Spokesman opposing school proposition concealed his extreme views about education

The spokesman for the group opposing Proposition A, which is on the ballot Tuesday in Fairbanks, says that with “the exception of exceptional anti-faith and anti-family propaganda, our local school board has a dismal record of success.”

Josh Church, who represents Tammie Wilson’s “Citizens for Transparent Government,” expressed his views of the Fairbanks schools last year in a piece he wrote for a right-wing Anchorage blog. He said it’s the fault of the community that the schools aren’t doing a better job.

“We can’t blame this on Commiefornia or Bidenomics. We are to blame for not electing people of moral courage to ensure our kids are learning good values and a quality education. Believe it or not they are learning something at school all day. It may not be how to read but they are learning something. It may be a disdain for your country and culture,” Church wrote.

“The schools these days are a dangerous place to send your kids. We need to change this. Not everyone can homeschool their kids, and while anyone who can, should, we still need to fix the schools for those who can’t,” wrote Church.

Church didn’t say any of this during the campaign against Proposition A, choosing to present himself as a thoughtful model of reasonable debate. Had he been transparent about his real opinions, more people would have questioned not only his change in tactics, but also his claims about what the schools need.

Here is the forum sponsored by the League of Women Voters.

Here is the presentation to the Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce.

While Wilson, who is running for the assembly again, named her group “Citizens for Transparent Government,” she failed to follow the state law in registering her group and reporting expenditures.

It was only after the Daily News-Miner printed an article April 26 saying that Wilson had not filed with the Alaska Public Offices Commission that Wilson said her group was involved in the special election and revised the transparent paperwork.

She first registered her group March 13, after it began collecting donations and spending money, but did not revise the paperwork to mention the special election until the News-Miner story appeared. The first transparent application mentioned only the municipal election in the fall.

Wilson’s group reported spending $2,000 on social media on March 5 with “Lifted Marketing,” a business on Van Horn Road. That was eight days before registering with APOC.

Wilson gave $500 on March 11. Loa Carroll-Hubbard gave $500 on March 12. Borough Assembly member Brett Rotermund, who owns Bullet Proof Trailers, gave $500 on March 15.

On April 27, Wilson filed the seven-day report in which Rotermund was listed as giving $2,000 on April 19, and Tammie Wilson was listed as giving $500, also on April 19.

The group spent $500 more with Lifted Marketing on April 26.

On April 30, Wilson filed a 24-hour report, reporting a total of $2,700 in contributions that day or the previous day from Duke Kniffen, Margery Kniffen, Craig Compeau, Shawn Evans, Gary Evans, and Rodney Worthington.

Wilson has run for local and state office many times and should know that she did not follow the disclosure law or the regulations.