Letter: Paso Robles school board member endorses Chris Arend for re-election
Paso voters,
The following is the opinion of a private citizen and has no affiliation with the current sitting Paso Robles Joint Unified School District board of trustees.
As you proceed to fill out your voting ballot, please pay special attention to the candidates for area 1. I endorse re-electing Chris Arend.
Mr. Arend is a true thinker. Someone who looks at all sides before making decisions. He understands the need for compromise and looks for win-win solutions.
As a recently semi-retired attorney, he brings a huge amount of personal negotiating experience to the table. This kind of experience is crucial in working on school board issues.
Over the last four years (given the covid restrictions) he has attended several classrooms observing our teachers at their best. He has experience in fiscal responsibility and understands the hard choices that come with that. As a trustee, he has made fiscal decisions weighing what is best for the students vs. the fiscal responsibility of a school trustee to keep our district solvent.
The Republican-endorsed candidate Mr. Burns has an extreme conservative ideology. According to him, all LBGTQ+ library materials should be thrown out. I don’t see negotiating skills or compromise in his approach to issues. Listen to his board meeting comments via Youtube or the district website. Judge for yourself.
The Democratic-endorsed candidate Mr. Cogan is all about the left-woke culture. Although preaching transparency, he has presented himself as a businessman of agriculture, when it may have more to do with the cannabis industry? Maybe he should say I’m in the nursery business? Transgender and drag queens reading to youth is perfectly fine.
Vote Arend for area 1.
Lance Gannon
Paso Robles resident and school board member
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