Several local candidates shared a stage with Gov. Ron DeSantis while he was in Jacksonville Sunday for his “DeSantis Education Tour.”
Charlotte Joyce, running for Duval County School Board District 6, was first up at the event at the Prime Osborn Convention Center. Joyce said she stood resolute fighting for students and parents and has been on the losing end of a 6 to 1 vote as a member of the school board too often. She also said she is thankful to have a governor who puts children first, and these children belong to the parents not government schools.
April Carney, running for Duval County School Board District 2, said she was compelled to run for office because her voice wasn’t being heard at school board meetings. She said the governor’s education agenda takes the social and political rhetoric out of education, gives the teachers the right to just teach, and gives the power back to the parents. She accused her opponent, Elizabeth Andersen, of leading the charge to violate the Parental Rights in Education Law and voting to sue the governor.
Erin Skipper, a candidate for Clay County School Board District 1, drew applause when she said, “No board, no school, and no government should ever infringe on your rights as a parent, period. The governor’s education agenda has secured our rights as parents and given the keys back to the parents over their children’s education. I stand with our governor.”
Kiyan Michael, running for House District 16, is a Jacksonville native, a military spouse, and an “angel mom,” having lost her 21-year-old son to a twice-deported illegal. She praised DeSantis for standing by her and her family to change the laws to protect Floridians. She said she has a problem with veterans sleeping on the streets, and illegals being put in hotels. She went on to say Critical Race Theory has no place in schools, and children will not be indoctrinated. “Send me to Tallahassee and I will stand on your behalf, I’ll be your voice because it is all about we the people. It is about you; it’s about serving you,” she said.
DeSantis discussed several topics, including parental rights, the importance of schools being open and biological men competing in women’s sports.
Citing the new Parental Rights in Education law, he said schools do not supersede the rights of parents, the school is there to serve. Schools are not going to teach children to
hate this country, but rather to teach what it means to be American and why people have been willing to fight and die for this country, he said.
On keeping the schools opened, he said the media, the left, unions, and even some weak Republicans have criticized him for doing so and that, politically, it was a big food fight, and a feeding frenzy. But he said he was totally willing to take the arrows if it meant doing right by the kids.
On women’s sports, he said biological males competing denies opportunity to women. So, he worked with the legislature to craft a bill for fairness in sports to protect women. He said that when corporations and the NCAA threatened not to do business in Florida his view was, “Go ahead. Make my day. You need Florida more than we need you.”
He closed the evening saying how important elections are, and how electing the wrong candidate can dramatically change a society.
