LAKEWOOD–The Jefferson County teachers’ union has withdrawn an endorsement for a highly favored school board candidate after a sexual offense committed as a juvenile came to light.
Michael Yocum is running for Jefferson County School Board in District 1, originally as part of a teachers’ union-backed slate, along with fellow candidates, Peter Gibbins and Tina Moeinian. The Jefferson County Education Association (JCEA) referred to the trio as “the cleanup crew.”
The JCEA endorsed the slate on Aug 8, presumably without knowledge of Yokum’s criminal history (his name has since been removed from the endorsement). Both the JCEA and the Colorado Education Association (the state teacher’s union) are his top campaign contributors.
Juvenile adjudications are sealed under Colorado law, and background checks are only conducted for school board members after they are elected. Because of this, Yocum had apparently kept quiet about his sexual offense throughout the union vetting process, until a Jefferson County parents’ rights group spoke out.
Lindsay Datko, founder of Jeffco Kids Fist, released a blog post on Oct 13, saying she had obtained sensitive information about the school board candidate which should automatically disqualify him from having any decision-making authority over children.
According to the post, both Yocum and his campaign manager were notified of the information, along with a request that Yokum quietly step down from his campaign. Yocum ignored the request, publicly attending a community forum as a candidate after receiving the notice.
Jeffco Kids First then publicly released the juvenile offense information on Oct 9, posting the information on group’s private Facebook page, followed by over 9,000 people, then posting to their website blog.
The same day the Jeffco Kids First blog was posted, the JCEA released a statement withdrawing Yocum’s endorsement, while also criticizing the release of information around Yokum’s criminal past.
“JCEA will be withdrawing their recommendation of Michael Yocum. This does not downplay the actions of political extremists, who are trying to use a complicated and traumatic event from over a decade ago to achieve their own political outcomes,” the statement reads in part.
Jeffco Kids First condemned the JCEA’s statement, calling it a weak attempt at addressing the seriousness of the situation, and an attempt to deflect blame.
“The JCEA labeling this situation as ‘political extremism’ is a feeble attempt to sidestep the gravity of a candidate’s admitted history of sexual offenses against children. This is not about politics; this is about the safety of our children,” the blog post reads in part. “By framing it as an issue of ‘extremism’, JCEA deflects responsibility and prioritizes self-preservation of their 30% membership over the well-being of the 75,000 students in Jeffco Schools.”
Jeffco voters will decide between Yokum and his opponent Denine Echevarria, a former teacher, school administrator, and school choice advocate.
Ballots for the November 4 election were mailed out Oct. 10.
