School Board Candidate Introduces Himself Through Custom Transphobic Walrus Float

That's one hell of a dog whistle.

Michael Humphrey entered the Fairbanks North Star Borough School Board race with a bang today as he walked along with his float, Johnny the Giant Walrus, during the Golden Days Parade.

“Neat!”, thought most of the crowd, including the parade judges (who on all accounts were NOT in on the “joke”).

Unfortunately, the walrus turned out to be symbolizing something pretty…gross.

The walrus was a transphobic reference to the book “Johnny the Walrus”, written by American conservative political commentator Matt Walsh.

The book allegorically compares being transgender to pretending to be a walrus, through the story of a child named Johnny.

It was published by DW Books, a division of The Daily Wire, a media company founded in part by Ben Shapiro.

The author, Matt Walsh, is an established grifter adept at punching down and stirring up support through making fun of (often imaginary) liberal and progressive people and causes. He’s happy to sell you a “Leftist Tears” tumbler, too.

Here’s a video of the author rather smugly reading the book itself:

The giant walrus in today’s parade (also named Johnny) was a dog whistle, coded political messaging to garner support from a particular group without provoking broad opposition.

On his website, Michael Humphrey states that he stands for:

• Protecting children by stopping the spread of radical gender ideology

• Creating opportunities for more parental involvement in school

• Targeted budget control with the goal of smaller class sizes and teacher salaries that keep up with the cost of living

His website also states that he’s a conservative christian and running for FNSB School Board Seat E. This seat is currently held by retired educator Tim Doran, who’s also running for re-election.

I take no pleasure in a post like this, but dog whistles can be easy to miss.

Borough-wide elections for School Board and Assembly are later this fall on October 3.