Lunch with Janie

 Appeared in the Idaho State Journal on March 7, 2021.

I checked my old emails to verify. I had lunch with Janie Gebhardt on May 29, 2017. It was Memorial Day almost four years ago. Janie had won the election to retain her seat on the School District 25 Board of Trustees two weeks prior. She is now facing a recall vote on Tuesday, and I think the voters – and Janie – deserve to have our lunch shared with a wider audience.

I contacted Janie to talk about my volunteer work in the high schools. At a minimum, I wanted someone on the school board to know what I was working on and my vision for the future. The “shoot for the moon” goal was to ask Janie if she thought I could ask the school board to help fund the work I was doing and if she would support me.  To be clear here, I was not asking Janie for anything other than her opinion and to consider talking to the rest of the board with me.  We both paid for our own meals.

When I first met Janie in the early 2000’s, she was the pastor at the United Church of Christ and involved in the Portneuf Valley Interfaith Fellowship (PVIF). The PVIF website explains: We are a diverse group of faith communities working together to better the community for the common good, both locally and globally. We recognize our diversity and encourage interfaith dialogue and respect.

I came to respect many of our local faith leaders for their efforts toward unity and understanding, and Janie was a huge part of this. As I saw her appreciation for diversity showcased in public discourse, she remained in my field of vision.

During the winter of 2014, a local sophomore, who had recently come out as gay, died by suicide. I was a weekly columnist for the Idaho State Journal at the time and had written a number of columns discussing my perspective as an Idaho-loving gay person who’s been fearful at times, experienced discrimination, but still wakes up finding things to love about our world. A teacher, who was struggling with the loss of her student and wondering how to support others in her classes, had seen some of my columns. She tracked me down on social media and asked if I would help her provide an avenue of support for gay, transgender and questioning students through a gay-straight alliance (GSA) club.  I had no idea how to go about this, and wasn’t convinced that it would be a good idea, but something was needed as more and more kids in our community are questioning their identities and coming out sooner.

I started volunteering with a high school GSA in the 2015-2016 school year.  We wanted a place to meet and to invite kids from other schools, so we brainstormed. When I played JV basketball, it was impossible for coaches to schedule gym time, so we practiced at a local church. Would that work here? I called Janie and asked if we could use the UCC space right behind Poky that included a kitchen and a gym to host kids each week. She not only let us use the building for free but also left books on my porch about how to organize activities with youth.

The details of my 2017 lunch discussion with Janie aren’t as important as the fact that after 90 minutes together, where we shared similar opinions, she said “no.”

I’m not sure if my point is to illustrate that Janie Gebhardt has made recommendations in her role on the school board that would side with a popular public opinion and conflict with her own (and that of a friend), or if my point is to somewhat self-righteously highlight that when I was told “no” by a member of the school board, I didn’t rush to claims that I wasn’t listened to and insist she be recalled.

Hearing “no” made me want to work even harder to do what I am doing and find other ways to get the job done. I’ve helped write grants, continued to brainstorm and network with teachers and just this week took seven pizzas to one of our high schools because kids are now able to meet again.  

I’ve seen a number of billboards supporting the recall and have had many discussions on social media.  I can’t help but think - the time and money spent on the organizing, arguing, planning and plotting could have been spent getting volunteer background checks, writing grants, brainstorming with teachers, and having pizza delivered to kids.

I don’t believe Janie has done anything to warrant a recall. I believe she does her best to parse the data in front of her and utilize her years of experience to make decisions. Recall elections aren’t in place to remove people with good intentions who make unpopular decisions. That’s what a regular election in November is for.