KATY, Texas – An activist known for demanding transparency, honesty and integrity from Katy Independent School District is facing heavy criticism.
Sean Dolan announced he’s running to be a trustee for KISD, but some people are upset he listed their names as endorsements on his website when he never asked for their approval.
The new candidate says that he took the 2,200 or so people who publicly liked his Facebook page, promoted as a watchdog site for the district, and listed them as supporters on his website.
“I think that if somebody is publicly liking A Better Legacy, there is, it’s very clear what A Better Legacy is about and what our mission is, and if they like that, I don’t see why they wouldn’t like me as a candidate,” explained Dolan.
He created A Better Legacy a Facebook page that is critical of KISD, and in the past released information pertaining to the school board and specifically former KISD Superintendent Dr. Lance Hindt. He resigned last year.
Some people wrote in the comments section that they follow the site to hear what all sides have to say and that a like does not necessarily mean an endorsement.
“I think initially he had an outside perspective that was lacking, it was a fresh approach to the situation, I think over time I think my opinion of his methods soured. I probably at some point should have unliked the page, but I didn’t really think anything of it,” explained Brooks Wedeking.
He and his wife have two kids who attend Katy ISD. He said Sunday evening he saw a popup in his news feed about people asking to remove endorsements from Dolan’s website. Wedeking searched their names and found them in the endorsement section.
“I was angry, I felt like I was being used without my consent, and I was pretty appalled by it,” explained Wedeking.
He said he went on the Facebook page on Monday morning and asked to have his and his wife’s name removed, but did not got a response and as of Monday night their names were still on the list.
Dolan claims he does remove people’s names when asked.
“I think the uproar created by a few people in the community that are supporting my opposition are making a big deal out of it. I think on the surface it’s as simple as, if people want their names removed, they just ask me and I remove them,” explained Dolan. “I’m not sure I follow the hysteria that’s been created ... It I think was intentional.”
Wedeking said for him, he thinks it was wrong for the candidate to assume that a like translates to support. He thinks there should have been a way for people to opt out.
“I think that if you believe in your message, and you believe in your position, it’s very easy to get real endorsements from people who support you. I think this is a desperation tactic,” said Wedeking. “I think constructing a like on social media as a tacit approval of one's actions or one's position is not fair. It's very frustrating. I feel to a certain degree that myself and 2,000 other people in the same situation were taken advantage of."
Dolan said he doesn’t believe this will hurt him.
He running against current board member Rebecca Fox and attorney Donald “Duke” Keller Jr. for Position One. The election is in May.