It's fundamentally wrong, said Tim Beagley, another board member. He called it democratically counterintuitive that his board colleague, incumbent Mike Anderson, is no longer a candidate for his own elected position.
Anderson won 68 percent of his district's vote in 2000.
Gov. Olene Walker, who is forced by statute to accept the committee's recommendations, said she was surprised that the group cut Anderson from a list of potential nominees to run for the state education board.
The fomenting furor is due to a law passed this year that changed how state school board candidates are selected.
In past elections, individual nominating committees picked candidates for each state board district. Then, the governor selected candidates proffered by each committee.
Now, one 12-member committee winnows prospective candidates to three per district. The state has a total of 15 districts. This year, seven seats are up for grabs.
On Friday, Walker cut the field to two per district. Voters will chose between those candidates in November.
Sen. Tom Hatch, R-Panguitch, who penned the bill, conceded the law was not perfect. He did say, however, that the process reflects the current political climate, which demands more balance on the state school board.
That balance would be attained by attracting candidates with different backgrounds and philosophies. The law requires committee members to choose possible nominees with specific qualifications, such as business administration, higher education administration, economic development and public-education instruction.
If board balance is what legislators strived for, they've failed, Beagley said.
It may be that the entire process is invalid, he said. I don't see why the state board should be elected any differently than the local board. The voters can be trusted.
Anderson said earlier this week that he felt sick after learning that he would not be on November's ballot.
mcronin@sltrib.com
Contested races
* District 7: John Pingree (incumbent) and Jonathan George Jemming, both of Salt Lake City
* District 11: Bill Colbert, Draper; and Mark Towner, Draper
* District 12: Mark Cluff, Alpine; and David Adamic, Cedar Hills
* District 13: Brian Woodfield, Provo; and Thomas Gregory, Orem
