Shawn D. Wilkerson Jr.

Strongly Agree

Every human life is created in the image and likeness of God and deserves dignity and legal protection from conception to natural death. Within the Families First pillar of my campaign, moral authority belongs at the kitchen table, not the boardroom. While public schools should reinforce core character traits like discipline and honesty, they must never usurp parental primacy regarding the sanctity of human life.

Any crisis involving student health requires compassion, safety, and clear boundaries. Under my Families First pillar, schools should never operate in secrecy or undermine the role of families during a health or life crisis. Recognizing that every situation is unique—and that some family dynamics may be disrupted or disruptive and call for a different approach—our schools should operate under a clear, compassionate, and transparent protocol that first addresses the student’s physical and emotional well-being, makes an immediate notification to the family (except in instances of verified abuse where mandatory reporting is required), and then connect the family with professional community agencies who can offer long-term support.

Strongly Agree

It took 18 years to pay off the undergraduate and graduate student loans for my wife and I. We delayed many major purchases. I empathize with individuals struggling under debt, but the solution is not to shift those liabilities onto the public. I do not support cancellation, but I am in favor of targeted, service-earned loan discharge programs for individuals who fulfill vital public service roles—such as serving in the military or teaching in high-need public schools.

Taxpayer funding comes with an obligation to deliver measurable value. For K-12, this means foundational mastery of grade-level literacy and math. For college, the expectation is for graduates to have marketable, in-demand skills. At every level institutions must remember that their primary customers are the families and communities they serve, not the status quo of the entrenched administrative bureaucracy, and not the special-interest groups holding their own agendas.

The 1st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provides protections for religious freedom by prohibiting government-sponsored religion and safeguarding the free exercise of faith. Within the realm of public schools, this means the government cannot mandate a religious doctrine, which includes imposing secular ideological beliefs.

Strongly Disagree

I recognize the humanity of those who have arrived in Norfolk searching for the best America has to offer. I fully support targeted, intelligence-driven enforcement that focuses strictly on individuals with known criminal records or location-verified visa overstays, but I do not support broad, indiscriminate operations of ICE or any law enforcement. Broad operations may create an environment of fear that has the potential to fracture neighborhoods and drive families into hiding.

Strongly Disagree

Under my Families First pillar, I believe public schools must respect parental primacy for the educational and moral development of students. Schools should neither deliver instruction nor facilitate services that usurp parental authority on ethical, medical, and moral decisions. I do not support outsourcing sensitive counseling or instructional roles to politically active or controversial outside groups that undermine community trust.

Strongly Agree

Accountability must exist across the entire school system—students, parents, teachers, administrators, and board members. Inconsistent discipline during formative years does not prepare youth for the challenges of adulthood. The recent teen takeover event in Ghent illustrates what happens when young people are raised in environments without clear boundaries and consequences. School governance must establish firm, consistent standards so schools remain safe environments for learning.

Strongly Agree

Strongly Agree

Include these topics: Abortion methods and side effects (to include interviews with men and women who have been involved with the aborting of a child and the long-term psychological impact); Abstinence; Consent; Contraceptive methods; Human anatomy/the reproductive system; Physical and emotional health outcomes; Stages of pregnancy and fetal development. I would also add topics on STDs and cancer risks associated with sexual activity, and DNA and human development stages.

Physical Fitness/Mathematics/Language Arts/Science/American History/Civics/Art & Music/Foreign Language/Information Technology/Personal Finances/Principles of American Business (added)/Economics in Society (added)/Vocational Learning (which includes traditional trades such as welding, plumbing, carpentry, etc., but also modern trades such as automations, coding, and other non-college career fields which require certification such as insurance, real estate, equipment repair, etc.)

Strongly Agree

Public education must prioritize academic mastery in fundamental areas of reading, math, and science. However, the ability to self-govern and preserve cultural traditions require more than just an academic credential. While families have the primary obligation for moral development, schools must play a role in enforcing character development. Character development will produce students who are self-disciplined students, accountable, honest, and civic minded.

Strongly Agree

School choice will create competition. However, whether that competition will push public school to improve will depend on the community. Public schools should embrace a culture of experimentation to provide educational options for families and to determine what works for their community.

Strongly Disagree

Public schools should establish and preserve boundaries to prevent unfair advantages in athletics and safeguard women in spaces where they are most vulnerable. There are other activities, such as cheerleading and mixed relays in crew and track, where co-ed participation is acceptable. Despite this nuance, my position is that female sports should be for females as this protects their opportunities for recognition and fair competition.

My worldview is Biblical and rooted in the authority of Scripture. I believe that God is sovereign, truth is objective, and every human is entitled to dignity, courtesy, and respect because we are all made in the image and likeness of God. However, I do not believe the state should be weaponized to impose conformity with any religious beliefs, whether it be Christianity, Islam, Judaism, forms of Paganism, or the various presentations of modern Secularism. Faith is freely chosen. True transformation occurs in the human heart through the Gospel—not through state power or administrative mandates. I value freedom of association, individual liberty, personal responsibility, transparency in governance, and equal protection under the law.

Strongly Agree

This aligns perfectly with my first campaign pillar of Families First. Families First is about parental primacy. Families have the primary duty and obligation for the educational and moral development of their children. Students do not belong to the public school system and schools should not place themselves as surrogate parents.

Strongly Agree

Strongly Agree

Marriage is a sacred union. Government should not be involved in marriage.

Strongly Agree

Every human—regardless of health conditions, social status, or personal beliefs—is made in the image and likeness of God and deserving of absolute dignity, courtesy, and respect. Public education must maintain an environment free from any forms of dehumanization or hostility. Public schools must never encourage, enable, or facilitate a social transition or alter a student’s registered identity—including using alternate names or pronouns—without explicit parental knowledge and consent.

Strongly Disagree

Families have the primary duty to instill morality in their children. The role of the public school system is to provide a safe environment to facilitate the educational process. Nothing within this role should grant public schools the authority to usurp the role of families by serving as an unchecked repository of sexually explicit content under the guise of an exemption stemming from an “expert” opinion.

Strongly Disagree

One of my three campaign pillars is transparency. Transparent governance starts at the point of election: the voting booth. Transparent voting relies on systems of verification to ensure the right voters are voting in the right place. Verifying voter identity at the point of participation is a foundational requirement for process integrity. Having trust in the process allows us to maintain trust in the institutions which support and maintain our society.

No. Neither have I been arrested nor detained by law enforcement.

No.

2014 General Election 2016 General Election 2018 General Election 2020 General Election 2022 General Election

None.

Lean Conservative

Strongly Disagree

School safety requires a rigorous, comprehensive, and systemic approach. Simply arming faculty is an incomplete and dangerous policy that doesn’t address operational realities and the lessons learned from public safety incidents. I fully support non-law enforcement personnel or faculty to be integrated into physical defense plans for schools if there are stringent standards on physical fitness, tactical marksmanship under stress, and regular mental health evaluations.