Good grief. Assemblywoman Jamie Allard, who previously made national news with her support of the “FUHRER” license plate, has now declared that the Anchorage superintendent should be punished for criminal child abuse for advocating a COVID-19 mitigation plan that requires wearing masks in school.
The ADN article of Aug. 5 includes an explanation by an Anchorage attorney that the recommendations from public health and medical experts including mask wearing intended to prevent against spread of a virus do not fall within the legal definition of child abuse. I think anyone with any common sense would know that, unless they are a devout follower of Tucker Carlson’s advice to report the parents of masked kids for child abuse.
Why is Ms. Allard, a member of the Assembly, going public with such a right-wing extremist view on a school board issue? This is the same Assembly member who recently proclaimed on the Dan Fagan radio show that transsexuals are all mentally ill. She is the one who refused to vote for a condemnation of the Jan. 6 insurrection. She threatened to see former Assembly chairman Felix Rivera in court at an Assembly meeting and has publicly urged people to go “after ASD.”
She previously ran for the State House and lost. It certainly seems like she is using her current position as an Assembly member from Eagle River to promote hate and division in our community, perhaps hoping to garner support for another run for the House.
She criticized the superintendent as a “non-elected person,” as though not being elected means she should not make school policy. I think she has this totally backwards. Being an elected Assembly person does not make her qualified or entitled to make school policy.
It seems there are numerous issues that the Assembly needs to address that should keep Ms. Allard busy in her own lane fulfilling her duties as an elected representative.
— Joanne Kell
Anchorage
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