Idaho state senator displays deplorable behavior at Caldwell school board meeting | Opinion
Newly elected Idaho state Sen. Chris Trakel, R-Idaho, displayed deplorable, belligerent behavior, yelled at volunteer school board members and tried to leverage his position as a state legislator to get his way at a Caldwell school board meeting this week.
As reported by Idaho Education News, an unruly audience volleyed insults and threats at Caldwell school board members on Monday night over a potential policy that, among other things, would allow students to use bathrooms and locker rooms aligning with their gender identity and protect students from being denied participation in overnight trips due to their sexual orientation.
The policy, which was derived from language recommended by the Idaho School Boards Association, also would require district staff to use a student’s preferred name and pronouns, protect students’ privacy in regards to personal information, such as sexual orientation and legal name, and protect the rights of same-sex couples to attend school activities, including dances, and prohibit general discrimination against those couples.
Unfortunately, board members were forced to adjourn early because of the unruly audience members.
At least one board member laid the blame at the feet of Trakel.
“Last night’s Caldwell School Board chaos was orchestrated by Idaho Sen. Chris Trakel, who doesn’t believe ID boards have the legal right to run their own (meetings) or set policy,” school board member Travis Manning tweeted.
We recognize this policy is a controversial one, and it’s one that needs to be considered carefully, openly — and respectfully.
Demanding that school board members simply drop the policy without discussion or consideration is not how any policy, whether it’s mask requirements, library books or diversity initiatives, should be handled.
Angrily yelling at volunteer school board members unless they do what you say is sadly becoming all too common. Such threatening behavior is a form of bullying, and in some ways illustrates the need for the policy to begin with. Such intolerance of LGBTQ students is harmful and unacceptable.
It’s perhaps even less acceptable for a state legislator who’s using his position to do the bullying and threatening.
Being elected to office — any office — does not entitle a person to use their position to attack other elected officials. On the contrary, it requires the person to be mindful and respectful of their oath of office.
Trakel did not have the right to use his title of senator to imply a level of authority that he cannot claim.
There is an unfortunate track record of Idaho lawmakers invoking their titles for improper purposes — many remember former Rep. Chad Christensen calling for constituents not to dine at Bacon after the restaurant staff decided to pull a curtain around the table he was dining at with armed members of the Three Percent militia. The House refused to impose any consequences for Christensen’s conduct, so it continued. Will the Senate make the same mistake with Trakel?
Common decency would dictate more civil behavior on his part, modeling behavior that anyone with the title of Idaho state senator would certainly expect of others in the Statehouse. He’s a senator now. He should act like it. And Senate leadership needs to seize this opportunity to let members know what is and isn’t appropriate regarding the use of their titles.
Statesman editorials are the unsigned opinion of the Idaho Statesman’s editorial board. Board members are opinion editor Scott McIntosh, opinion writer Bryan Clark, editor Chadd Cripe, newsroom editors Dana Oland and Jim Keyser and community members Johanna Jones and Maryanne Jordan.
