We have two more Texas State Board of Education candidate forums to tell you about:
On Feb. 18, three Republicans, one Democrat, a Libertarian and a Green Party candidate seeking the District 10 state board seat are scheduled to appear at a candidate forum in Bastrop. The forum begins at 6:30 p.m. in the Bastrop High School cafeteria (1614 Chambers Street). District 10 stretches from Travis and Williamson counties to west of Houston. Incumbent Cynthia Dunbar, R-Richmond, is not seeking re-election.
On Feb. 27, District 15 incumbent Bob Craig of Lubbock is scheduled to debate his challenger in the Republican Primary, Randy Rives of Odessa. The event starts at 9 a.m. at the Cinnabon (3719 19th Street) in Lubbock. District 15 includes the Panhandle and much of northwestern Texas.
Mention of a GOP-only District 10 forum seen here.
Candidates:
Dr. Marsha Farney – said that she is a Christian who believes that “God created the heavens and the earth” and “evolution should be taught as a theory only”
Brian Russell – said that he is a strong supporter of “intelligent design” and students should be encouraged to “critique, evaluate, and analyze all scientific data.”
Dr. Rebecca Osborne – said, “This is an area where I see a big disconnect between the classroom and the state board.” She believes teachers should be prepared to handle discussions such as those that arise from issues such as these and teachers should not be afraid to discuss it.
Of the GOP candidates, it sounds like Osborne might be a stealth candidate from the coalition of the sane (or what’s left in the GOP); there’s other evidence to this effect here. On the other hand, not as good as Judy Jennings from the Democrats.
On the gripping hand, this is not the official opinion of TFN, just mine. (Heck, since I don’t live in Texas, my opinion doesn’t count to anything important.)
A brief report on the Craig/Rives meeting yesterday in Lubbock – though I failed to take my voice recorder or to take notes:
Rives says that he is a creationist, and that schools need to teach “strengths and weaknesses” of evolution as well as of creationism. I asked if he could tell me a “weakness of evolution” and he didn’t do so, but instead assured me that he could find lots of scientists that say “it’s completely impossible.” In the same interchange, he said that Creationism was God creating stuff, but he didn’t seem to like me ssaying, “Which God? Can you teach that in schools?” The moderator didn’t seem too happy about God entering a school conversation, either.
Rives gave the assembled Young Republicans, most of them over 55, a long assurance that he wouldn’t even talk to them nassy people from the ACLU or from gay and lesbian groups, but only to the good Conservative folks of West Texas. (His website says Craig associates with these, with TFN being “closely aligned ….with the Human Rights Campaign, the largest homosexual organization in the country.”) He summed his position up by saying that the SBOE shouldn’t be politicized, apparently totally unaware of the very concept of irony.
Mr Craig was very calm, well-prepared, and rational, and did not attack Rives at all.
A fun Saturday morning…
Thanks for the report. This is helpful. Sounds like Rives didn’t disappoint.