There will no doubt be others who join the fray before the filing deadline, which is Friday, March 4. In at least one race, there had better be. For now, these three will suffice.
We have two ‘parental rights’ anti-vaxxers/maskers running in Milford:
Ashlee Connell is running for an At-Large seat in Milford. If you go to her Facebook page, her image is enclosed in a circle with “I stand for medical freedom. Stop the mandate” inscribed on it. Lest there be any doubt that she’s not referring to, say, abortion, it also has a drawing of injection needles on it. She is running against Danielle Deinert, who was a very popular teacher who is now Assistant Principal at Stokes Elementary School in Caesar Rodney. You can check her out here.
Jennifer Massotti is running in Nominating District B in Milford. She currently has no opponent. She should, she must. Let me just quote this entire letter that Massotti sent to then-Secretary of Education Susan Bunting:
Dear Susan Bunting:
You are infringing upon our rights as parents. We should decide what is best for our kids not you. You have no science to back up your claims. If you did, please share with the public your links. We know that children are not super spreaders. We know that children <19 have a 99…..% survival rate. You are abusive in your power. This is just political. You are not for the people but for your selfish gain. How do you sleep at night. Why don’t you share the numbers that have recovered from COVID? It’s because your a fear mongering fool. This virus is here to stay. 100% vaccination rate will get rid of the virus. Why don’t you share the science in the vaccinated people testing positive and dying.
Jennifer Massotti
Houston Delaware 19954.
All misspellings, grammatical errors and non-sequiturs are hers, not mine. I mean, I can’t even…somebody needs to step up and challenge her.
Finally, we have a long-term incumbent, who is a long-term incumbent for no apparent reason. Ralph Ackerman is once again running for reelection to the Brandywine School District Board from Nominating District C. Here’s all you need to know about Ralph Ackerman:
If teachers can’t handle the risk of being back in the classroom, they should seek a new career, a Brandywine school board member wrote in an email to a district elementary school teacher Thursday morning.
“Teachers are first responders to our future,” board member Ralph Ackerman wrote to fifth grade teacher Abby Sipress. “If they cannot handle the risk, seek a new career.”
Up until that line, Sipress said she could tolerate her and Ackerman’s differences in opinion about reopening schools.
Sipress, like so many other teachers across the country, worries for her health and safety, as well as for that of students and co-workers. Ackerman warned of the damage to society should school buildings stay closed.
But when Sipress got to the final line of Ackerman’s email, telling her she should be willing to put her life on the line, Sipress, who’s taught for 18 years, said she had never felt so hurt.
“To come out and say that teachers are the new front line and if we’re not willing to take that risk we should get a new job? That’s so harsh,” Sipress said. “Putting teachers on the front line, you’re also putting students on the front line. If I’m in school, so are they. Should they be the sacrifice?”
Nominating District C includes much of my 7th RD, excluding the Ardens and Ashbourne Hills. We have a lot of great young progressive voices on our committee. Maybe one of them will run. If not, how about you? Here is the map of the nominating districts.
I’ve got more names to research, and there will be new candidates filing. If you know of a candidate who we should warn the public about, please share. Until then, this should keep you busy for awhile.