Letter to the Editor
School Board Candidate Defends Criticism
By Mike Dunleavy
Sept. 25, 2009Dear Editor
My name is Mike Dunleavy and I am running for school board. Within the past few days, the teacher’s union leadership has grown increasingly concerned about the success of my campaign. They have brought in one of their big guns, a hired Juneau lobbyist, to speak with teachers and to revive support for their campaign. The lobbyist has reverted to the tactic of purposely distorting the facts concerning my past actions when I was Superintendent of Schools for the Kotzebue School District. I now expect for there to be an op-ed piece in the ADN and or Frontiersman that will attack my character or motives through innuendos and lies. This op-ed piece will most likely be designed to arrive just before the election in order to give me little time to respond. That is why I am contacting you now.
I made an offer to the union lobbyist to conduct a responsible campaign that would allow me and the union candidate to have a true debate on the issues. He ignored the challenge. The lobbyist said to me, “You’re running a good campaign, and we have to support our candidate,” as his rationale for their approach.
Instead of the fair debate that I offered, the Juneau lobbyist insinuated in an after-hours meeting with a group of teachers that:
- I am not to be trusted, a lie
- I discharged 17 teachers in one year, absolutely not true
- I am anti-teacher;, nothing could be farther from the truth
It is no wonder the union bosses are nervous since:
-I am fiscally conservative.
-I will be responsible only to the children and taxpayers, and to no special interest.
-I have over 24 years of experience in education including time as a superintendent.
-I know education inside and out.
Their candidate has none of the above qualifications, not even close.
It’s a difficult task taking on the union bosses with all their money and their paid lobbyists, but with your help I am confident I will win this election. I am getting tremendous support from the community as well as many of the teachers and principals who know me and do not subscribe to the union boss’s tactics. Please go to my website to learn more. http://www.mikedunleavyk12.com
Please vote!! Remember, 80% of your tax dollars go to our schools. Please help me help you get your monies’ worth with a quality education for our kids.
Sincerely,
Mike Dunleavy
School Board Candidate