The Kitsap Sun has endorsed John Campbell for the North Mason School Board. The only rationale given for the endorsement is:
We feel fresh leadership on the board is needed to help clear the air, allowing the district to move ahead educationally without polarizing itself politically.
Did the Sun Research John Campbell?
If the editors of the Sun had researched John Campbell, they would have known that that John Campbell is a fellow at the Discovery Institute that is best known for its advocacy of intelligent design (ID) and its "Teach the Controversy" campaign to teach intelligent design in United States public high school science courses.
Intelligent design has been called "pseudoscience" by the National Science Teachers Association. In the the Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District trial which ended with the Dover Area School District paying more than $1 million dollars in legal fees and damages, Judge John E. Jones III said:
our conclusion today is that it is unconstitutional to teach ID as an alternative to evolution in a public school science classroom.
Judge Jones also criticized the "Teach the Controversy" campaign:
ID’s backers have sought to avoid the scientific scrutiny which we have now determined that it cannot withstand by advocating that the controversy, but not ID itself, should be taught in science class. This tactic is at best disingenuous, and at worst a canard. The goal of the IDM is not to encourage critical thought, but to foment a revolution which would supplant evolutionary theory with ID.
They would have also known that Mr. Campbell's affiliation with the Discovery Institute has already created controversy. This fact was first published in The Seattle Weekly. Since then, John has published his rebuttal and it has shown up in several articles on the internet.
Will John Campbell Clear the Air
I think the editors of the Sun should have researched John Campbell, and informed voters about the Discovery Institute and his association with it.
Furthermore, I believe that electing a Discovery Institute fellow to the North Mason School Board will generate more controversy (possibly on a national level), and further polarize the board politically.
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