There must be a special genome or DNA strain that is common to left side candidates who find new ways to tell outrageous campaign lies. This phenomenon is on full display in southwest Louisiana.

First, there is Kathleen Blanco’s daughter who is trying to convince the voters of Lafayette Parish that she is a “conservative Republican.” Now that’s funny, I don’t care who you are.

And then we have Erick Knezek who is running for the BESE District 7 seat, and is playing the, “don’t look behind the curtain” game. This is Erick’s third time running for office.  His first election was in 2014, when he was elected to the Lafayette Parish School Board. In 2016, he entered the Congressional race but pulled out when he figured he couldn’t run with the “big dogs.”

Knezek then resigned from his school board seat very shortly before the term ended. He stated, “I resigned because I got married.”

His campaign recently mailed a flyer stating that his opponent, Kevin Berken, is a “Federal Convict.”

This must be serious, right? What sort of miscreant could Berken be?

The truth is, Kevin Berken received a misdemeanor ticket while duck hunting for having a duck over the limit. That is literally what Berken’s “criminal record” consists of.

On the mailer, Knezek photoshopped Kevin’s picture as mug shot to appear he was actually arrested.

So, let’s go behind the curtain.  Knezek has the endorsement and is financially supported by the liberal teachers’ unions and the woke-on-steroids group “Stand for Children.”  This isn’t some crackpot theory.  Knezek has a voting record.  He authored and pushed to further the LGBT agenda on school children in Lafayette Parish.  Now he wants a seat at the table to push this woke agenda statewide.

What is this organization that is his biggest supporter?  Stand for Children is an Oregon-based far left-of-center organization that strongly supports Critical Race Theory in the classroom. They spent $500,000, in Baton Rouge on the effort to rename Lee Magnet School. You read that correctly: $500,000, just to erase a school name.

In 2020, Stand for Children led the effort in Oregon and Colorado to successfully remove resource officers from schools in Portland and Denver.

Kevin Berken is the conservative Republican standard bearer in the BESE 7 race. His list of conservative supporters is impressive. He is the endorsed candidate of the LAGOP as well as the Lafayette Parish Republican Party. In addition, he is endorsed by LABI, State Senator Bob Hensgens, State Reps Philip Tarver and Chuck Owen.

Kevin will work to improve reading skills. If a student can’t read, they can’t learn. He also plans to establish a policy of dual enrollment and apprenticeship program for students that want to pursue a career path at the high school level.

These races in southwest Louisiana may be the liberal, woke candidates’ last gasp at personal destruction campaigns. Closed primaries are coming and the Knezek and Blanco type candidates will have to run on issues. They have none that make sense. The voters of BESE District 7 have an opportunity to get a head start on the future by electing Berken and leaving Knezek, and his dishonest, sketchy campaign, in the dust.