School trustee candidate bows out, cites groupthink, bureaucracy, misery

School trustee candidate Michael Baumann wants your vote . . . to go to someone else.

While too late to officially withdraw from the race, education critic Michael Baumann recently released a statement beseeching voters not to support him in the Oct. 17 election.

“While I am possibly the most qualified candidate for a [School District #43] seat, I am also the least suited candidate,” he wrote.

Baumann went on to explain that despite his background in education, he is unsuited to weather the groupthink, coercion, and bullying that often accompany bureaucracy.

Baumann was also critical of the other trustee candidates.

“The lack of qualifications and the lack of experience of most school trustee candidates anywhere staggers me,” he wrote.

However, Baumann described reaching out to the other candidates in Coquitlam and asking them for a list of their three favourite fiction and nonfiction books.

“Number of responses: 0,” he wrote. “These are the people I would have to spend time with?”

Ultimately, Baumann concluded that he didn’t feel a need to attempt to solve serious problems amid a “group of laypeople.”

In the post, Baumann also listed several of his personal beliefs which could be considered controversial.

He argued that “A.I. 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 whatever they want to be, as a good career requires training, talent, and “a great deal of sheer luck.”

These views might put him in conflict with some community members, he noted.

“Do I need the aggravations that come from single-minded ministry officials, or teachers, or parents? Absolutely not.”

Baumann concluded his post by writing about a recent trip to the Happiness Museum.

“The displays made me realise that a school trustee seat would not add happiness to my life; it would add misery.”

Excluding Baumann, there are eight Coquitlam candidates vying for four spots on the school board.