LGBTQ advocates activate GOTV effort to help Dems take back Broward Co. School Board

Florida’s largest LGBTQ advocacy groups have launched a get-out-the-vote effort to help Democrats win back the Broward County School Board.

Equality Florida Action PAC announced it will make three Broward County’s School Board races top priorities. The organization is endorsing District 3 incumbent Sarah Leonardi, as well as District 1 candidate Maura McCarthy Bulman and District 2 candidate Rebecca Thompson.

The organization announced a Get-Out-The-Vote effort with SAVE (Safeguarding American Values for Everyone) and the Dolphin Democrats, South Florida’s largest LGBTQ advocacy groups. The joint endeavor will include phone banks, canvasses, text banks and online programming to mobilize nearly 155,000 Broward County voters.

“Broward County Public Schools has a long history of protecting LGBTQ students and creating safe and inclusive schools,” said Stratton Pollitzer, Chair of Equality Florida Action PAC.

“Especially now, we need champions like Maura McCarthy Bulman, Sarah Leonardi, and Rebecca Thompson fighting for our students and families. Broward County’s school board elections are a top priority of Equality Florida Action PAC. We’re ready to do the work to ensure this board reflects Broward County’s values and rejects anti-LGBTQ extremism.”

The focus on Broward comes after years of turbulence with the School Board. In September 2022, Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended five out of the nine sitting School Board members and one other now serving in the Senate. The suspension was over the District’s mismanagement of an $800 million school construction bond detailed in a grand jury report.

But it resulted in a Board majority appointed by a Republican Governor in Florida’s most Democratic county. LGBTQ groups said the result has been an intolerance to LGBTQ student needs. That has included reassigning staff for a Broward high school that let a transgender girl play on a girl’s team and nearly firing the athlete’s mother from another school.

Advocacy groups say it’s time to take the School Board back.

“Voters have a crucial decision on their August ballots: the chance to elect pro-equality candidates who will truly represent and protect our community,” said Todd Delmay, Executive Director of SAVE. “The school board has become a battleground for anti-LGBTQ+ sentiments, at a time when our students need leaders who prioritize their well-being above all else.”

Alfredo Olvera, President of the Dolphin Democrats, echoed that messaging.

“The right to an education free from bullying, harassment, or your very personhood being questioned should be an indelible and undeniable one. And yet here in Ron DeSantis’ ‘Free State of Florida’ the MAGA fight against public education is being brought on the very backs of LGBTQIA Students,” Olvera said.

“We in the LGBTQIA community are no strangers to these battles and you only have to look at our history to know we do NOT back down when faced with prejudice and injustice. We have a unique opportunity to ensure science-led, value-based, and DECENT leaders represent us and our families and communities in this August election.”

Candidates embraced the support from the LGBTQ groups.

“Our public schools should always be places where all students, including LGBTQ+ students, feel safe, affirmed and represented,” Leonardi said. “I fought for that ideal as a teacher, and have continued that fight as a school board member. As a community, we have a responsibility to protect students and to protect public education.”

She faces challenger Jason Lee Loring.

Bulman, meanwhile, is challenging incumbent Daniel Fogenholi and John Canter.

“I promise to be an unwavering voice and advocate for our students and their families,” Bulman said. “I will fight to ensure all students, including those identifying as LGBTQ, are properly represented in the curriculum taught and the books in their libraries, are learning in an inclusive environment, and feel safe at school with a confident sense of belonging.”

Thompson is challenging incumbent Torey Alston.

“It’s essential to have strong advocates on the school board who stand up for all students and push back against book bans,” Thompson said.

“Our children need to see themselves in the stories they read. When I was a literacy tutor, I saw firsthand the light in a child’s eyes when they recognized themselves or their family in a book. It inspires them to read more and dream bigger. Diverse books also nurture empathy and understanding in all students. By ensuring a variety of books, we cultivate a love for reading that’s crucial for success in school and life.”