The search to replace a recently ousted Paso Robles school board member is underway.
It entails a special election coming up on April 18 that was spurred by a petition removing Paso Robles Joint Unified School District trustee Kenney Enney from his seat. The SLO County Clerk-Recorder’s Office recently announced that the nomination period for candidates is open through Jan. 20, 2023.
“Once the nomination period closes, we begin to prepare the ballots and voter information guide, along with setting up the election in the voting and election management system,” Clerk-Recorder Elaina Cano wrote in an email. “Ballots will begin to be mailed out no later than 45 days before the election to all of our military and overseas voters.”
According to Cano, Paso voters will receive their ballots by March 20. Similar to the general election, the winning candidate would need 50 percent of the total votes cast plus 1 vote.
In a series of social media posts on the PRotect Paso Facebook page this fall, Enney claimed that transgenderism was “an attempt to recruit and convert children.” Several parents and community members responded by organizing the petition that eventually led to Enney’s removal from the board.
While organizer of the petition Carey Alvord declined to comment on the open nomination period, she previously told New Times that an ideal replacement candidate would be someone who was “highly qualified” and would be able to connect with all students and teachers.
“Someone who cares about how their rhetoric affects students and families. Someone who values quality education more than national culture wars, who understands Paso, not just a subgroup within it,” Alvord said.
While it’s too early to know who exactly will be running for the special election, Enney previously told New Times that he wants his seat back.
“I’m never going to hide my beliefs, or your beliefs. It’s when those beliefs are imposed or are forced on other people. That’s when you have a problem,” Enney said. “I’m certainly not going to pretend I’ve said anything wrong.”
The petition was supported by parents and teachers alike, but Jim Lynett, executive director of the Paso teachers union, told New Times that the union had taken a neutral stance in order to allow teachers to make their own decisions.
“The teacher’s union has been maligned a lot in this process,” Lynett said. “And we didn’t start the petition, we didn’t control the petition, we didn’t endorse the petition, and yet we somehow are responsible for the petition.”
He added that once the nomination period closes on Jan. 20, the union will endorse candidates in the same fashion as every other school board election. According to Lynett, the union will send out letters to candidates inviting them to participate in the endorsement process.
“Well I hate to sound trite about it, but normal [candidate],” Lynett said. “And by normal, I mean a person who does their homework, who’s independent, who listens to all the different voices that are part of the process.” Δ
This article appears in Dec 29, 2022 – Jan 8, 2023.