Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) & Brief Responses, #3
I have spoken out about all of the following issues in speeches, emails, blogs, social media posts, interviews and podcasts in my campaign for State Superintendent of Public Instruction. I’ve placed simplified versions of my positions below for ease of reference.
QUESTION — WHY SHOULDN’T I VOTE FOR TONY THURMOND?
The Superintendent of Public Instruction should be a leader who leads, is proactive, yet discreet and desires to keep parents, not special interests, at the top of his agenda. Thurmond’s inability to protect and advocate for students or produce a single positive academic outcome over the last 3 and a half years in office — especially during the pandemic — disqualifies him from the job.
Government unions dominate the state legislature, the Governor’s Office, and the State Superintendent of Public Instruction office and our academic results reflect their influence. As such, parents are pulling their children out of the public school system and people are leaving the state in record numbers.
Many teachers are dissatisfied with the union and are leaving it because it simply does not represent their values any longer. Yet, unions have almost unlimited resources for their chosen candidates. And the money is now flowing to the incumbent. As of the end of May, the California Teachers Association dropped in another $625,000 into their independent expenditure to support Tony Thurmond. That’s on top of the $1.4 million the unions have put in to support the incumbent since May 6th. And just a few days later, another $175,000 of government union money was dumped into advancing his campaign bringing special interest spending to $2.2 million dollars into the race in just the last 3 weeks. Combined with the almost $2 million Thurmond has in his own war chest, $4 million dollars is a lot of money to be spending in the final days of a campaign that few pundits want to talk about.
So, if parents want their schools closed again, irrational regulations and mandates for classroom participation or a steady diet of inaccurate or divisive critical race theory, comprehensive sexual education or “math-in-racist” curriculum, while test scores continue to be at the bottom of every major metric, then vote for the incumbent.
Otherwise, I see a time when a new Superintendent facilitates California parents and helps them do what’s best for their kids. That is why I am running for State Superintendent of Public Instruction.
You can read more about my platform and my take on the issues here:
Website: https://lancechristensen.com/issues
Medium Blog: https://medium.com/@lance4supe
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Lance4CASuper
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Lance4CASuper
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lance4casuper/
Ballotpedia: https://ballotpedia.org/Lance_Christensen