LIBERAL DEMOCRATS AND CONSERVATIVE REPUBLICANS IN A CULTURE WAR FOR CONTROL OF THE SARASOTA COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD

1. LIBERAL DEMOCRATS AND CONSERVATIVE REPUBLICANS IN A CULTURE WAR FOR CONTROL OF THE SARASOTA COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD

What cast's a cloud on those who are supporting the Liberal Democrat School Board candidates is the fact that those candidates are being endorsed and financed by the same individuals who are supporting and financing the candidacy of Hagen Brody for Sarasota County Commissioner. Brody was recently described by a City of Sarasota neighborhood activist Kelly Franklin:

Brody

"Hagen Brody can accurately be characterized as a misogynist. He abuses everyone because he is a raging narcissist. Brody reserves a special level of disdain for women - particularly accomplished women. In terms of the violence, please read the staff reports that were submitted to City of Sarasota HR the day he held three women employees at city hall in what one described as "a hostage situation". His behavior from the podium has been only slightly less horrible - and his treatment of of fellow City Commissioner Jennifer Ahearn Koch has been almost unbearable to witness."

HOW PARTISAN SCHOOL BOARD RACES HAVE INFLAMED A BITTER DIVISIVE LOCAL CULTURE WAR CENTERED ON WEDGE ISSUES

Before Eric Robinson and Christian Ziegler turned the Sarasota County School Board races from nonpartisan to partisan elections and raised a $10,000 campaign to get elected to a now half a million dollars to get elected to the School Board, no one cared if one was really a Republican or a Democrat. No one cared what School Board candidates' views were on social issues.

Today that has all changed. Nonpartisan school board races have turned into high price partisan bitter divisive culture wars centered on social wedge issues.

Local City of Sarasota nonpartisan elections have also turned into partisan elections. For example, Democrat political operatives Rita Ferrandino, Christine Jennings, and Susan Nilon in 2015 turned Sarasota City Commissions races into partisan elections, which has resulted in party affiliation not the most qualified being the priority to be elected.

THE THREE BRO'S--ARROYO/BRODY/BATTIE

The results of City of Sarasota elections turning partisan in 2015 is that we now have in 2022, three of most unqualified City Commissioners in control of Sarasota City Hall. Two of them, Kyle Battie and Brody can't make in the private sector and the other Eric Arroyo is shuffling papers at a local law firm.

MATHERS AND EDWARDS CONTIUE TO TURN SCHOOL BOARD RACES PARTISIAN

Democrats Kay Mathers and Tom Edwards are doing in 2022 just as Republicans did in 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2020, which has turned the once nonpartisan School Board elections into partisan elections, which does not insure electing the most qualified candidates.

Mathers has joined together with Sarasota County School Board member Edwards to handpick Democrat candidates to takedown an example of a Republican Conservative women Bridget Ziegler and elect Democrats to replace the retiring School Board members Shirley Brown and Jane Goodwin.

Mathers is past chairman of Girls Inc and the media and marketing consultant at Girls Inc in Sarasota. For the past three election cycles, Mothers has served as Political Director and strategist for two state house races for Ruth's Lists Florida, recruiting, training, and supporting Democratic pro-choice women to state and local office in Florida.

1. LOCAL SCHOOL BOARD RACES ARE BITTER DIVISIVE CONFRONTATIONS

Local School Board races' have turned into a bitter divisive culture confrontation between Liberal Democrats and Conservative Republicans for control of the local School Board.

This hostility is not just a clash of opinions, rather it is part of the long battle by a fair number of teachers to become surrogate parents. Those on the Republican Conservative side believe they are not – and were never meant to be such. They believe for one thing, teachers do not have the training, no matter how much “education” they have, to step into parental roles.

They believe teachers offer their students an acquaintance with the best of history, art, and culture. That is what children ought to be learning and that is what teachers are being paid to teach.

LOCAL CULTURE WEDGE ISSUES DIFFERENCES ARE OBSERVED AT VARIOUS LOCAL VENUES

Go to the local various Facebook pages and you will observe the culture war going on between those on the "left" of wedge issues and those on the "right" of the wedge issues.

