Ruth’s List endorses School Board candidates as check on Ron DeSantis’ ‘extremist agenda’
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School bus AP
'School Board races are where the rubber meets the road for communities in Florida.'

School Board races in Florida are the latest partisan battleground in recent years, especially given that recent rounds of redistricting have made many General Elections moot.

The latest indication of that trend: Ruth’s List Florida is endorsing “five women running for school board seats across four counties from Duval to Broward.”

“School Board races are where the rubber meets the road for communities in Florida,” said Christina Diamond, CEO of Ruth’s List Florida. “There is no greater testament to the dedication of the hardworking women running for state and local office in Florida than those of them that are running for school board, many of them against Moms for Liberty-backed candidates and DeSantis-appointed Republicans.”

The endorsed candidates include: Nadine Ebri, Duval County School Board District 1; Sarah Mannion, Duval County School Board District 7; Avanese Taylor, Brevard County School Board District 4; Francesca Wernisch, Palm Beach County School Board District 1; and Maura Bulman, Broward County School Board District 1

Diamond says these candidates are “fighting on the frontlines of nationwide culture wars that are being fought right here in our own backyards in Florida — often at the expense of our children, public school teachers, and parents.

“Ruth’s List is proud to be supporting so many incredible women running for school board who are pushing back on an extremist agenda and working to refocus on prioritizing our children’s education once again,” she added.

Duval’s Ebri and Mannion are running against Moms for Liberty-backed Becky Nathanson and Tony Ricardo. Broward’s Bulman is up against a Republican appointed by DeSantis, Daniel Foganholi. Wernisch is against two Republicans for an open seat, and is at a financial disadvantage. Taylor of Brevard is one of three challengers to incumbent Matt Susin, another DeSantis-endorsed candidate.

A.G. Gancarski

A.G. Gancarski has been the Northeast Florida correspondent for Florida Politics since 2014. He writes for the New York Post and National Review also, with previous work in the American Conservative and Washington Times and a 15+ year run as a columnist in Folio Weekly. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter: @AGGancarski


5 comments

  • Frankie M.

    August 6, 2024 at 5:26 pm

    Any relation to Ruth Chris because I would like a gift card? Also I thought Nathanson was running against Pearson not that it really matters.

    • MH/Duuuval

      August 6, 2024 at 5:33 pm

      Not my districts, so I can’t vote. But Ms. Mannion made a very good impression on Stereo 90 this morning with Anne Schindler. Calm, knowledgable, and deeply invested in local schools.

  • Chris Canter

    August 6, 2024 at 9:38 pm

    No mention of policies or plans for the district. These candidates are jokes and being “anti DeSantis” is not enough to earn my vote.

    • MH/Duuuval

      August 7, 2024 at 12:26 pm

      Sarah Mannion, District 7 candidate, gave a smart, reasonable vision for the DCSB on Stereo 90, which is in the station’s archives. (August 6, 2024 — though I doubt you will make any effort to located and listen.)

      Personally, though, anyone endorsed by MAGA in general and Dee in particular is NEVER going to get my vote. These folks are all right-wing ideology, /chrsitian nationalism, and anti-science.

  • Deplorable Pinellas

    August 6, 2024 at 10:17 pm

    Did Laura Hine turn down the endorsement because she was listed on their Facebook page previously

Comments are closed.


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