NEGATIVE DOESN'T ALWAYS PAY.

Byline: James Bemis Commentary

Having survived everything opponents could throw at him, Norm Walker returns for a second term on the Simi Valley Unified School District Board. Despite - or perhaps with the help of - a last-minute negative advertising blitz funded by the teachers' union, Walker emerged as the top vote-getter in the Nov. 3 election, garnering in excess of 9,600 votes. That's more than 100 ballots more than fellow board member - and frequent adversary - Carla Kurachi, who also keeps her seat.

Given the district's high profile, this was one of the most interesting of the local races. During the past several years, for instance, the district employed five superintendents, including the highly publicized hiring and firing of Dan Flynn. As fate would have it, Walker and Kurachi, the two main antagonists in the Flynn saga, were pitted against each other Nov. 3.

If that wasn't enough, the teacher's union that bitterly opposed hiring Flynn publicly supported Kurachi and challenger Michael Murphy, donating $3,500 to each of their war chests. On the campaign's last weekend, the union ran cable television ads attacking Walker as bad for public education because his children don't attend Simi public schools and claiming that he supports programs that take away money from public schools.

The result? Walker still won re-election.

One sure sign of how low the level of political discourse in this country has sunk is that damnation now substitutes for discussion, invective supersedes ideas, revilement has replaced reason. Whether through habit, laziness or just sheer malice, the most popular means of indicating disagreement - employed most effectively by liberals - is to demonize opponents rather than debate them.

For example, Walker has a four-year track record as trustee that was fair game for his opponents to take issue with. He also ran on a platform of fiscal conservatism and a back-to-basis curriculum that he was ready to defend.

Yet rather than debate ideas, Walker's critics referred to him as ``out of step'', ``narrow'' and as having a ``hidden agenda.''

These labels are simply a way of enforcing conformity to the status quo. As much as we'd like to believe ourselves to be a country of free-thinkers, the truth is that we're terrified to be thought of as nonconformists. Hence our preoccupation with being considered ``moderate,'' ``mainstream'' and ``middle of the road.'' Heaven forbid anyone should think of us as ``extremist.''

But every new idea is regarded as extreme at first, and certain long-held notions - reflecting the collective wisdom of thousands of years of human history - are considered extreme today. Why - much as I hate to admit it - some of the views I hold dearest would certainly be labeled by some (perhaps most) as yes, extremist. That's the price of going against the herd.

It is to Walker's credit that he doesn't mind being different, often voting according to conscience even when his stance is unpopular with the rest of the board, teachers or the public. This, seems to me, exactly the sort of quality we should seek in a public official. Some may call him ``out of step'' or ``rigid'' but looked at another way, Walker's independence of mind might just as easily be characterized as ``honest,'' principled'' or even ``innovative.''

Anyway, it's refreshing to know that negative campaigning doesn't always pay dividends. Maybe we can finally retire the adjectives ``narrow,'' ``extremist'' and ``radical,'' at least when they're applied to Norm Walker. After being the top vote-getter now in two straight school board elections, the only truly accurate thing we can say about him is that he's downright popular.