Gov. Ron DeSantis targets 'woke' Sarasota School Board member for 2024 election

In the 2022 elections, three conservative candidates backed by Gov. Ron DeSantis' endorsements easily won seats on the Sarasota County School Board. Now, the governor is targeting the last Democrat remaining on the board.

During a strategy session Tuesday with Florida House Speaker Paul Renner, Florida GOP Chairman Christian Ziegler, and Tina Descovich and Tiffany Justice, co-founders of the conservative activist group Moms for Liberty, DeSantis announced his 2024 school board target list. The list included Edwards and 13 other school board members in Florida the governor said do not protect parental rights or protect students from "woke" ideologies. Christian Ziegler's wife, Sarasota School Board Chairwoman Bridget Ziegler, was also a co-founder of Moms for Liberty and received DeSantis' backing in her re-election campaign last year.

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Edwards finds himself often as the dissenting vote on Sarasota School Board decisions, with the conservative majority comprised of Ziegler, Tim Enos, Robyn Marinelli and Karen Rose. Each of the four are registered Republicans, while Edwards is a Democrat.

Edwards said he wasn't sure why DeSantis would target him or see him as a threat since he said conservatives already control the board.

"I appreciate the spotlight that the governor is giving me for my good governance, and for my quality School Board work for the students and my community," Edwards said.

He has previously described himself as "woke," a word that has been used by the governor and conservatives to target progressive activism. While more progressive than the conservative school board majority, Edwards said he would describe himself as a moderate rather than a liberal.

"Florida is where woke goes to die," DeSantis said in his January inauguration speech.

Edwards, who is gay, has been outspoken against the conservative rhetoric toward the district's LGBTQ+ community. He's also expressed concerns about the harm that laws such as the Parental Rights in Education Act, or "Don't Say Gay", could have on LGBTQ+ students and staff.

"When public comments come into the board room and spew forth their hate, our students hear that," Edwards said at a Sept. 20 School Board meeting about anti-LGBTQ rhetoric.

Ziegler, Enos and Marinelli won election their school board races last year. They were among 34 school board candidates DeSantis endorsed; 29 of them won.

In addition to Edwards, DeSantis plans to target school board members in Brevard, Duval, Hillsborough, Indian River, Miami-Dade, Pinellas and Volusia Counties, according to a report from Fox News.

Below is the full list of Florida school board members named by DeSantis.

Brevard County

Jennifer Jenkins

Duval County

Kelly Coker and Cindy Pearson

Hillsborough County

Nadia Combs and Jessica Vaughn

Indian River County

Peggy Jones and Brian Barefoot

Miami-Dade County

Luisa Santos

Pinellas County

Laura Hine and Eileen Long

St. Lucie County

Jack Kelly

Volusia County

Anita Burnette and Carl Persis

Sarasota County

Tom Edwards

Follow Herald-Tribune Education Reporter Steven Walker on Twitter at @swalker_7. He can be reached at sbwalker@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Sarasota School Board member Tom Edwards is DeSantis election target