A political action committee representing Wyoming teachers announced Monday it has pulled its endorsement of Jillian Balow the Republican candidate for Wyoming Superintendent of Public Instruction.
The Wyoming Education Association’s Political Action Committee for Education—known as WEA-PACE—endorsed both Balow and her Democratic opponent Mike Ceballos before this year’s primaries.
But Balow’s rhetoric about organized labor in a recent fundraising letter caused concern among the group of educators. In the letter, Balow criticized her opponent for receiving union support.
Wyoming Education Association President Kathy Vetter said the letter came up at WEA’s Board meeting this weekend—which led to an emergency WEA-PACE meeting Sunday, where members voted to withdrawal its endorsement.
“Specifically within the letter, the reference to unions, organized labor. That was the biggest red flag brought up by the Board and also the emergency PACE council,” Vetter said.
The Wyoming Education Association is classified as a professional organization, not a union. But all members belong to the National Education Association, a national teacher’s union.
After WEA-PACE pulled its support, Balow issued a statement calling the action “impulsive” and said she was “perplexed” by the decision.
Just one week before the November 4 election, the most recent polls show Balow ahead in the race.
