FAIRHOPE, Alabama—Baldwin County Schools Superintendent Alan Lee issued a sharply worded response yesterday upon hearing of the use of Fairhope High School cheerleaders at a Saturday city election campaign event for Mayor Tim Kant, and City Council candidates Mike McPherson and Kevin Boone.

“The involvement of any school group in a political campaign is certainly wrong,” Lee told The Fairhope Courier in an email Monday. “I have requested that the principal determine how this occurred.  Any school employee who approved this will be subject to appropriate action.  Any adult who used/lured children to further a political campaign should be ashamed.”

Fairhope’s municipal election that was set for today has been rescheduled to Sept. 11 due to Tropical Storm Isaac issues.

Car-washing cheerleaders

More than a dozen girls clad in bright blue Fairhope High School cheerleader uniforms washed cars at a campaign fundraiser for Mayor Tim Kant and “Family Fun Day” event Saturday afternoon, which included a cookout, inflatable castle, dart-throwing at balloons and other festivities.

Several of the girls wore “Keep Kant” stickers on their uniforms, and others held “Keep Tim Kant” signs, with the handwritten offer of “Free Car Wash” on the other side, which they waved at passing traffic at the downtown Fairhope location of MacArthur’s Garage.

That Fairhope Avenue location served as campaign headquarters for Kant in 2008, when he successfully sought his third term as mayor.

“They’re not working for my campaign,” Kant told The Fairhope Courier, as he stood next to the line of cars that passed through to get a carwash from the cheerleaders in short skirts. “They were hired by the owner of the filling station. He made a donation to them and wanted to know did they want to wash cars while we were having our fundraiser. And so they’re working, as you can see, with a bucket for donations.”

While Kant spoke, a man dressed in white shirt, tie and hat with “Keep Kant” stickers on each, broadcast a repeating message through a bullhorn heard several blocks away. He was accompanied by a balloon-blowing clown.

“Free car washes by the Fairhope High School championship cheerleaders,” he boomed. “Come meet Kevin Boone.”

Council candidates at event

Boone is running for Council Place 5 against Councilman Rick Kingrea in the Aug. 28 municipal election for mayor and five council seats. Boone had been at the event earlier, according to two people at the event.

Mike McPherson, running against Diana Brewer and Vince Valentim for Place 3 on the council, was also in attendance and stood next to Kant’s father-in-law and city fire inspector Tom Odom [no relation to the author of this article].

McPherson said he did not authorize the carrying of his campaign signs by any cheerleader.

 “I gave signs to an individual who went out and got kids from the high school,” McPherson said. “It wasn’t my doing is what I’m saying. I did not give them to the cheerleaders. Evidently they did. I don’t have any (further) comment.”

No campaign coordination

Kant said he was not working in concert with McPherson, Boone and three candidates (Jack Burrell for Place 1, Rich Mueller for Place 2 and Councilman Mike Ford for Place 5), as has been speculated after dozens of campaign signs for those six candidates began appearing together throughout town.

An editorial cartoon by J.D. Crowe of the Press-Register with commentary posted on his blog Friday, also noted that possibility, as did an article in the newspaper’s Sunday edition—a possibility that Kant denied in the article. A photo and caption in Friday’s Courier also noted that apparent coordination of at least the distribution of signs by those six candidates.

FHS Pirates mascot 

In addition to the presence of car-washing Fairhope High School cheerleaders at the Saturday campaign and “Family Fun Day” event for Kant, Boone and McPherson, the mascot for the FHS Pirates was also in attendance, according to several people who attended or drove past the event.

“Last time I checked, our public schools were taxpayer-funded. Are we to assume our taxpayer-funded public schools are endorsing candidates?” Brewer said by email, referring to the presence of car-washing, sign-carrying and campaign-sticker-wearing FHS cheerleaders and Pirates mascot at the Saturday event. “As a taxpayer and a dues-paying member of the Fairhope Pirate Booster Club, I'm appalled. I would like to know who approved this and what part of it did they think was appropriate.”

John MacArthur, the owner of MacArthur’s Garage, could not be reached for comment, nor could other candidates facing Kant, Boone and McPherson in the city election. 

Kant, Mueller, McPherson and Boone were absent from the last candidate forum of the campaign season on Aug. 23 at the Windmill Market, with each candidate claiming a prior engagement and conflict that prevented their attendance.