Sarasota School Board member Tom Edwards calls on Bridget Ziegler to resign amid scandal

Sarasota County School Board member Tom Edwards called for colleague Bridget Ziegler to resign from the board amid accusations that her husband sexually assaulted a woman who had been part of a three-way relationship with him and Bridget Ziegler.

Edwards, a self-described moderate endorsed by Sarasota Democrats, has been in the voting minority on the board since a conservative-leaning majority that included Ziegler rose to power last year. Following the sexual assault allegation against Christian Ziegler becoming public last week, Edwards said that last year's School Board chairwoman has become too much of a distraction for the district.

"She is nothing but a distraction from before and only getting worse, and it will never go away as long as she sits there," he said. "As a School Board member, my focus is on our students, their academic achievement and educational outcomes. It is not on the Zieglers' escapades."

Bridget Ziegler did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Edwards added that the Zieglers, both Christian and Bridget, "cannot any longer be near children or public policy" because of their advocacy against critical race theory and the discussion of LGBTQ+ topics in schools, which he said has caused damage to students' mental health.

Bridget Ziegler's past actions on the board, such as pushing to hire a firm tied to the conservative Hillsdale College and voting to fire the district's previous superintendent Brennan Asplen, also distracted from student achievement, Edwards said.

"It's all been politically focused and not academically focused," he said. "I, for one, share the community's frustration in that, so I am doing what I can to help the superintendent stay focused on the real business at hand."

Edwards said he's been receiving calls and messages from the public about the Ziegler situation, which prompted his decision to call for Bridget Ziegler's resignation. Edwards said he was trying to be patient and wait on Ziegler to step away herself, but added he couldn't wait any longer.

What did Bridget Ziegler do?

Bridget Ziegler has not been accused of any legal wrongdoing and was not under investigation as of Tuesday. In documents relating to the investigation into Christian Ziegler, she told investigators that she and her husband had sex with the alleged victim together one time, a statement corroborated by the alleged victim.

Her statement to investigators indicates a past sexual history with a woman, something that stands as a stark contrast to much of the conservative culture war rhetoric that has been used toward members of the LGBTQ+ community by the GOP.

She played a major role in the creation and passing of the Parental Rights in Education Act, often labeled the "Don't Say Gay" bill. Bridget Ziegler also posted a photo of herself wearing a shirt that said "Real women aren't men" referencing Bud Light's sponsorship of a transgender woman and defended herself amid backlash saying it was "insane" people were upset because it was "a fact."

While chair of the School Board, she also declined to stop a woman from calling Edwards, the only openly gay member of the board, an "LGBTQ groomer." At the time, she said personal attacks in public comment happen to elected officials on all sides and that stopping the speaker would have only escalated tensions.

In calling for Bridget Ziegler's resignation, Edwards said he wants to move the district beyond politics.

"Everyone is upset about the hypocrisy, but it's the damage to children that I am ready to move beyond and to end. To tell those students that there was never anything wrong with them," Edwards said.

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 calls on Bridget Ziegler to resign