In her latest attempt to spread misinformation, conservative superintendent of public schools candidate Maia Espinoza repeated a claim in a robocall earlier this week that was ruled false by a Thurston County judge.
On the recorded campaign call, Espinoza introduces herself to the unlucky caller and then claims incumbent superintendent of public schools Chris Reykdal "championed a policy that teaches sexual positions to fourth graders."
As I have written, this is a false claim propagated by Espinoza and a small army of very confused or deliberately mendacious people on Facebook.
Reykdal supported the age-appropriate, inclusive, comprehensive sexual health education bill, which the legislature passed last session despite deeply deranged and fact-free opposition from Republicans. The bill requires schools to teach age-appropriate, comprehensive sexual health education, which will help reduce sexual assault and abuse, encourage healthy relationships, improve other education outcomes, and affirm gay and trans kids' existence.
Information on this particular round of robocalls hasn't shown up on disclosure forms yet, but Espinoza's campaign has paid for them in the past. She spent over $7,600 for a total of over 194,000 calls in the run-up to the primary, where she won 25% of the vote. Reykdal only took 40% of the vote share, which is deeply concerning for those of us who would like the person who runs our schools to tell the truth.
This latest round of bullshit from the Espinoza campaign comes after the Associated Press revealed that the "nonprofit" she runs, the Center for Latino Leadership, is not a nonprofit. Though the organization's website claimed the center was "an incorporated, nonprofit organization in Washington State operating under section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code," Espinoza admitted it didn't have federal tax-exempt status.
That bullshit came after the Washington State Wire revealed that Espinoza hasn't completed the master's degree she lists on the voters' pamphlet. In a debate earlier this week, Espinoza said she still needs to complete one more capstone class from the online university she attends before she graduates, and that it's not a big deal because she expects to complete the one-year program before the November election. Nevertheless, she listed the degree on the primary election voters' pamphlet, which may have misled voters about her qualifications for the job relative to the rest of the field.
