Confronting Extremism in Florida

Florida is the birthplace of Moms for Liberty. It is also the state where the governor has spent millions of dollars to elect extremist members of school boards around the state who have banned books, fired superintendents, and in general wreaked havoc on local school systems.

In the face of that, communities around the state have come together to elect pro-public education school board members.

In this episode, Karin Chenoweth talks with three who won in 2024.

·       Stephanie Vanos, who defeated a Moms for Liberty candidate in Orange County;

·       Liz Barker, who also defeated a Moms for Liberty candidate in Sarasota County; and

·       Rebecca Thompson, who defeated an incumbent who had been appointed by Governor DiSantis in Broward County.

They talk about how they won—what strategies they employed and what they hope to accomplish.

A few notes:

Liz Barker’s internet connection was a bit wonky, so her sound isn’t great but the wisdom she shared is worth putting up with a little glitchiness. Also, at one point Karin talked over her so you might not hear the amount she raised for her race. It was $200,000.

Guests made a couple of references to “Sunshine.” Florida’s Sunshine law is its open meetings law. Among other things, school board members are forbidden to privately discuss matters that come up before the board. The idea is to ensure that the public is able to hear all substantive discussions.

A couple of other references made during the show included

·       Ruth’s List, which is a political action committee that supports women candidates in Florida

·       Educated We Stand, which is a PAC that supports pro-public education school board candidates based in Florida and started by a former school board member in Brevard County, Jennifer Jenkins.

·       Help Out Public Education (HOPE), a state-wide organization to support pro-public education school board candidates in Florida. (NEED WEB SITE LINK)

Please like, subscribe, and recommend this podcast to your friends and colleagues. And consider joining Democracy and Education, which provides information and community to school board candidates, particularly those facing extremism. The only requirement for membership is that you support public education and democracy, and we have a vibrant community of school board members, former members, candidates, and folks who work on school board campaigns. To join, just fill out the form on the Connect page of the web site.