Coquitlam school trustee candidate urges voters not to support him in Oct. 17 election

School trustee candidate Michael Baumann wants voters to support someone else. Although it is too late to officially withdraw from the Oct. 17 election, the education critic recently issued a statement asking voters not to support him. “While I am possibly the most qualified candidate for a School District 43 seat, I am also the least suited candidate,” he wrote.

Baumann said that despite his education background, he is not suited to the groupthink, coercion and bullying that he says often accompany bureaucracy. He also criticized other trustee candidates, writing that the lack of qualifications and experience among most school trustee candidates anywhere “staggers” him. Baumann said he contacted the other candidates in Coquitlam and asked them to name their three favourite fiction and non-fiction books. He reported receiving no replies and asked, “These are the people I would have to spend time with?”

He concluded that he did not feel a need to try to solve serious problems amid a “group of laypeople.” His post also listed personal views he said could be controversial. Baumann argued that AI products must be regulated more strictly than other weapons of mass destruction because they do not require a sophisticated delivery system. He also contended that children cannot become anything they want: a good career requires training, talent and “a great deal of sheer luck.” He noted that these views could put him in conflict with some community members.

“Do I need the aggravations that come from single-minded ministry officials, or teachers, or parents? Absolutely not,” he wrote. Baumann ended his post by describing a recent visit to the Happiness Museum. Its displays made him realize that a school trustee seat would not add happiness to his life, but misery.

Excluding Baumann, eight candidates are seeking four seats on the Coquitlam school board.