Go to a meeting of the Sarasota County Republican Executive Committee (REC). Then go to a meeting of the Sarasota County Democrat Executive Committee (DEC) and witness the bitter divisiveness separating them.

Go to a political gathering at the Hollows in Osprey where those on the conservative side of the wedge issues gather. Then go to a political gathering at Fogartyville in the Rosemary District in Downtown Sarasota where those on liberal side wedge issues gather. That is where you will hear how divisive and passionate each side is on the all-important wedge issues that divide them.

Go to a local School Board meeting and listen and observe how passionate those on the Liberal side and conservative side of the wedge issues are on the issues that divide them, which has created this local Culture War.

These wedge issue that divide these folks are the elephants in the rooms that both sides try to walk around, while talking about books, masks and charter schools.

The issues that passionately divide these folks are issues center around pro-life/pro-choice; GLBTQ; ---and the biggest Elephant in the room that divides them is those who have strong Christian beliefs and those who care little about Christian beliefs. If you want to bury your head in the sand and deny those are the elephants in the room that divide those in the culture war, so be it.

WASHINGTON POST ENFLAMED CONFRONTATION

The Washington Post came to Sarasota and added fuel to fire of the Liberal/Conservative confrontation for control of the Sarasota County School Board but failed to dig deep into what are the elements that are fueling this confrontation.

The Washington reporter Tim Craig attended a couple of School Board meetings, and talked about the Hollows, but did not go there. Doubt if he took in a meeting at Fogartyville. Highly unlikely he went to any REC or DEC meetings.

It is also highly unlikely that Craig looked at the two Facebook pages that exemplifies the passionate differences between those wishing to take control of the School Board. Those two Facebook pages are: The former Sarasota Herald Tribune monitored: Sarasota and Manatee County OPEN Forum and Sarasota County School District Transparency Project.

Craig spoke more exclusively to Lisa Schurr and her colleagues on the Save Our Schols organization and not to those with opposie views at the local Moms for Liberty organization.

Craig made it apper that SOS was organize in reaction to right wing extremists that are using Sarasota County as an incubator for controversial social issues that fire up conservatives but don't serve the countys residents.

Craig made no menion that the local left wing extremist can be as extremly vocal as they accused who they call right wing extremists can be. Those on the left can be as vocal as the ring wing extremists in using Sarasota County as an incubator for controversial social isues tht fire up lberals but don't serve the county's intrests,

If one disagrees with that statement, go to various social media outlets, and observe how Bridget Ziegler and her supporters are vilified. Some of the most offensive statements disparaging Ziegler and her supporters' beliefs are scandalous.

What the Post reporter did was give a slanted view of the culture confrontation dividing the community and who are the folks with the loudest voices in this confrontation for control of the school Board. Craig made one feel all the noise was coming from "right" extremists.

WASHINGTON POST ARTICLE HEAVILY BIASED

The Washington Post article written by Craig was heavily biased vilifying Christian Ziegler and his wife Bridget Ziegler, who are the targets of "left-leaning activist."

Craig was indeed accurate in writing that, "The left-leaning activists are particularly focused on Sarasota County Commissioner Christian Ziegler — the vice chairman of the Republican Party of Florida and his wife, Sarasota School Board Member Bridget Ziegler, who helped found Moms for Liberty, a conservative group advocating for more parental control in schools."

DAILY ATTACKS ON ZIEGLER'S

Schurr, who is responsible for bringing Craig to Sarasota, is one of many seen on social media attacking the Zieglers.

“Our message will be, ‘this man doesn’t give a damn about his constituents, and he doesn’t represent all of the people,’” Schurr said of a potential Democratic campaign against Christian Ziegler.

CHRISTIAN ZIEGLER: DeSANTIS NUMBER ONE TO HIS CRITICS

Christian Ziegler stated, "my critics are upset Republicans dominated Democrats in voter-registration across Florida last year. And because of that, they are dead set on branding Florida as some sort of extremist state.” (FloridaGovernor Ron) DeSantis “is the number one threat to those that want to crack down on freedom and want to fundamentally change the country into some sort of Socialist utopia,” ChristiaZiegler said,

GOODWIN STATES ZIEGLERS "GENERATE UPHEAVAL WITHIN SCHOOL SYSTEM"

Sarasota School Board Jane Goodwin said that "conservative activists like the Ziegler's have developed an effective strategy for both generating upheaval within the school system and turning those issues into nationwide debates in conservative media."

