I bet many of you did not know that Jesuit’s very own Director of the Information Commons and Economics teacher Mark Wester is the treasurer of the Collin County Libertarian Party. I bet you also didn’t know that he could potentially be the first Jesuit teacher to be a politician while still holding a job at Jesuit.
Mr. Wester is currently running as a member of the Libertarian party for the State Board of Education in the 12th district of Texas in an election that closes Tuesday, November 4th. District 12 is northeast of Jesuit and includes counties such as Tarrant, Parker, Colin and Wise.
After nominating himself at a Colin County Libertarian meeting, Mr. Wester started his campaign, running against Democrat Lois Parrott and Republican incumbent Geraldine “Tincy” Miller. Although this will be a position in the state government, the Texas Board of Education meets only once a year for several weeks and would not affect Wester’s job at Jesuit if elected.
When asked if he is confident in his chances of winning, Wester responded with “the real question should be, ‘am I confident in the voters to actually research their candidates and inform themselves’ and the answer to that is not only no but a resounding no.” Due to straight-party voting, candidates like Wester are affected because their name is not even seen on the ballot.
What propelled Wester to run was that “[he] was tired of voting for the lesser of two evils.” Wester went on to say “instead of saying ‘oh I’m not gonna vote for either one of [the candidates]’ I decided to be the candidate I would’ve voted for, the other guy.”
To be able to run, Wester had to go to a county convention and self-nominate and then has other Libertarians second his nomination. After this, Wester had to go to a district convention and had his nomination seconded so his name could finally be on the ballot. What is unique about running as a Libertarian is that Wester is not required to really ‘believe’ anything and he is not held to enacting Libertarian views because there is not really a formal Libertarian policy on state education. The notion of less government, more liberty, according to Wester, cannot really be enacted in education.
While Wester has not ever run for office before, he believes he is more qualified than the other two candidates. According to Wester, Republican Candidate Tincy Miller received her degree in Special-Ed reading, making really big on phonics. Miller’s main idea is to revert back to phonics based reading and switch to different textbooks for younger graded. Wester added “most instutions [he] knows of moved away from phonics reading in its failed attempt the 80’s.”
So moving to phonics based reading is confusing to many people especially those who are teachers. While Tincy has experience on the board, she has never actually taught in a classroom, making Wester, who has a Masters Degree in early childhood through fourth grade education and has taught for many years, more experienced. Miller also believes that Creationism is necessary in textbooks, which is a hotly contested issue within Texas education for several years.
Democratic candidate Lois Parrott served on the board of the DISD. As many people know, DISD has faced many problems and as Wester put it, “[Parrott] has stepped in [DISD’s] mess, and attempts to take the same approach she used in Dallas to the state.” Wester followed with “I would say that anyone who has had anything to do with Dallas and has not instituted some type of fundamental change on a theoretical principle shouldn’t be allowed to run for state campaign.”
Wester believes that while she would do a better job than Miller, she is by no means the best person for the job. Parrott is a Ph.D. and teaches at Richland Community College, but she has no public school or real classroom experience in a public school system .
Arguing that neither have any real experience, Wester stated that “[both candidates] look real good as a politician, but they have no practical understanding of what they’re actually talking about.”
For his candidacy, Wester would have no agenda and no hidden message. Wester added that he is not a politician, and since he despises the job of a politician, it would make him the best fit for the job. He also would turn his paycheck from the job straight to the state because he believes he is doing a public service and doesn’t deserve the pay.
If elected, Wester would put policies in place that would utilize the tax dollars of parents of kids whose children go to private schools. For example, since parents are paying a tax for public schools but send their children to private schools, Wester believes that they have the right to put the money to use and be able to send their children to a place like Karen Dillard’s or another education service.
Wester concluded that he is unsure if he will run for office again, whether he wins or loses this current election. By Tuesday, November 4, we will know if Jesuit’s very own faculty member will be a politician.
Win or lose, Wester has accomplished something nearly nobody else has, and he has made the Jesuit community very proud.
