Letter to the Editor: If President Trump Is ‘On the Ticket,’ Where Does Brandy Campbell Stand?

To the Editor:

President Trump recently delivered an unusual message about this year’s elections. At the Republican “midterm convention” this month, Trump told supporters, “You’ve gotta pretend I’m on the ticket. I’m on the ticket. I’m on the ticket.” Perhaps even more tellingly, while urging voters to support Republican candidates, Trump explained that they’re “gonna vote the way we would vote.”

That was more than just a get-out-the-vote message. Trump is asking voters to view Republican candidates as extensions of himself and his agenda. Thus, the question arises, in our upcoming Board of Education special election between Democrat Devin Berke and Republican Brandy Campbell, where does Campbell stand on Trump’s education policies?

For starters, Trump wants to abolish the Department of Education.  More narrowly, he has been unequivocal about displaying the Ten Commandments in public schools. “I LOVE THE TEN COMMANDMENTS IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS,” he declared when endorsing Louisiana’s law requiring their display in public-school classrooms, adding, “HOW CAN WE, AS A NATION, GO WRONG?” His administration has also taken a clear position on removing books from school libraries. The Trump Department of Education eliminated the federal “book ban coordinator,” dismissed 11 civil-rights complaints involving book bans and rescinded the Biden-era guidance warning that removing certain books could implicate federal civil rights laws. In addition, Trump’s Executive Order 14190, titled “Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling,” directs federal agencies to eliminate federal support for what the order calls “gender ideology” and “discriminatory equity ideology” in K-12 schools. The order also reestablished the 1776 Commission to promote what it calls “patriotic education.”   

These actions are deeply worrisome to me.  On the surface, they may seem like abstract national topics. However, here in Old Lyme we have already seen our share of these issues come to the forefront. If, as President Trump insists, Republican candidates should promote his values, then voters have a right to know where those candidates stand.

Does Brandy Campbell agree that the Ten Commandments belong in public-school classrooms? Does she support removing books from school libraries based on their treatment of race, sexuality or gender identity? Does she agree with Trump’s positions on transgender students and DEI? Does she support his vision of “patriotic education”?

Perhaps Campbell agrees with Trump on all of these things.  Perhaps none.  But Trump himself has told us that a vote for a Republican in local races is a vote for his policies, and Campbell is running as a Republican. In the current context, that decision should be taken seriously by everyone casting a vote next week.

Sincerely,
Claudia Schmaus
Old Lyme

Editor’s Note: Schmaus is a member of the Old Lyme Ethics Commission.