On May 5, Benton County Republicans endorsed Chris Blacker in his run against Sami Al-Abdrabbuh and Charlotte Willer for Corvallis School Board Position #1. However, the endorsement itself is begrudged and unhappy, and the candidate himself wants nothing to do with it.
“Many of us in Benton County receive our ballots and are faced with a dilemma. We have no candidates running that promote our values or represent our moral compass. Often we are forced to vote “the lesser of 2 evils” or leave the ballot blank. Sadly, this is the case in this May 20 special election for Corvallis School Board,” says the endorsement. “Benton County Republicans say, “Vote NO!” for Director Position #1 incumbent Sami Al-Abdrabbuh and “Vote YES!” to Chris Blacker.” They also said Blacker wants to bring change and a dissenting voice, and they refer to the current Board as echo an chamber of ideas.
“For the other positions, we have a strong advocate for children and schools in our community–Jeffrey R. Kubler. You may use his name as a write-in candidate,” says the GOP endorsement.
Other considerations for the Republicans include their view that Corvallis Schools are making poor budgetary decisions, spend too much on administration, and don’t perform well academically. They see the district as prioritizing teaching pronouns and sexuality over academics.
Blacker responds
“The Benton County Republican Party has endorsed me for school board. I didn’t ask for it. I don’t want it. And I fully reject it,” said Blacker in a social media post.
“This is a party that has spent years weaponizing fear, attacking public schools, and turning kids into pawns in a culture war. If they had spent even two minutes learning who I am, they’d know I stand firmly against nearly everything they represent,” said Blacker. “I’m an outspoken atheist and secular humanist. A critic of trickle-down economics, corporate welfare disguised as “freedom,” and attacks on healthcare, abortion rights, and the truth itself. I’ve spent the past year fighting for Title I schools in Corvallis—calling out inequities and demanding that every child be supported.”
“They didn’t endorse me because they know me. They endorsed me because they thought they could use me.” Blacker added that he is not wishing to serve any party and then called on the superintendent to dip into the district’s reserves as a means of avoiding layoffs and program reductions.
“I want to be clear that I respect many Republicans I know personally. We disagree on policy, but they’re thoughtful, decent people,” said Blacker. “But this endorsement wasn’t about shared values. My name was placed alongside language I find deeply offensive.”
To read the full Republican endorsement, click here.
Our take: As full disclosure, we’ve already endorsed Sami Al-Abdrabbuh in this race – we think the wellbeing of the district’s students are best served if he is reelected. We spoke directly with Blacker after this latest development – the conversation echoed his social media posts on the matter. To learn more about the positions of each of the candidates in this race, you can watch the debate posted below.
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