Moms for Liberty Volusia praises school board candidates but declines District 5 endorsement

Mark Harper, The Daytona Beach News-Journal
·4 min read
Fred Lowry, standing with mic, and Ruben Colon are candidates for Volusia County School Board District 5. Colon, the incumbent, and Lowry, a Volusia County Council member, debated at a recent Daytona Regional Chamber of Commerce event.
Fred Lowry, standing with mic, and Ruben Colon are candidates for Volusia County School Board District 5. Colon, the incumbent, and Lowry, a Volusia County Council member, debated at a recent Daytona Regional Chamber of Commerce event.
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In a surprise move, Moms for Liberty Volusia has declined to endorse Fred Lowry in his campaign for Volusia County School Board District 5.

The moms group announced late Wednesday that they are not endorsing either Lowry or his opponent, the incumbent school board Chair Ruben Colón, as they were forced to cancel a candidates' forum that had been scheduled for Thursday night.

Moms for Liberty did endorse school board member Jamie Haynes for re-election to her District 1 seat, after having previously endorsed Kim Short in the final school board race in District 3. The Moms had conducted debate-style forums with candidates in those races.

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Volusia County School Board members pose with Rachel Hazel, third from right, who has been serving as interim superintendent and was named deputy superintendent of teaching, leading and learning at Tuesday's meeting. The board members are, from left, Carl Persis, Anita Burnette, Jamie Haynes, Linda Cuthbert and Chair Ruben Colon.
Volusia County School Board members pose with Rachel Hazel, third from right, who has been serving as interim superintendent and was named deputy superintendent of teaching, leading and learning at Tuesday's meeting. The board members are, from left, Carl Persis, Anita Burnette, Jamie Haynes, Linda Cuthbert and Chair Ruben Colon.

The group's decision to not endorse Lowry breaks with Gov. Ron DeSantis, who last week gave his backing to Lowry, a Volusia County councilman and pastor from Enterprise.

While the race is officially non-partisan, party politics will play a role in the campaign. Lowry is a registered Republican, while Colón is registered as a Democrat.

Moms for Liberty Volusia — a local chapter of a growing organization that formed in March 2021, emerging from school board battles over mask mandates and other safety measures from the pandemic — says it has 1,500 members.

The moms group offered praise for both District 5 candidates in a statement provided by club Secretary Anna Hannon.

Volusia County Councilman Fred Lowry
Volusia County Councilman Fred Lowry

"We have expectations that Mr. Lowry, if elected, will be present and engaged, respectful to constituents, and act in accordance to his self-proclaimed platform and conservative values," the statement reads.

"We have seen incumbent Mr. Ruben Colón in alignment with most of our values and he has an excellent rapport with constituents always returning phone calls and emails," the statement continues. "He advocates for all who want to participate in public comment at board meetings to be able to do so. We hope if he were elected he would become fully aligned with parental rights."

Hannon said because the forum had to be canceled, the group will "probably" not endorse either ahead of the Aug. 23 primary election. "No forum, no endorsement," she said in a text message.

Lowry backed out of the debate "with no offer to reschedule," according to the moms statement. He also declined an invitation to a July 7 event hosted by the Tiger Bay Club of Volusia County, "An Evening of Political Fireworks" in Daytona Beach. That forum takes place from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Brown & Brown building, 300 N. Beach St., Daytona Beach.

Ruben Colon, Volusia County School Board member, District 5
Ruben Colon, Volusia County School Board member, District 5

Lowry said he canceled because of personal conflicts. He declined to attend the Moms for Liberty debate Thursday "because my youngest daughter in Tallahassee is having a reveal party to make us grandparents and I wasn't gonna miss that," he wrote in a text.

Colón agreed to appear at the July 22 Moms for Liberty Volusia meeting to answer the group's questions. That meeting will be a 6:30 p.m. at The Center at Deltona and will be open to the public.

Haynes endorsement follows forum

On Monday night, the Moms for Liberty Volusia hosted a forum in DeLand for four of the five candidates in the District 1 race. Following that, the group stated its belief that Haynes is "a fierce defender of parental rights."

Volusia County School Board member Jamie Haynes
Volusia County School Board member Jamie Haynes

Shaunn Smith, an executive board member who hosted the forum, said Haynes "has a proven record of hearing and supporting what her constituents want. She has stood against all other board members when needed as well as by the law.”

Haynes, of DeBary, is a former teacher and administrator with more than 31 years of experience in Volusia County schools.

She is being challenged by Albert Bouie, Georgann Carnicella, Ginny-Beth Joiner and Jaclyn Carrell. All of those candidates participated in the Moms for Liberty forum except for Carrell, who declined.

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This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Moms for Liberty backs Jamie Haynes, declines to endorse in District 5