Scott Washburn, assistant director of Augsburg College鈥檚 StepUP庐 program, was one the experts interviewed by MinnPost for an article examining public figures’ right to privacy as well as the rights of the public figures’ significant others. The article examined an聽overarching theme that probed, “How much of a candidate鈥檚 own personal life should be made available for public debate?”
In responding to a question on whether it is appropriate for the mental health or addiction history of a political spouse or other family member to be made public, Washburn argued聽that sort of political playmaking聽goes over the line.
“I don鈥檛 think it鈥檚 appropriate at all,” Washburn said. “The candidate is running, not the family member. The electorate is voting for the candidate, not the family member. The family of a presidential candidate is going to be dragged into the public eye, but I think it鈥檚 important to respect some boundaries here. It鈥檚 an issue of respect and privacy. The candidate would be fair game from my perspective, but I don鈥檛 think family members should be. It just reflects how low things have gone in this political race.
All that being said, if the family member chooses to publically disclose his or her personal history, then that is a different conversation.”
Read additional responses from Washburn in “” on the MinnPost site.
The following is from an email sent by Andy Thomas and Thomas Chester, two Augsburg College students who climbed Mt. Rainier and raised money to provide assistance for young people seeking treatment for addiction.