The least-watched elected officials in the country are school board members. They also comprise the largest single group of elected officials in this country. 
August 14, 2008 - There are calls for the recall or resignation of Durango School District 9-R board member Padraig "Paddy" Lynch after his arrest 
for breaking into the Humane Society after-hours to retrieve his dog. The dog had been seized by Animal Control officers after a caller complained that it was locked in Lynch's truck at the fairgrounds.
(Other stories say it was the High School parking lot and the dog had been locked in the truck for hours without water. It seems to be the case the that he was at the Fairgrounds working on cars for the demolition derby and left his dog in his truck in the school parking lot for hours without water.)
The former teacher's tenure on the board has been controversial. Lynch's fellow board members have accused him of impeding their work.TT - Who votes for these people? Nationwide, less than 20% of the electorate usually vote in any school board election.** Who runs for the offices? A surprising number of candidates are teachers backed by their unions. It's a obvious and blatant conflict of interest when the primary responsibility of the the board member is to vote on budgets, union contracts and union-concern issues, but it is perfectly legal.
He drew a reprimand from then-Superintendent Mary Barter in March for a visit to Durango High School that she called "disruptive," and again drew criticism in May when he called a union official to discuss sensitive contract negotiations.
Lynch was a welding teacher at Durango High from 2003 to 2005, when the district declined to renew his contract. Evidence surfaced this year that Lynch had repeated interactions with a female student who was not in his class that made her uncomfortable.
We found his surprisingly laughable bio for Paddy online. And this 2006 article paints a picture of, not of a non-conformist, but a career loser. (TT Opinion)
** In Durango, turnout for elections in 2003 was higher than the 2001 turnout of of 18.7%, leading them to begin to conduct mail-in elections.
