Haslett School Board candidate defends himself from ‘transphobic’ Facebook post

FRIDAY, Nov. 4 — A candidate for the Haslett Board of Education is under fire for a July 2 post on Facebook that is  being blasted as transphobic.

Terry Goldberg posted a cartoon on his Facebook page with what appears to be a male in a dress, with stubble on his face. Behind this person, is a mother and child. The child asks, “Mommy, is that a man or a woman?” The mother responds, “It’s a Democrat, honey.”

In a candidate profile for the Foundation for Haslett Schools, the small business owner described his qualifications for the school board as “I am a Citizen of the United States, and I am a qualified registered voter in the Haslett Public School district.” 

Introduction to Terry Goldberg from the Foundation for Haslett Schools.

He is among 10 Haslett residents seeking four board seats. Three of those seats are full, six-year terms, and one is a partial two-year term. 

Goldberg is competing against Monica M. Del Castillo. Del Castillo is a lesbian who was appointed a year and half ago to a vacancy on the board and is seeking to retain the seat and complete the term.

“I was dumbfounded and appalled, frankly,” said Del Castillo in a phone interview Friday afternoon. “I think that it is totally against everything the district is working toward.”

She noted the District has been developing a diversity, equity and inclusion plan for the district. 

“We want to make sure our kids are prepared to work in a global world,” Del Castillo said. “So when we have a candidate who has very transphobic beliefs, that’s not a candidate I believe our district wants to embrace as a future board member. As a part of the LGBTQ community the way he presents and tries to spin things is everything that’s wrong with people who struggle with implicit or explicit biases.” 

Conlan Adams, 43, a Haslett resident and parent of three Haslett school students, said the meme in question was “transphobic.” He obtained an image containing Goldberg’s responses to individuals as a Facebook ad. He took a screenshot of the ad and distributed it. 

Screen grab of the advertisement Conlan Adams received on Facebook and distributed.

“This is not somebody who should have anything to do with our school board,” Adams said. 

State Sen. Curtis Hertel Jr., who represents the Haslett School District, said Goldberg should be “embarrassed.” But he noted, as City Pulse has previously reported, candidates across the country are using LGBTQ people as a political cudgel in elections. 

“This is part of a national movement to demonize kids for political benefit, and especially kids that are, frankly, some of our most vulnerable,” Hertel said. “They have to put up with bullying already. School boards should be focused on protecting kids from bullying, certainly not being part of it.”

At the end of a Facebook post today, Goldberg encouraged people to reach out to him with questions about his beliefs on the LGBTQ community. 

“I ask you to really look beyond the memes and into what my views truly are, not what others’ views of me are. And if you have any questions, please, ask me and I will give you a 110% truthful, from the heart answer on where I stand and not a political dead end answer.”

However, Goldberg did not respond to a phone message. Messages to his Facebook campaign page were read, but there was no response to questions or a request to call this reporter. 

In his Facebook response  today to the controversy , Goldberg claimed he will advocate for LGBTQ children. 

“In lieu of the recent meme circulating, I would like to personally address it and say that meme does not represent me or my personal views of anyone in the LGBTQ community,” he wrote. “I always have been and always WILL be an advocate of children regardless of race, color, religion or sexual orientation.”

In his defense, Goldberg shared an email to Sean Baker, associate principal of Haslett High School. The email alerted Baker and administrators to a Facebook post from a transgender student expressing concerns about “deadnaming” by staff at the school, as well as cleanliness of the trans bathrooms at the school. Deadnaming is a term coined by transgender people to reference the name associated with the gender they were assigned at birth. It is considered offensive to call a transgender person by their deadname. 

Emails uploaded by Haslett School Board candidate Terry Goldberg used as a defense against allegations he is transphobic.

Despite Goldberg using this email as evidence he was advocating for transgender youth, he wrote in the email, “I’m not trying to get involved, especially when I am not the parent and I do not have any knowledge whatsoever of Transgender issues.”

Hertel challenged Goldberg’s defense.

“What his other statement shows me is that he does know that there are trans kids at Haslett High School,” said Hertel. “And so the fact that he is not unaware of their existence shows that he is perfectly willing to throw them under the bus and make them part of his political narrative in order to win an election. He should be ashamed of that.” 

Del Castillo said the Friday morning post was Goldberg’s second attempt to spin the meme.

“He tried to spin it by saying that, ‘Well as a parent would you want a man dressed as a woman to go into a women’s bathroom and assault you or assault one of your kids?’” Del Castillo claimed. She said he made the comments in a private Facebook book group. “That's how he tried to spin it.”

Screenshot of Goldberg's first defense of what many in Haslett called a 'transphobic' meme. He has since argued he will advocate, and has advocated …