- A Democrat slate is running for the Cy-Fair ISD school board and is seeking to oust the board’s conservative majority
- Groups backing the Democrat slate include teachers’ unions and a liberal advocacy organization backed by George Soros
- The Harris County Republican Party has endorsed its own slate of candidates for the Cy-Fair ISD school board
Hiding behind a “nonpartisan” label, a slate of three Democrats is seeking to take control of the Cy-Fair ISD school board. Located in suburban northwest Harris County, Cy-Fair ISD is currently governed by a school board comprised of a 6-1 conservative majority. Critics of the current school board claim that the conservative majority consists of “Christian Nationalists.”
Democrats Kendra Camarena, Lesley Guilmart, and Cleveland Lane, Jr. have garnered the support of liberal advocacy organizations and far-left politicians.
The Cy-Fair chapter of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) teachers’ union is one of the most vocal organizations supporting the Democrat slate. Randi Weingarten, the President of the national American Federation of Teachers organization, is an outspoken critic of conservative policies and is the author of a newly released book in which she labels her political opponents as “fascists.”
The Texas Freedom Network, an organization that has criticized conservative school board members across Texas for promoting policies to ensure that students use bathroom facilities that correspond with their biological sex, has also endorsed the Democrat slate.
In an internet post endorsing Camarena, Guilmart, and Lane, the Texas Freedom Network said that voting in school board elections “can go a long way towards pushing back” against the “far-right extremists” that they claim now control Cy-Fair ISD.
“These new, PAC-backed, extreme-conservative majorities began to flex their muscles by passing all manner of discriminatory policies, like requiring transgender students to use the bathroom that corresponds to their sex assigned at birth and directing teachers to not “promote” the use of pronouns inconsistent with a student’s birth certificate,” wrote the Texas Freedom Network.
In 2023, the Texas Freedom Network received a $1.2 million grant with a three-year term from George Soros’ Open Society Action Fund.
Far-left politicians have also vigorously campaigned for the Democrat slate seeking to take control of the Cy-Fair ISD school board.
Odus Evbagharu, the former Chairman of the Harris County Democratic Party who is running to succeed outgoing Democrat State Representative Jon Rosenthal in Texas House District 135, has actively campaigned for the Democrat slate and promoted it on social media. Evbagharu, who has a history of using racial slurs and posting sexually charged content on his social media accounts, has publicly described Trump voters as “assholes.”
Rosenthal – who once employed Evbagharu as his Chief of Staff – has also endorsed the Democrat slate and financially supported their campaign. During his initial campaign for State Representative, Rosenthal mocked Christians during an appearance on a podcast called “The Trans Advocate.”
“As a non-practicing agnostic, I don’t think I should be, let’s say, required to take communion walking into the Texas legislature. And it’s not that I have anything against eating crackers, but I think those crackers are generally not very tasty,” said Rosenthal.
During that same interview, Rosenthal also decided what he called the “Christian Taliban” and said that Republican state lawmakers in Texas were “seriously f***ed up.” Rosenthal, who has served as a State Representative since 2019, recently announced his candidacy for Railroad Commissioner.
Alexandra Smoots, a disgraced former Democrat State District Judge who lost her law license after being convicted on federal fraud charges, is among the donors to Camarena’s campaign.
The Harris County Republican Party has endorsed Radele Walker, Natalie Blasingame, and George Edwards for the three Cy-Fair ISD board positions on the ballot. Scott Henry, a conservative who currently serves as President of the Cy-Fair ISD school board, is also seeking re-election and has been endorsed by three other conservative members of the board.
