If Redmond voters take their responsibilities seriously this May, we will reject the extremist candidates on the ballot for the Redmond school board. As co-chair of the Independent Party of Oregon, I am pleased to suggest that we have positive alternatives.

The IPO, with close to 140,000 registered voters in the state of Oregon, and nearly 10,000 in Deschutes County alone, has endorsed incumbent Liz Goodrich and first-time candidates Amanda Page and Brad Porterfield in the upcoming election. In so doing, we stand against extremists and for the positive involvement of engaged community citizens, who are not pushing a partisan political agenda.

Covid tried everybody’s patience — and our greater community goodwill. Some rebelled against masks, others against vaccination requirements. Yet none of these issues should have ever been a compelling topic of interest for our school board. Rather than focusing on the requirements of our youth in the face of once-in-a-lifetime health crisis, some in our community (and at school board meetings) chose to politicize the situation and transform it into a lightning rod for engaging extremist viewpoints.

Unfortunately, the situation also became fodder for national extremist movements, like Ammon Bundy’s People’s Rights organization. His adherents have appeared in local races around the West and Deschutes County is no exception. Mainstream voters should be wary of code words like “teaching fundamentals” and “parental curriculum review.”

As Willamette University History professor Seth Cotlar has noted, “There’s a long history of far right ‘patriots’ taking it upon themselves to censor textbooks in the name of preventing “left wing indoctrination.”

However, we in the IPO, along with many moderate voices in this state, feel education is best left in the hands of professionals — the dedicated men and women who have devoted their lives to teaching, coaching, counseling and administering. We would no more second guess them than the lawyers, accountants or doctors we deal with on a regular basis.

Muzzling voices is not the answer to ignorance. Educating through the free exercise of thought and the power of ideas is an answer though.

Liz Goodrich, Amanda Page and Brad Porterfield all stand firm for this basic principle. Although each comes from very different backgrounds and varying political affiliations (which shouldn’t matter in principle anyway, since these are non-partisan positions), voters should have confidence in their commitment to running a school board that is less beholden to dramatic outbursts and posturing.

As good citizens, we should all consult the candidates’ websites and the voters pamphlet (an Oregon treasure) for more on their specific positions. But because the IPO endorsement is coming out too late for publication, also note that these three have our support for the reasons outlined here and beyond.