Enfield Candidate Profile: Joshua Hamre, Board Of Education

ENFIELD, CT — The 2023 municipal election season is heating up in Enfield, and there are plenty of races with candidates eager to serve in elected office.

Enfield Patch asked candidates to answer questions about their campaigns and will be publishing candidate profiles as Election Day draws near.

Name: Joshua Hamre

How old will you be as of Election Day? did not answer

Does your campaign have a website? If so, include the URL here.

https://enfieldctdemocrats.org...

What city or town do you live in? Enfield

What office are you seeking? Board of Education

Party affiliation: Democrat

Education: Bachelors, Business Management

What is your occupation? Human Services, 12 years

Do you have a family? If so, please tell us about them.

Wife and three children (two in college, one in high school)

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government? No

Have you ever held a public office, whether appointive or elective?

Board of Education, Enfield 2021-2023 term

Now we'd like to ask a few questions about your reasons for running and your general views on politics and government. First, why are you seeking this office?

To continue to keep our schools safe and welcoming for all involved in the education of our students.

Please complete this statement: The single most pressing issue facing my constituents is \_\_\_, and this is what I intend to do about it.

The single most pressing issue facing my constituents is the never-ending efforts of the Republican party to:
Implement falsehoods and at every chance.
Fabricating false narratives locally to fit extremist views from across the country.
Inciting ignorance and fear of foreign topics and different cultures.
Deny accountability in these efforts to diminish and demean.
Insist on being financially and fiscally responsible, then be absent from finance meetings and willfully ignorant of budget processes.

This is what I intend to do about it: I'll keep showing up to the meetings and preventing the implementation of any effort to diminish anyone in our schools and our community.

What are the major differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

The Republican candidates have stated that they speak as one, with one voice. So when one of the Republican board members stated that transgender students are "a social contagion", it would appear that they as a whole agree with that sentiment, and I would encourage a conversation on the topic to determine if that is in fact the case for all Republican candidates in this election.

What other issues do you intend to address during your campaign?

The egregious misinformation put forth by the Republican elected officials regarding the budget process and our district's status as an Alliance district.

Efforts to ban books in our schools.

Efforts to implement policies that remove protections from our students and their families.

Support for our redesign/reworking of the elementary schools.

Educating our town to understand the significance of what it means to have a Democrat-majority Board of Education and Town Council. A Board of Education without the support of the Town Council cannot achieve its mission.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

The Democrats on the Board for this current term have been able to handle some of the most difficult days this district has experienced, and we've done it as a team. I look forward to the next term and continuing that work.

What is the best advice anyone ever gave you?

Plan for the best, prepare for the worst, Semper Gumby.

Is there anything else you would like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

The responsibilities of the Board of Education are not subject to wavering or bending to the will of ideologies. BoE members have a duty to what is in the best interests of the district and adhere to the oath that we take upon election. I hope I have demonstrated these truths in my first term, and I look forward to continuing them in the next term.