Crafton's Problematic Campaign Post Card

Now that I have actually seen one of Eric Crafton's campaign post cards with School Board Director Marsha Warden's thank-you note, my opinion that Mr. Crafton should not have reprinted the note on his campaign literature is more strongly held. There is also another problem with the post card. The Nashville Public Schools letterhead appearing on the candidate's campaign correspondence can give the impression of the School District's endorsement, in my opinion.

At the very least, he should have asked Ms. Warden's permission to reprint her comments expressly for his campaign, and he should have scrubbed the Nashville Public Schools letterhead completely from the post card if she permitted the reprinting. Not only could it give the impression that the Public Schools administration endorses his candidacy, but it is also inconsistent with his past criticism via the secretive organization "Save Our Schools" that Metro spends too much money on our students.

It is too late to recall the printed post cards, but Mr. Crafton should express responsibility for creating any misperception of endorsements of his candidacy by Ms. Warden or by Nashville Public Schools. He should extend public regrets for sending the card out. That seems the bare minimum to me.

Above and beyond that baseline, I also think that he should take responsibility for his past comments concerning spending too much money on public education and for his 2006 vote for Kay Brooks as a trojan-horse board member in an orchestrated attempt to take money away from our public schools. Why he is not sending post cards out advertising his support of a home-schooler to sit on the School Board and his participation in "Save Our Schools?"


UPDATE: No surprise here. Home-schooling blogger Kay Brooks has repayed Eric Crafton's support of her in 2006 by going to bat for him on her blog against Marsha Warden in the post card flap. She also takes swipes at Mr. Crafton's District 22 opponent, Julie Lamb, whom she connects to Ms. Warden. Maybe Mr. Crafton can use Kay Brooks' comments on his next post card mailer, unless he just prefers to distance himself from any part of the 2006 trojan horse attack on public schools.