Is it “Welcome back, welcome back, welcome back?” — John Sebastian
Or “How can we miss you when you won’t go away?” — Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks.
A funny thing happened on my way to listing candidates for area school boards in 2024. I found someone I didn’t think I had found.
When I examined the three candidates seeking the two open seats on the Hopkins Board of Education, I saw the name of Steven Johnson. I surmised, wrongly, that it couldn’t be the same guy who was state representative from the 72nd District for the years 2017 to 2023.
But I was wrong.
I hear tell from a very reliable source that indeed the former state legislator was the same as the 34-year-old man who lives in Dorr Township who decided to challenge incumbents Karen Ryan and Ian Gibson for those two four-years seats on the board.
It was surprising because a good friend in the know told me that Johnson had his fill of politics after six years and would not seek office again after his six-year term-limited stint in Lansing.
Johnson used to live in Wayland, but since has married and moved to Dorr, which is included in the Wayland and Hopkins school districts, depending on where you live in the township.
So what we have here is a candidate who knows virtually nothing about the Hopkins Public Schools. Furthermore, Mr. Johnson knows very little about public education because he attended South Christian High School and Hillsdale College, both private institutions.
Ryan has served as vice president and president on the board. And though she was battling cancer in 2018, she was re-elected handily in the November election that year with 2,985 votes.
It has been somewhat puzzling that Johnson, no stranger to elections and politics, has waged a very low key campaign. Had not my source Googled his address to learn more about his identity, we would not know it is him.
I make no secret of the fact I constantly dissed Johnson while he was a state representative. He was one of the top anti-vaxxers in state government and led the charge on behalf of a Holland-area restaurant owner who fought against rules for wearing masks.
And I never saw Johnson wear a mask during the Covid pandemic, not even during meetings in House chambers in Lansing.
Furthermore, as reported not long ago in Townbroadcast, there is another Steven Johnson in Hopkins, who was forced to post on Facebook that he wasn’t the guy running for school board.
School board contests are supposed to be non-partisan, but anybody who does any research can find out what party one belongs to. It’s even more simple with Johnson, former Republican state legislator.
Politics indeed makes strange bedfellows.
An ever present, though often unabsorbed lesson in human interaction, is that lies are compulsory.
One lie begets another, propagating an intentional reliance on ignorance.
Essentially, the mad, superstitious, unthinking, are attempting to keep future generations from freedom of thought.
We have every reason to believe that control of the scope of thought is a main objective along with the elimination of bodily autonomy.
Public education exists to prevent the learning of science, history, culture, and economics. This is not hyperbole. Public education exists to create ignorant labor cattle for the passive-income ownership/rentier class.
Wayland’s board is entirely trumpee as well. Let’s not forget the trump bumper sticker former Superintendent Taylor parked at the admin building every day. Small-minded tribalism in smaller communities is par for the course across the country. These people look to insulate and exclude for their own self interests at the expense of the greater good.
Once again so thankful to the WUS district voters in the Nov 2022 election. Could you imagine…………..
John, once again your comment has zero substance. If you’d like to disparage me, at least type out a coherent thought, please.
Jake Gless, I never mentioned you. I usually don’t engage with angry people, it’s not healthy for either party. IIRC you did say you were done commenting on this rag………..Change of heart? Cheers!!
John, I’ve never met you in my life and you certainly don’t know the first thing about me. Please stop pretending like you do. If want to avoid engaging with me, just don’t reply anymore. I don’t reply to you.
In 1992 MI voters approved Proposal 1 by a margin of 2-1 to change term limits for state legislators, and the provisions were to:
• Change the term limits for state legislators from three 2-year terms (6 years) in the state House and two 4-year terms (8 years) in the state Senate to 12 combined years in the Legislature, and
• Provide that elected state legislative and state executive officials must file annual financial disclosure reports on their income, assets, liabilities, gifts from lobbyists, positions held in certain organizations, and agreements on future employment.
From: https://ballotpedia.org/Michigan_Proposal_1,_Legislative_Term_Limits_and_Financial_Disclosure_Amendment_(2022)
I suspect former State Rep. Steve Johnson knows that experience as a school board member is often on the resume of other county, state and federal elected officials. Since he already has 6 years as a state representative, he could wait until his district’s state rep decides to run for another state office and serve 3 more two year terms, an office in Allegan County (such as clerk) or wait for Congressman Bill Huizenga to retire from representing District 4. Neither County Clerk nor Congress has term limits.
Regardless of party affiliation, I am never comfortable voting for someone educated in private or parochial schools sitting on a board of a public school board. Same for not voting for MSU trustees, U of M regents or Wayne State governors who haven’t graduated from public universities.
And so it goes.
Couchman
Well that settles it, I’m voting for Johnson.