How confusing; seems there’s more than one candidate in Hanover named Shayne Barkman

It’s not entirely clear when or why Hanover trustee Shayne Barkman became one of Manitoba’s best-known anti-LGBTTQ+ crusaders.

Back in 2022, when he ran as a candidate for Hanover school board for the first time, there was nary a hint that socially conservative culture wars were going to be a large part of his identity as an elected official.

In a Steinbach Online profile published before the 2022 municipal elections, Barkman highlighted his background as a successful farmer. He said he was entering politics to be a “listening ear” who could promote understanding.

“I would love to kind of just be a voice of reason amongst all the problems coming down the pipe,” Barkman said

Somewhere between that interview and the current school board election campaign, where Barkman is running for re-election, he became less interested in being a “voice of reason,” and more possessed with imposing the will of some dangerously misinformed parents on the entire division.

About 10 days ago, Barkman used his Facebook account to repost a comic-book style graphic created by the Concerned Citizens of Canada, a well-known far-right, anti-LGBTTQ+ activist group.

The graphic showed a muscular male trustee defending schoolchildren with a medieval shield from a woman in a Manitoba Teachers’ Society T-shirt and Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara, who are drawn with their hands on puppet strings controlling Education Minister Tracy Schmidt.

There’s so many moving parts in this graphic to touch on them all, but here’s the obvious gist:

Asagwara, who identifies as non-binary, is being accused of controlling Schmidt and the Education Department to promote a “Trans Agenda,” which appears on a sign behind the health minister. Asagwara is apparently doing that to, as another sign below Schmidt clearly states, make schools the “gateway for medical transitions, abortions, etc. without parent consent or knowledge.”

The repost drew a swift rebuke from MTS. Shortly thereafter, Barkman removed it but has yet to make any public comment about why he drew attention to it in the first place.

Barkman has, however, rediscovered the same mild, conciliatory tone he used in the 2022 campaign. His Facebook page is now full of gushing compliments for the principals, teachers, students and parents of Hanover, with nary a mention of his fear of the LGBTTQ+ community or the need to combat the NDP government’s so-called “trans agenda.”

I know it’s fashionable for people to place caveats on their social media accounts that claim likes and reposts do not represent an endorsement of any kind. But liking and reposting is an endorsement and, in this instance, Barkman is aligning himself directly with those toxic forces who threaten the LGBTTQ+ community and their allies.

There’s no doubt Barkman, if he had the courage to explain himself, would deny that he hates anyone. But if it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, reposts offensive messages from other socially conservative ducks and attends duck-organized anti-LGBTTQ+ rallies, then it’s a pretty hateful duck.

One question lingers above this incident: how could an elected official such as Barkman slip into a position of authority without divulging one of his most important personal beliefs? Welcome to the world of school division politics.

Turnout in elections at all levels is poor right now, but municipal elections are, by far and away, the worst. Depending on the community, municipal turnout can range between 10 and 40 per cent. Given that many people vote only for mayors and councillors and never cast a vote for trustees, the effective turnout for school divisions is much lower.

Oh, and roughly 50 per cent of all trustees run unopposed and are, thus, acclaimed. Perhaps that’s why the bar to throw a hat in the ring is even lower; a candidate needs only need 25 signatures to get their name on the ballot.

A lack of candidates, low voter scrutiny and very low voter turnout allows some trustees like Barkman to play the role of ideological Trojan Horse, projecting unbridled positivity for all people regardless of background during the campaign, and then adopting a judgmental and punitive posture once elected.

Of course, the comic-book attack graphic was not the first time Barkman showed his hand.

In the fall of 2023, for example, he attended a Winnipeg rally for the “1 Million March for Children,” an extreme, socially conservative movement that seeks to erase gender-inclusive and sex education from public school curriculum and openly accuses teachers of grooming children for pedophiles.

It should be mentioned that Barkman is not the only trustee in southeastern Manitoba who holds these views. Hanover School Division has tried to pass several policies and motions designed to combat the fictional “trans agenda” in its classrooms.

If voters in Hanover want Barkman again, they will likely get him. However, just as a matter of principle, it would be nice if he were to actually live up to values he claims to embrace.

This week, he wrote in a post on Facebook that he believes “every voice matters” and that “listening isn’t just hearing — it’s taking the time to understand.”

It’s the least voters should expect from an elected official: govern as the person you said you were, or tell us who you really are.

dan.lett@freepress.mb.ca