As a former SDUHSD Trustee and PTA President, I want to weigh in on David Miyashiro’s campaign mailer. While media outlets like NBC San Diego focus heavily on its use of artificial intelligence, to me the true offense is that he weaponized digital tools to diminish a woman’s worth. Miyashiro, not the technology, is squarely to blame.
I reject Miyashiro’s regressive “bake-sale” caricature as a veteran school volunteer. I know firsthand the immense work required to run local schools and stand firmly against this deliberate attempt to marginalize a woman’s leadership.
Volunteers — primarily women — are the engine of public schools. In our community, they bring advanced degrees, professional expertise, and countless unpaid hours to build the village that supports our children. This leadership requires sophisticated financial and management skills far beyond selling baked goods. Reducing Flicker’s civic dedication to a cheap, sexist punchline minimizes her real contributions and insults all women.
In contrast to the AI imagery, Flicker’s public service spans more than a decade of managing school budgets, education policy, and civic governance. Her extensive leadership includes serving as PTA President, VP of Legislation for the California State PTA Ninth District, Encinitas Planning and Environmental Commissioner, and a member of the SDUHSD Special Education Taskforce and citizen oversight committees for Prop P and Prop AA.
It is deeply concerning that this casual disparagement comes from a sitting superintendent who asks our community to trust him with Artificial Intelligence inside classrooms—the tool he flippantly manipulated against a respected community member. More than ironic, it signals a profound leadership failure.
If elected, Miyashiro will be charged with ensuring a safe, fair environment for female teachers, staff, and students across the district. Does he view them through the same condescending lens as his opponent? Does he perceive their contributions as less valuable than his own? I believe his patriarchal mindset disqualifies him from serving our schools.
Unfortunately, the mistreatment of women in public is a systemic pattern kept alive every time dismissive tropes go unchallenged—and plays out everywhere from local politics, like Miyashiro’s flyer, to a national stage like Shane Gillis’ Saturday Night Live monologue. Both degrade women to score a cheap, transactional gain.
No more deflections or excuses. It’s time to draw a line in the sand and refuse this and all forms of patronizing behavior—especially from local leaders. To me, the only thing obvious here is an urgent need for accountability.
