Image of Don Shaw from his Facebook page.Don Shaw announced Friday he was withdrawing his name for consideration as a temporary replacement for Brentsville District School Board member Gil Trenum after a member of the School Board leaked his personal information to a conservative blog.
“On June 23, 2016, after much deliberation and introspection, I agreed to submit my name for consideration should a vacancy occur as a result of the deployment of Mr. Trenum. I have been less than impressed with what has happened in the past two weeks,” Shaw posted on his Facebook page.
Trenum, a Naval reservist, will be deployed to Africa in August. He had requested that the school board consider three nominees of his choosing to temporarily take his place on the dais. However, the School Board voted to first confer with the Virginia Attorney General before granting Trenum's request.
School Board Chairman Ryan Sawyers asked Shaw to apply for the position. Some considered him a controversial choice since he is the Vice Chairman of the Prince William Democrats and Trenum is a Republican.
In his Facebook post, Shaw laments that his personal information was not kept confidential, which might have subjected his family to personal attacks.
When I submitted my letter of interest and resume, I sent it to two people: the Chairman of the School Board and the Clerk of the School Board. As would be expected, the information was shared with the other members of the board during the course of normal business.
The information was ultimately posted on the blog “The Sheriff of Nottingham in Prince William County."
Someone who had received my letter and resume took it upon him- or herself to share these two documents with a conservative blogger. In addition to containing my personal information, these two documents contained, as would be expected, further details about my affiliations and employment history and in any normal organization would be handled with discretion. Sharing these two documents unredacted on the conservative blog was blatant attempt to open me and my family up to harassment.
He said that since he announced his name for the Brentsville seat, one of his children had already faced harassment.
Shaw said he has already spoken to his attorney and he is considering his options.
I have no issue with sharing the fact that I had submitted my name for consideration, but sharing my personal information with individuals who clearly had no official reason for access is beyond the pale....I am not currently a candidate for any public office and am, therefore, a private citizen. A private citizen who agreed to step forward to serve his community when asked. I ask what if YOU were in my situation Mr. or Ms. Private Citizen? How would you react? Would you feel violated? You should.
He said that the decision to withdraw his nomination was also informed by his current mistrust of school board members.
I have decided that I do not want to be part of a board on which I cannot trust that discussions held in closed session would remain in closed session. The lack of discretion and professionalism exhibited over the past two weeks appalls me. Good luck to whomever is willing to brave the gauntlet of blogs, Facebook groups and school board members who stand in your way.
"The Sheriff's" blog removed Shaw's resume, but kept some other personal information.
"Mr. Shaw's phone number and address were made public by him in conjunction with his candidacy for the House of Delegates," the blog stated.
Shaw also referenced a memo that was supposedly leaked by “The Sheriff."
The memo appears to advise The Prince William Democratic Party on a strategy to discredit Trenum’s nominees and paint them as too conservative. The “Sheriff’’s” blog claims the memo came from the state party.
However, local Democratic Chairman Harry Wiggins and Chairman Ryan Sawyers said the document is likely fake.
“I have never seen the memo cited in a local anonymous blog,” Sawyers told Bristow Beat Wednesday. “No person that I have spoken to has ever seen the letter. It appears to be fraudulent and maybe even a forgery.”
Meanwhile, Potomac School Board member Justin Wilk has come forward to say he is supporting one of Trenum's nominees, Shawn Brann.
“I feel Mr. Brann through his service for the Safe Schools Advisory Committee has proven to put the needs of students before any type of party ideology," said Wilk in a phone interview, Friday afternoon. “I did support going to the Attorney General because I believe that we just don’t need to open ourselves up to any potential lawsuits, because this is such an unusual case.”
Wilk said Trenum is coming back, so it makes sense for the board to choose a replacement that he can work with.
In his post, Shaw called for more civility in Prince William politics.
It will become increasingly difficult for good men and women in the community to step up and serve if the level of discourse is not raised. Doing what is right is far more important than being right, and the right thing never involves hiding behind an anonymous blog. Our approaches may differ, but our purpose – the betterment of our community – should not be in question. We need unity of purpose and dialogue among parties and school board members. Which of you is willing to take the first step?
EDITOR'S NOTE: The editor Stacy Shaw and publisher Jason Shaw are not related to Don Shaw.
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