Thumbnail photo: The Del Norte Unified School District Board of Trustees from left to right: Frank Magarino, Charlaine Mazzei, Don McArthur, Abbie Crist and Michael Greer. Courtesy of DNUSD.org. This first editorial is the collective opinion of Redwood Voice Community News and KFUG Community Radio LLP and is separate from our regular news coverage. To make your own opinion known to us, email redwoodvoicedn@gmail.com. It’s not lost on Redwood Voice Community News and KFUG Community Radio LLP that we are stating our opinion about a local elected official stating his opinion. But when said elected official, in this case Del Norte Unified School District Trustee Michael Greer, seeks to make his opinion DNUSD’s official opinion by asking his colleagues to approve a resolution, we need to speak up. Greer plans to ask his fellow school board members on Thursday to “adopt a position of opposition to Proposition 50.” For anyone who doesn’t know, if it passes, Prop. 50 would be California’s response to Texas’s efforts to add five more Republicans to the U.S. House of Representatives through Congressional redistricting. On Sunday, Congressman Jared Huffman — a Democrat who represents Del Norte County — said he supported Prop. 50. Greer expressed his opposition, stating that he felt the proposition ran counter to provisions in the California State Constitution. Redwood Voice applauds Greer’s courage to express an opinion that was counter to many in the room. But we take issue with his effort to inject a partisan issue into a non-partisan government body. The Del Norte County Board of Supervisors, the Crescent City Council, the Crescent City Harbor District and the Del Norte Unified School District Board of Trustees are all non-partisan governing bodies. A candidate’s political affiliation doesn’t appear on the ballot because they are not supposed to be partisan. Same goes for the Del Norte County sheriff. A non-partisan elected official using his or her position to further their political views, beliefs or ideology does a disservice to their constituency, shifting focus away from community need toward party loyalty. State and national politics can overshadow unique local needs, and aggrandizing the wants of a political party or movement can also create a vacuum of leaders who only meet with those who share their opinions. Our school board members, city councilors, county supervisors and our sheriff need to work across political perspectives to find solutions that work for Del Norte County. They work for all of us regardless of our political affiliation. We support Greer’s right to his opinion, but we also implore him not to waste time on an issue that has zero bearing on the school district’s budget, union negotiations, reading scores, teacher retention and the needs of our students and families. We also ask our other elected officials, Sheriff Garrett Scott included, to set aside their partisan ideology and focus on Del Norte County. The DNUSD Board meets in open session at 4:30 p.m. Thursday at the district office, 301 W. Washington Boulevard in Crescent City. Agendas are available here. To participate via Zoom, click here. Michael Greer wants you to hear his opinion, why not share yours with him? District Resolution Adopting a Position of Opposition to Proposition 50_1250070ygndppa0eslrcx2h3wbr1t1rDownload