Now that John Huppenthal’s campaign has gone the full Hindenburg with multiple GOP establishment types and the media calling on him to resign or to lose his election, see https://twitter.com/yvonnewingett/status/481597243426758656, it’s time to “better know a candidate” — Hupp’s GOP primary opponent, Diane Douglas.
UPDATE: Huppenthal says he won’t resign over blog posts .
If you think John Huppenthal is a piece of work, you’re going to love this gal. Just a quick review of information available online indicates a single-issue Tea Party candidate for superintendent of public instruction who is frothing at the mouth over “Kill Common Core!” From her rather spartan campaign web site, Diane Douglas for Superintendent (front page):
Why I am running for Superintendent of Public Instruction
Quite simply, to stop the Common Core Standards in Arizona and return control over your children’s education to you through your locally elected school boards.
We now clearly understand that a major piece of President Obama’s plan to “fundamentally change” America is by controlling the education of our children through the federally mandated Common Core Standards (renamed “Arizona’s” College and Career Ready Standards).Common Core is to education what ObamaCare is to healthcare – top down, one size fits all federal government control.
When it became apparent that our current superintendent, incumbent John Huppenthal not only supports but actively promotes Obama’s invasion of our children’s education I decided to run. (Read his letter to Gov. Brewer supporting Common Core under the “Common Core AZ” tab).
COMMON CORE MUST BE STOPPED!
Sigh. The GOP establishment and business community that support Common Core must be thrilled with this “default” GOP candidate. It looks like they will have to back a Democrat in this race this year.
So what are Ms. Douglas’ qualifications to be in charge of your child’s K-12 education?
Public Service:
- The Governing Board of the Peoria Unified School District from 2005-2012; board president 2008 & 2009.
- The Site Councils of Desert Valley Elementary and Ironwood H.S. – PUSD.
- Apostle’s Lutheran Church Board of Education – 2009 – 2013; Preschool Board 2012-February 2013.
Formal Education:
- An Associate’s in Business from Somerset County College (Raritan Valley College).
- A Bachelor of Science degree in Business/Marketing from Rutgers University.
Employment:
- General Accounting – Ethicon Inc.
- Accounts Payable – Polychrome Inc.
- Accounting – Century Office Products.
- Financial Analyst International & Corporate Accounting – Thomas & Betts Corp.
- Instructor – The Stained Glass Shop.
I don’t see any experience as as educator listed in her bio, unless we are awarding points for instructing a “stained glass shop” — sorry, but no. Readers who live in the school districts in which Ms. Douglas served on the school board need to help us out here as to what went on in those districts during those years. Post in the comments (with links to news articles, if any).
And be sure to catch this paragraph from Douglas’ bio:
The two most important duties we have, as a society, are protect our country, borders and sovereignty; and to educate our children to perpetuate the liberty with which we have been blessed as a nation. The prior is the proper, constitutional role of the federal government, the latter is not. Currently the federal government has its roles reversed.
This reads like “Thucky” wrote it, doesn’t it?
Ms. Douglas’ claim to fame is that she has been endorsed by right-wing provocateur Michelle Malkin. Michelle Malkin | Endorsement: Diane Douglas for Arizona. Yeah, that’s not a selling point even for people who waste their lives living in the conspiracy theory land of the conservative media entertainment complex.
The Concerned Citizens for America (CC4A) of the Verde Valley, which advocates “for limited government, fiscal responsibility, border security, free market competition, strong national defense, and adherence to the Constitution,” has endorsed Douglas. Conservative Group Endorses Diane Douglas.
The “Birther Queen,” climate science denier and Agenda 21 conspiracy theorist Sen. Judy Burges endorses Diane Douglas.
The Northwest Conservatives (Northwest Tucson, Marana, Catalina, and Oro Valley) have also endorsed Douglas. Northwest Conservatives ENDORSE Diane Douglas.
Fun Fact: Diane Douglas is a featured speaker at an ACT Tucson/Marana Chapter meeting at 6:00 p.m. this evening at the Nanini Library, 7300 N. Shannon Road, in Oro Valley. Perhaps the local Tucson media will show some interest in showing up to ask Ms. Douglas some questions.
We’ll have more on Diane Douglas as time permits in future posts.
One more tidbit from her site:
“I began studying the American education system and the federal government’s ever increasing intrusion into our local control since the early 1990s. I did it on my own, for my own edification rather than through a college of “education” in order to add letters after my name.”
College of “education”…. in quotes? Letters after her name? Do I sense animosity toward the educated and those educated at schools of education? Yep, she’s a Republican.
This is at the end of Ms. Douglas’s website
“Education is too important to be left solely to educators.”
Francis Keppel (1916–1990) American educator, U.S. Commissioner of Education (1962–1965).
If that was ever true, that was then and this is now. We absolutely need an educator in this position. I’m tired of education policy being politicized and task forces formed to devise programs that directly oppose best practices. In fact, I retired, rather than continue to implement policies, I disagreed with, the 4 hr segregated block for ELLs being the most odious of the policies.
C’mon Arizona. Wake up. If you want AZ’s economy to improve, we must invest in public schools.
She was target of a recall (failed) because she came out strongly against Prop. 100 (tax increase to bail AZ out, which passed in all but Mojave Cty–apparently having the state continue to circle the drain is more her preference) Just remember, ol’ Gov Chupacabra got her start as a school board member. Tom “Banned for Life” Horne as well.
http://ballotpedia.org/Diane_Douglas_recall,_Peoria_Unified_School_District,_Arizona_%282010%29
I love how a healthcare system based on the Heritage Foundation plan making everyone buy insurance from hundreds or thousands of different plans offered by hundreds of insurers is ‘Top-down One-size fits all Federal Control”
I must return again, to the bottomless well of wisdom that is Inigo Montoya:
“You keep using those words. I do not think they mean what you think they mean.”
And there are two Democrats– both with education credentials– David Garcia and Sharon Thomas.
Maybe after Huppenthal’s public self-destruction, Arizonans are tired of anti-science, right-wing ideologues destroying education system.
I hope people vote *for* education and vote Democrat in November.
So we have a Not John Huppenthal to go along with the Not Tom Horne.