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Story time. Four years ago I decided to run for Parkway school board in St Louis county. As a product of a some awesome STEM programs starting around 4th grade, I thought I could help bring more project-based learning to Parkway.
Little did I know that there was a committed, well-funded local group of regressives that was fielding candidates in the race to oppose science-based curriculums, especially sexual education. Needless to say, I didn't see eye to eye with these folks.
Also unbeknownst to me there was a local group of progressives forming to counter the anti-science crowd. They asked me if I would fill out a survey on my views about education and I complied. They liked my views and decided to endorse and support three candidates including me.
The three of us ended up running as a unofficial ticket for the three open seats. We pooled our funds together to print fliers and coordinated with supporters on fundraising and campaigning.
There was drama. I won't dive into it but there is a long trail of stories about it (shout out to @stlpublicradio). In the end, only Kristy got elected, but none of the regressives did. Sophia and I got a lot of support but decided not to run again.
The next year, the regressives were ready but so were we. There were two seats open this time. We lobbied with potential progressive candidates in advance to ensure we had exactly two strong candidates, and we recruited an army of parents on social media in support.
We set up yard sign pickups from my garage, district coordinators (sign fairies!) picked them up and put them in supporters' yards. We posted on social media. We wrote THOUSANDS of postcards. In the end, we swept the race, and Matt and Kevin joined Kristy on the progressive wing.
At this point I moved on to a job in Boston and kind of tuned out Parkway school board politics. I was proud of what the community activism we had enabled, and hoped that it would continue, but didn't see much point in personally investing in it from the east coast. C'est la vie.
Here is the mindblowing part. Kristy got re-elected along with other incumbents, and Matt and Kevin were about to run again. Last night I got an email from Matt. Last night was the deadline to file, and he and Kevin were the only ones who did. There will be no election this year.
THE REGRESSIVES CAVED. In four years, we went from playing defense against anti-science school board candidates to supporting an unimposed incumbency of fact-based decisionmakers. The regressives just gave up!
I'm not going to play any moral high ground here. It's politics, and winner takes all. BUT WE WON. We beat them on the ground game, and they quit. I doubt they are up to any good, but I'll take a W. PARKWAY KIDS ARE STILL LEARNING SCIENCE M*THAF*KK*S!
Today Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were inaugurated @POTUS and @VP, and you can't escape the talk of, "What happens to all these poor regressive folks? What wil they do now without their dear leader?"
A proposal: F*ck em. Don't give them the time of day. Let them circle their wagons and scream about their regressive grievances. If they pop back into politics (or violence), be ready to squash their tropes WITH SCIENCE.
Is my proposal naive? Maybe. But look at Parkway schools. Look at the state of Georgia. Look at the United States of America. Four years ago a progressive majority seemed like a pipe dream in all these places. Not anymore.
