no" to a suspected conservative takeover of the Medford school board.
Some people thanked me.
Ilex Brandenberger, an unseated incumbent, said I got things wrong.
Another candidate, Curt Ankerberg, called me a "stupid m------f-----"
Incumbent School Board member Ilex Brandenberger said I misunderstood his politics and I was mistaken about why he lost his election. I appreciate hearing from him.
He wrote, saying he was not part of any conservative takeover coalition:
Peter, this is Ilex Brandenberger commenting. I am not the extremely right wing person you seem to be trying to make me out to be in this article. You won't see a MAGA flag anywhere near me, but I'm not a progressive either. I'm not registered with either political party. I do go to church, but that doesn't mean I want to ban books or bully trans people. In fact, I would really just like it if we could actually focus on issues that really matter to our kids and schools like making sure they are all getting a quality education and that teachers are well compensated. How did we get to the place where real governance issues no longer matter in choosing our leaders and now we are focused solely on culture war issues? I think we have a rough road ahead of us until we can answer that question.
That sounds to me like exactly the kind of earnest public-spirited person I want to see in offices like school boards. He had the bad luck to have been running against another such person.
He had an explanation for why he lost. He said he didn't have the endorsement of the Medford Education Association, the teachers' union.
I think the main reason I didn't get elected is that I was sitting in a hotel room across from La Guardia Airport in NYC when the MEA endorsement interviews were going on and had to do the interview by phone. It was exceptionally bad luck that I ended up on an emergency business trip on the exact same day they were occurring. They would not reschedule or hold off a decision and confirmed that I only lost their endorsement because I wasn't physically there. I have been told that everyone who gets their endorsement gets elected. So, I'm pretty sure that's when I lost.
In very low turnout elections -- 22% -- where information about the candidates is hard to get, the support of a motivated group of voters may tip the balance in close races. Teachers and their families are such a group. Oregon sends a printed Voters Pamphlet to every household with a registered voter. Candidates provide their education and employment credentials and a statement of their goals in a half-page pre-set format. Even for people like myself, who actively seek out information about candidates, Voters Pamphlet entries are often the primary source of information. Usually candidates offer committee-polished statements of good intention, so there is a uniform anodyne quality to them. Still, a voter can draw inferences of their policy orientation from people and groups listed as endorsing the candidate. The Medford Education Association endorsed each of the four winning candidates. Maybe voters weren't making inferences about MAGA influence from lawn sign locations and ballot statements. Maybe people looked for the MEA endorsement and assumed that teachers knew what to look out for.
I got a flurry of letters from a losing candidate, Curt Ankerberg. He called me a "stupid m-----f-----."
I published his comments in the comment section yesterday's post at the blogspot site. I post them only for their value in showing readers the thinking of this perennial Republican candidate and Trump supporter. Warning: His comments are vicious and obscene. He won almost half the votes in a Republican primary election for state senate, and he got 2,866 votes in this school board race. I disagree and disapprove of his opinions and language. His words should not be read as credible information about his targets. They reflect on him and the Republican voters who find him to their liking.
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12 comments:
I voted for Ms. Atkinson rather than Mr. Brandenberger based mainly on her previous government and community experience. Admittedly, the voters’ pamphlet isn’t an ideal way to get to know someone, but it’s what we’ve got.
Ankerberg has been a thorn in the community’s side for a long time. I first became aware of him when Chris Walker had to call the cops on him because of his threatening behavior. I wouldn’t vote for him to be pooper scooper for fear he’d mail it to people.
I can't understand why a democrat would get upset by the use of the word "motherfucker", when at the same time democrats support the abortion of babies, and sex-change operations for young children.
Medford schools have a 28% academic pass-rate (and 72% fail-rate), but Peter Sage thinks that's good. https://schools.oregonlive.com/district/Medford/
Medford schools promote homosexuality and transsexualism for students (the students are being groomed), but Peter Sage thinks that's good.
Medford schools have non-binary teachers teaching 1st-graders, but Peter Sage thinks that's good.
Bullying is rampant in the schools, and is unaddressed, but Peter Sage thinks that's good.
Two Medford female students were raped by their Medford teachers in the past 3 years, and Peter Sage thinks that's good.
The people who just won the school board elections don't have the skills to run a lemonade stand, and the schools are going to get worse than they already are. The teachers union is clearly in-charge of the school district, and they run it for their own benefit, and not the students.
Sage....you are a dumb-ass.
I may swear on occasion, but Democrats are misguided 100% of the time.
Evidently Angerburger didn't take my advice to lay-off the crazy pills yesterday.
Here's what's actually concerning to me, is the idea that a person like this is allowed to own firearms in this country. Now that's a real cause for concern.
Contrary to Angerburger's disinformation, the Medford School District's graduation rate is 87.21%, which is above the State average. Curt is not only foul-mouthed, but a liar - no surprise coming from a Trump devotee.
Peter Sage, you may be a dumb-ass, but you're our dumb-ass.
😃

I agree.
They are also allowed to vote.
Pete,
You've made your point by posted Angerburger's posts.
But continuing to allow them doesn't reflect well on your blog and they don't contribute to the conversation.
I'm going to avoid your blog for a week.
Curt's parent's should be very ashamed. If I shared his name I'd change it.
Um, Curt, you should look at the school district ratings your url takes you to.
STUDENTS IN CLASS OF 2022 PERCENTAGE OF ON-TIME GRADS 87%
You either didn’t read it, or you were bluffing. NICE TRY.
School Board results in Jackson County were quite encouraging, especially given the opposite results in our neighbor to the West, Josephine County. Perhaps this augers well for the next Commissioners election.
But in other good news, Art Robinson,my State Senator has disqualified himself from running again with his 10th unauthorized absence from the Legislative Session in Salem. 68% of the Statwide electorate approved the Amendment banning these irresponsible "legislators" from holding Office after 10 unauthorized absences, including 55% of the Voters in Josephine County. Robinson missed the entire 2022 short session because of health issues, this year he's just throwing a tantrum because they don't like some if the Bills the majority of people in the State want passed.
Hi, anon, has Robinson always been in your district? If so, I assume you’re aware of how many times he challenged DeFazio, even to the extent of having his son run against him in the democratic primary. (Peter and Art are no longer in my fourth district, what with the latest round of gerrymandering.
Among other things, I’ll never vote for anyone wacky enough to favor distributing nuclear waste over the USA and the ocean, since he believes we'll all be saved from the radioactivity by hormesis. A GRAND experiment, using human Guinea pigs!
We citizensof JOCO are on the losing side of elections. The three fools elected to our BCC are known by many as the Three Stooges; however, a similar number of us believe that’s an insult to Larry, Curly, and Moe.
JOCO seems doomed to anti-representation, due at least partly to stooge-like voter turnout. If I weren’t so anchored here, I’d be looking for land out near McKenzie Bridge. Or somewhere.
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