Fulks’ implication Dan Carpenter is Republican is totally wrong

As an educator in California public schools for over 26 years I have seen this presidential election evoke more distress and anxiety in students like no other. As community leaders, educators and elected officials it is our responsibility to model civil discourse, which includes being honest, being responsible for our own behavior, working for the common good to build a just society and holding all members of our community accountable for their behavior.

I was saddened when I read Tom Fulks’ column on Oct. 23, “How Trump has made healing our divided electorate more difficult than ever,” as Mr. Fulks contributes to the partisan divide in our local community when he infers that San Luis Obispo County 3rd District supervisor candidate Dan Carpenter is a Republican, which is not truthful. Projecting labels on local candidates encourages a culture of divisiveness. Like myself, Mr. Carpenter is not affiliated with any political party. We can teach our children that it is possible to treat all members of our community with respect and we can disagree and still get along.

I ran Mr. Carpenter’s 2012 campaign for SLO City Council and I assure you he does everything in his power to avoid partisan politics.

This story was originally published November 1, 2016 at 9:05 PM with the headline "Fulks’ implication Dan Carpenter is Republican is totally wrong."