A teacher central to Scott Walker's education pitch would like him to stop using her story
The teacher, Megan Sampson, repeated her opposition to Walker using her name in an email to Business Insider on Wednesday.
"I would like Walker to stop using my story as a political narrative for his campaign," the English teacher wrote.
Walker's most recent Sampson reference came Tuesday night in a Des Moines Register op-ed that began by mentioning her.
"Megan Sampson was named the outstanding first-year teacher by the Wisconsin Council of Teachers of English in June of 2010. A week later, she received another certificate: a layoff notice from the Milwaukee Public Schools system," Walker wrote. "Well, under the old union contracts, the last hired was first fired."
This part of the piece is almost identical to the opening of Walker's 2011 op-ed in The Wall Street Journal. The day that article was published, Sampson strenuously objected to being cited as part of the governor's policy advocacy, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Sampson told the newspaper's education reporter, Erin Richards, that the attention was unwelcome and resulted in "stress."
"My opinions about the union have changed over the past eight months, and I am hurt that this story is being used to make me the poster child for this political agenda," she said then. "Bottom line: I am trying to do my job and all this attention is interference and stress for me."
Business Insider reached out to Walker's government office and campaign team on Wednesday inquiring about why they decided to continue using Sampson's name; both have yet to respond.