Goodwin, is a local politician who in order to get elected over the years to the School Board in a heavily Republican area ran as a Republican for the School Board. After stating she would not run for re-election, Goodwin came out of the closet and became a Democrat attacking the Ziegler's.

BRIDGET ZIEGLER: "I WON'T BE BULLIED BY ATTACKS ON HER CHARACTER OR CREDIBILITY"

Bridget Ziegler, who helped DeSantis shape his “parental rights” agenda stated she wears her values “on her sleeve” and won’t be bullied by the attacks on her character or credibility. “They spend all of their time on keyboard or Twitter, I am actually doing work,” said Ziegler, a mother of three who joined the school board in 2014. “I got thick skin, and skin like leather, so it doesn’t deter me."

WASHINGTON POST PICTURES SPEAK A THOUSAND WORDS

The Post article pictured Christian Ziegler looking like an overweight hack politician, while not putting up a picture of the Ziegler's with their three young children or any favorable image of the Ziegler's. The Washington Post took over 70 pictures while in Sarasota but could not find any favorable picture of the Ziegler's.

Whenever favorable pictures of the Ziegler's with three young children and favorable comments accompany the pictures, their local critics go crazy with some of most vile and vulgar comments attacking the Ziegler's.

The Post did find a picture of three semi - retired professional women who are part of group of women representing the liberal Democrat vision opposite to the Ziegler's views. They were sitting down at a condo in an exclusive Downtown enclave overlooking Sarasota Bay. Those in the photo are Cathy Antunes, Carol Learner, and Schorr.

Learner is a retired educator from New Jersey and founder of an organization called Protect Our Schools (POPS) and member of the organization put together in opposition to Mom For Liberty, Support Our Schools.

Antunes is a former unsuccessful Sarasota County Commission candidate and former pharmaceutical salesperson. Antunes hosts a local radio show called The Detail on WSLR located at Fogartyville.

Craig quoted Antunes saying, “There is a culture that the Ziegler's have fostered that puts party over country, party over community and is all just about winning and they don’t care how they win. If you don’t call these people out where they live, it just spreads.”

In a separate interview, Christian Ziegler defended their actions stating, "Antunes and her allies are just gadflies who are unfairly targeting his family."

SCHURR AND SUPPORT OUR SCHOOLS

Schurr is a retired international tax attorney, who has traveled for over 20 years in former Soviet Union republics. Schurr helped formed the Support Our Schools organization. espi

SPIEGLEMAN AND MOMS FOR LIBERTY

Those who represent the conservative agenda and can be found on various conservative Facebook pages, at REC meetings and at the Hollows are working-class mothers with young children in the public schools like Melissa Bakondy, Melisa Radovich and Alexis Spiegelman, chairwoman of Moms for Liberty-Sarasota.

They believe teachers offer their students an acquaintance with the best of history, art, and culture. That is what children ought to be learning and that is what teachers are being paid to teach.

Spiegleman was quoted in the Post article stating, "I deny our members use abusive or offensive language at government meetings. She added liberal activists just aren’t used to receiving 'pushback' from parents worried about their child’s education."

CULTURE WAR FOR CONTROL OF SARASOTA COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD WILL NOT END WITH SCCHOOL BOARD ELECTION

There indeed is a culture confrontation going on between local liberal Democrats and conservative Republicans over wedge issues for control of the Sarasota County School Board.

If one goes to School Board meetings, if one goes to the Hollows and Fogartyrville, or if one goes to the REC and DEC meetings and reads certain Facebook pages and the slanted Washington Post article, a clear picture appears how intense this confrontation has developed.

Unfortunately, this culture war will not end soon, because the differences between those wedge issues among liberal Democrats and conservative Republicans, which are centered on each side beliefs on family values is getting wider and wider.