Posts Tagged ‘Justin Ray’

Conservatives Oust SJW Board In Cy-Fair

Thursday, November 9th, 2023

Remember the Cypress-Fairbanks ISD school board election that Ted Cruz endorsed in? His endorsements certainly didn’t hurt, as conservatives looking to oust social justice board members took three of four seats and now control six of seven seats on the board.

After a fraught election that drew a flurry of endorsements from partisan groups and high-profile elected officials, three conservative-backed candidates have won races for the board of the state’s third-largest school district.

According to unofficial results posted Tuesday night, Todd LeCompte, Justin Ray, and Christine Kalmbach were the victors in Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District (CFISD) board elections for Positions 1, 3, and 4.

The three candidates garnered endorsements from Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), state Rep. Tom Oliverson (R-Cypress), and Harris County County Commissioner Tom Ramsey (R-Pct. 3).

“This is a major victory for the CFISD community, and the State of Texas. Flipping the third largest school board in Texas is because we focused on empowering parents and getting back to the basics in the classroom,” said Christopher Zook, consultant and spokesperson for the GOP-backed candidates in a statement to The Texan.

“It is abundantly clear that despite efforts from radical activists, parents and voters just want a good education for their children. Additionally, thank you to Senator Ted Cruz for engaging in this race, and fighting for conservative values not only in Washington, but at the most local level, the school board.”

Vying for Position 1, GOP-backed candidate LeCompte captured 43.7 percent compared to 38 percent for Tonia Jaeggi and 18 percent for Cleveland Lane, Jr. Jaeggi had been endorsed by the local chapter of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) union and Lane had been endorsed by state Rep. Jon Rosenthal (D-Houston) and former CFISD board member John Ogletree, Jr.

CFISD does not hold runoff elections, meaning the candidate with the most votes is declared a winner in the first round.

Julie Hinaman, the only incumbent to run for re-election this year, held on to her seat with 45 percent in a tight three-way race in which right-of-center groups split their endorsements between former CFISD Trustee George Edwards, who secured 43 percent, and local activist Ayse Indemaio, who received 11 percent.

In Position 3, former Jersey Village Mayor Ray won with 43.5 percent, beating out AFT candidate and former Cy-Fair Houston Chamber of Commerce President Leslie Martone who took 39.1 percent, and adjunct professor Michelle Fennick with 17 percent.

In the two-way race for Position 4, former GOP candidate for Texas House Kalmbach defeated former teacher Frances Ramirez Romero 51 percent to 49 percent.

Snip.

Parents in CFISD have grown increasingly vocal in opposition to elements of critical race theory being embedded in curricula and age-inappropriate books in school libraries.

In 2021, three conservative candidates successfully challenged incumbents for the CFISD board, but the minority coalition has been easily overruled by other trustees on the seven-member board.

The four candidates backed by the AFT, Jaeggi, Hinaman, Martone, and Ramirez Romero, ran as a slate under the moniker “ALL4CFISD.” Rosenthal backed all but Jaeggi, instead throwing his support to Lane. Rosenthal and local Democratic Party groups activated a well-coordinated campaign effort of blockwalking and phone banking for the candidates.

Right-of-center organizations and GOP elected officials were largely unified in support for their own slate of candidates, chosen through a series of forums with local Republican precinct chairs earlier this year. However, a few precinct chairs who were dissatisfied with the top four candidates broke with the party to back Indemaio. As a result, conservative voters split their support in Position 2, handing Hinaman a second full term on the board.

For some reason this image comes to mind:

With Tuesday’s unofficial results, GOP-backed candidates now hold a 6 to 1 majority and will be able to exert more control over district policy.

Conservative/sane school board candidates don’t always win, but average parents don’t want school boards secretly grooming their children or teaching the poison of critical race theory. When properly organized and united, conservative school board candidates have solid fighting chances to win.

Again, if it can happen in San Francisco, it can happen with your school board.

Cy Fair School Board Race Draws Heavy Endorsements

Wednesday, November 1st, 2023

School board elections used to be pokey little things few people paid attention to. That all changed when the social justice set decided that schools would be ideal platforms from which to indoctrinate and groom your children. Now some school board elections are important enough that they can attract the attention of a sitting United States Senator.

Following several years of controversy over allegations of critical race theory embedded in curricula and age-inappropriate books in libraries, heightened interest in the Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School district (CFISD) board elections has drawn a slew of new candidates and endorsements from elected officials who rarely weigh in on local races.

Cypress-Fairbanks (Cy-Fair) ISD is in the northwest of Harris County. It started out suburban, but the vast majority of it is now within the city limits of Houston.

“It is vital that our children and schools are led by those who advance educational opportunity,” said Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) in a statement explaining his endorsements. “These candidates will ensure that educational excellence is the standard in Cy-Fair ISD.”

In 2021, three conservative candidates successfully challenged incumbents for the CFISD board, but the coalition is still a minority and easily overruled by other trustees on the seven-member board. This year there are four positions on the ballot, and only one incumbent, Julie Hinaman in Position 2, has opted to run for re-election.

Like municipal elections, school board races are non-partisan, meaning candidates do not officially declare party affiliation and there are no primaries. In recent years, however, CFISD has been among many across the state in which local and state political parties help to recruit and promote candidates.

Earlier this year, Republican precinct chairs in the northwestern Harris County district near Houston held a series of private forums to determine which candidates the Harris County Republican Party (HCRP) would endorse. Votes from the participating chairs landed on Todd LeCompte for Position 1, George Edwards for Position 2, Justin Ray for Position 3, and Christine Kalmbach for Position 4.

In addition to the HCRP, the Republican Party of Texas, state Rep. Tom Oliverson (R-Cypress), and Harris County Commissioner Tom Ramsey (R-Pct. 3) have stepped in to endorse the four candidates campaigning together. Cruz’s endorsement added heft to the Republican-sanctioned slate in a district that helped elect Republican Reps. Morgan Luttrell (R-TX-8) and Wesley Hunt (R-TX 38) to Congress.

Naturally the American Federation of Teachers has weighed in on the other side.

Early voting continues through Sunday, and election day is Tuesday, November 11.