Open Forum

Donna Miers

Her letter was perplexing

Board of Education Member Donna Miers’ comments in a letter to the editor (Nov. 5) left many members of the Boulder Valley Education Association perplexed. Donna was a long-time member of BVEA, or “the union” as she now refers to us, and received all the benefits of membership. Donna certainly didn’t question the validity of our candidate endorsements when her husband received our backing. She also sought BVEA’S endorsement when she ran for school board, but our small donor committee elected to endorse her opponent. Whether this is sour grapes or not, people can decide for themselves.

In 2017, we believed she would not represent the BVSD community as a whole and would be a proxy candidate for her then term-limited husband. Our reservations about Donna proved true. Last spring parents from our community took exception with her referring them to fake science websites. Most recently her husband was overheard on her Zoom microphone, pontificating to her in the middle of the board meeting: a wholly undemocratic breach of decorum. She remarked last month that, while BVSD professes to be following science to guide its COVID protocols, other science is out there contradicting it. As teachers, we believe what we teach: that science must adhere to scientific consensus, not pseudoscience nor quackery.

Finally, at the last meeting Donna saw fit to attend, she touted that she and her husband’s terms, when taken together, probably mark the longest tenure for any couple to serve on the BVSD board. We don’t know if that’s true, but it reminds us of the doubts we had about her all along.

Gun violence

From a fifth- grader

Open fire! All that has happened with gun violence is worse than you think. There are too many shootings. Too many innocent people are getting injured and even killed. I feel scared sometimes wondering what tomorrow will bring. I think that we should start being more aware of this, because if we can’t stop it who will?!

Here in Colorado our laws state that you don’t have to register guns, and you can carry them openly across that state. They also state that you can’t bring them into some public places. But then again, those laws can be broken. If someone doesn’t have to register a gun and uses it for a crime they can’t be tracked.

I live in Boulder and I remember the shooting clearly. It was only minutes away from my house. The “King Soopers” shooter wasn’t mentally well and was able to get a gun in the store because he didn’t have to register it.

Lots of kids die from gun accidents each year (1,300) so it is really dangerous because if someone had a gun and dropped it and a kid found the gun and did not know how horrible and dangerous it was it could lead to accidents. In my opinion, you should have to register guns and keep them in a safe place.

I know that some people argue that nothing will change even if laws change. But some people who could be a dangerous threat couldn’t get hold of a gun even if they wanted to. So, that’s why it will be better to register guns. We need to stop the shootings! Take action! Try to put more people in office that feel strongly about gun violence.

City officials’ endorsements

Too much sway

Boulder’s municipal code (2-7-8(f)(16)) allows city officials to use their official title when they publicly endorse or oppose candidates or ballot measures. But, here’s what’s wrong with that: when the speaker is identified as a public official, there’s a real risk that the public will hear him or her — consciously or not — as the voice of the government and thus give more weight to the opinion than they otherwise would have.

There were many examples of this during the recent election cycle, but one campaign ad in the Oct. 31 Daily Camera stood out: it stated that the candidate’s supporters included the “Entire Boulder City Council.” It’s not hard to interpret that claim as an implication or suggestion that the City Council had officially endorsed that candidate. This practice warps the public discourse that is so essential to our democratic society. Sure, city officials have a right to free speech, but their political speech should be as private individuals and not as government officials; and they should make it a condition of their endorsement or opposition that their official title not be used. Better yet, the city code should be amended to prohibit such practice for city officials’ political speech.

The Daily Camera has played an unfortunate role in this, too. In op/ed pieces and even in news articles about the candidates and ballot measures, the titles of city officials have appeared with their names and their political opinions. Unless this practice is stopped, the Camera is helping to give the government and its officials an oversized and improper role in the public discourse. In my view that’s bad for democracy.

Abortion

Let’s put this to rest

Iam a presbyterian and I have always registered to vote as unaffiliated. Being Catholic or Republican is not a prerequisite for opposing abortion.

It is a sad commentary that a significant portion of a supposedly civilized society has come to accept the notion that killing unborn human beings is a proper thing to do. If it is a matter of life and death for the mother, that’s a different matter. If nothing else, World War II should have put the whole abortion issue to rest once and for all and taught us that we do not kill people because they are inconvenient, unwanted, or do not fit some arbitrary notion of human ideality.