We have ‘non-partisan’ school board elections here. The candidates can’t run ‘as’ Republicans or Democrats, but they all run with endorsements of one or the other party.
Non-partisan is just another way of saying ideological in poli-speak.
Ditto that. I worked on a campaign for a school board election, and there were voters who insisted on knowing the party affiliation of the candidates, even though it was a "non-partisan" election.
Also, once in office (any office), those "non-partisan" Dem/Communists start working their way up the ladder to bigger things where they can do more damage.