Jeffco Teachers Union Retracts Endorsement After Candidate’s History Emerges

By Savana Kascak | Complete Colorado

LAKEWOOD–The Jefferson County teachers’ union has withdrawn an endorsement for a highly favored school board candidate after a sexual offense committed as a juvenile came to light.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.

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