Norm Taylor’s candidacy for council? ‘I hope he fails’

ACHTUNG: This is not a “fair and balanced” article. It is an editorial by the editor.

When Barack Obama was elected president of the United States in November 2008, “right-thinking radio” host Rush Limbaugh immediately commented, “I hope he fails.”

I have the same sentiments about recently retired Wayland Schools Supt. Norman Taylor’s quest for a seat on the Wayland City Council. “I hope he fails.”

In case you missed it, I made unflattering comments about Taylor this past summer when I learned he is an unabashed supporter of President Donald Trump. He has every right to support whomever he wants.

But I asserted that as the CEO of a public school district, one of his most important duties is to promote and protect the interests of public education. His choice for president is clearly the most anti-public education public figure in American history, barely eclipsing his Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos.

Public reaction to my opinion was apoplectic astonishment. One Facebook “friend” even accused me of character assassination of a nice man.

Allow me to explain my unpleasant, unpopular opinion.

Let’s say you organize a non-profit local Right to Life organization and hire a director to oversee its day-to-day operations, with the solemn duty to promote and protect the interests of the Pro-Life movement. Then you find out this director is an unapologetic supporter of the Pro-Choice movement and Planned Parenthood.

I submit that many, if not all, of my detractors would call for the immediate removal of that director and there would be negative feelings of betrayal expressed.

Mr. Taylor was paid more than $1.3 million over 10 years to defend and support public education in Wayland. For me, it feels a lot like the same kind of betrayal on both a political and moral level.

So now the ex-superintendent wants to continue his public career, this time in city government. My guess is that he will be elected indeed, because he’s a nice man and he is well known.

I feel badly that one of the three incumbents on the council, Joe Kramer, Tim Rose and Abe Garcia, will pay the price of not being re-elected. Most vulnerable is Garcia, who has shown me promise and commitment in the few years since he has come to this town — on the Planning Commission, the City Council and helping with community events.

Mr. Garcia is not as well known, one of the two most important attributes in local elections in these parts. The other is being a Republican.

It’s a damn shame. So when the Nov. 3 city election comes, all I can say of Mr. Taylor is, “I hope he fails.”