What is Non-Partisan?

What does it mean to be a non partisan candidate? 

The definition of a nonpartisan candidate or a nonpartisan elected office means that a candidate does not need to disclose their party affiliation or go through a primary where they are voted in by their party. A nonpartisan election also means no party affiliation is recorded on the ballot. A candidate does not free from party affiliation, though. Libertarians, Democrats, Republicans, Independent, and other parties can engage in nonpartisan elections, but unless they tell you, you wouldn't know. Nonpartisan candidates are not forbidden from collecting donations from partisan PACs or donors, either. They also are not forbidden from disclosing their party affiliation and running a platform aligned with party affiliation, either. 

However. 

There is a connotation surrounding what it means to be a non partisan candidate. To some it means there is no affiliation to any party at all. Or that a candidate should be neutral or should not accept money from partisan donors or PACs. Or candidates didn't discuss partisan issues; they stuck to issues effecting the position they were running for. In School Board races, that meant more talk about the education system and less about the political landscape. Let's be clear, education is very political in that there are laws and funding and provisions set by policy and politicians. It should, however, be non-partisan, meaning the people working on education issues should look at the issues, not their politics.

As someone who has worked on school board campaigns in the past, I would say prior to 2020, the campaigns were mostly non partisan in the connotative sense. It was hard to glean where a candidate truly stood in terms of party identification. Surely, none of them really ran as the “Liberal” or “Progressive” candidate, nor the “Conservative” choice or “Republican” candidate. Lately, though, that seems to have changed, in many non-partisan roles not just education. 

Each candidate should be allowed to be their true authentic selves on the campaign trail. Voters should know what they stand for and their true character should show. After all, these are the people we are entrusting our children to. And while some can claim that they can “tell” a person’s party affiliation just by their values or their character, that’s not always true. 

I think that candidates running for school board, specifically those running to “keep politics out of schools” should keep their political identity out of their campaign. Being the “liberal” or the “conservative” choice for school board IS putting politics into schools. 

To me, being non-partisan does not mean I don’t align with any one party’s ideas or platform, it means that I won’t put my party’s platform before what is best for our schools, students, teachers, and our community. Being non-partisan means that sometimes what’s best for students and schools isn’t what’s in line with my political party’s beliefs. Being non-partisan means that I won’t let political motivations influence my decisions regarding schools. At the end of the day, my decisions need to be rooted in data, students, teachers, staff, and the community’s needs- not political ideology. To do this, I have to tune out what some political pundits are saying and personally visit schools, talk with students, teachers, parents, and community members. I need to work alongside our district administration so I have a solid understanding about what is happening. 

This doesn’t mean I won’t disengage from the political responsibilities of a school board member. Politics are deeply rooted in education- funding, curriculum choices, behavior management, and so much more. My point is, my main objective is doing what’s best for schools, students, parents, teachers and staff, and our community, regardless of what my party might say is best. Mesa County is an amalgamation of political identities, when someone is serving this kind of community, it’s best to put your ideologies on the back burner and start listening and acting on what your community needs and wants.