This is the second article in the series, “All Politics is Local.”
“Now is the time to get uncomfortable. Now is the time to do hard things.” — Kira Ayn Davis
It was a really gorgeous, unseasonably warm evening for this late in October and in this part of Orange County. But it turned out to be the perfect night for the Capistrano Unified School District (CUSD) Board candidates to celebrate gains and gear up for the final push toward the November 8 midterm elections.
As CUSD Trustee 2 candidate Kira Ayn Davis encouraged her supporters via Instagram Live:
“Tomorrow is the last school board meeting before the election. It’s going to be an interesting one. We have some special guests coming to this rally. It’s going to fun, it’s going to be lighthearted, it’s going to be peaceful. We’re not meeting because we’re angry, we’re meeting because we’re excited.
“We’re excited for this opportunity to flip this board and have the voices of the parents heard and paid attention to. We’re excited because this is a movement of the people: this is the Mama Bear movement, Papa Bear movement, it’s a movement of the people. So this is a rally to remind everyone that we’re excited to have this opportunity to change something.”
Davis set the tone for the evening, as she and several of the grassroots candidates in CUSD and California state came out for the Thursday Parent’s Rally on the property of CUSD in San Juan Capistrano. There were smiles and excitement all around as parents brought their signs, handed out fliers, and declared by their presence, “we are here and we will be heard!”
We The Parents Rally at Capistrano Unified School District. (Credit: Jennifer Oliver O’Connell)
The Gavel Project, a constitutional rights organization, has taken on some cases against the CUSD. This is just one of the indicators of how CUSD has abdicated its duty to educate the children in their care. The Gavel Project Founder and Director Ryan Heath came to California specifically to speak at the Parent’s Rally and to address the CUSD Board.
At the rally, Heath related to the crowd one of the CUSD horror stories that Kira Davis, as RedState’s Deputy Managing Editor, also documented here. The article is about a first-grade girl who was penalized for drawing a picture of her multiracial friends and writing “All Lives Matter” on the paper. This picture, that she drew to express her love and appreciation for her friends, was used against her by the principal of her elementary school to publicly humiliate and traumatize her. The girl’s mother received no redress from the principal or the school counselor about this incident, so she filed a complaint against the school, and The Gavel Project took up the cause. Since that article was published in July, there has been even more fallout. RedState has been keeping abreast of it and we will report on the unfolding situation soon.
Here is a brief snippet of Ryan Heath’s speech.
WATCH:
Suffice it to say, the CUSD school board needs a major overhaul and the addition of voices that will represent the parents rather than special interests. Two grassroots candidates have stepped up to make that happen. One is Dr. Jim Glantz, a former teacher, and businessman, who is running for the District 4 Trustee seat of the CUSD Board. District 4 encompasses Dana Point and Laguna Niguel. And our own Kira Ayn Davis who has taken up the charge to run as the CUSD District 2 Trustee, encompassing Ladera Ranch, Rancho Mission Viejo, Coto de Caza, and portions of San Juan Capistrano. Julie Bullockus is the incumbent in CUSD District 7 who is seeking reelection, and she also stands by prioritizing students and parents in education above boards and bureaucracies.
OC Board of Education Trustee Mari Barke and the Grassroots Candidates at the Parents Rally (Credit: Jennifer Oliver O’Connell)
The candidates mounted this Parent’s Rally before the midterms because it was the last time the school board would be meeting this term. With the latest news of the CDC voting unanimously to add the COVID-19 vaccines to its schedule of recommended vaccines for children, it was a perfect time to coalesce more strongly and make their voices heard concerning this.
Along with The Gavel Project’s Ryan Heath, two others made a special guest appearance. Mari Barke, District 2 Trustee of the Orange County Board of Education was there to champion and show her support for these grassroots candidates. Barke has long been an advocate for parental and community involvement in the educational process. Barke was able to secure her seat on the board in California’s June 7 primary, and she is excited for these candidates to win their seats. Their addition would be in alignment with the OC Board of Education’s vision for a safe, sane, academically focused, and successful Orange County system.
Lance Christensen was the other special guest and a face for the Parent’s Movement in California. Christensen is running for Superintendent of Public Instruction for California against incumbent Superintendent Tony Thurmond. This is the only constitutionally mandated, non-partisan elected position in California, and Christensen feels as though the policies which flow from the office should reflect this.
If elected, Christensen will ensure that the curriculum and the guidance filtered down to all districts reflect academic excellence and encourage the standards of educating young minds, not indoctrinating them. Christensen invoked the C.S. Lewis quote,
“The task of the modern educator is not to cut down jungles, but to irrigate deserts.”
Christensen has traveled up and down the state, lending his support and encouragement to parents who are fed up with Sacramento’s inappropriate, invasive, and immoral curriculum mandates. These diktats have little to do with teaching children the core educational foundations which should assist in growing them as human beings and citizens.
“We want reading, writing, and arithmetic. We don’t need that other garbage!” He said.
“Let’s focus on the basics.”
Christensen spoke about why he is running, and why the strength of the Parent’s Movement in the state will turn the tide of this election.
CUSD Trustee District 4 candidate Dr. Jim Glantz also spoke, and made this profound statement:
“The country was founded by people who were business owners, and farmers, and things like that. They served in office and then they went back to whatever they were doing–their job. And I think we need to return to that, and that’s why I’m so excited about Kira, and me, and people who just want to get involved and help. We have businesses, we’re just working hard because we saw something that we didn’t like, and wanted to get involved, we wanted to make this better. And it’s for all of us.”
Dr. Glantz also offered some tips on how anyone can continue to support and help the candidates get over the finish line:
Text messages to friends expressing support for the candidate and your intention to vote for them.
Like, share, and comment on every Facebook, Instagram, and other social media posts.
For those who don’t have time to precinct walk or sign wave for a candidate, these small acts are key to elevating the candidate’s name recognition and helping change the trajectory of the race.
Kira Davis closed out the Parent’s Rally with a heartfelt speech that held the crowd in rapt attention.
Parents Listen Intently as Kira Davis Speaks-Capistrano USD. (Credit: Jennifer Oliver O’Connell)
If you regularly watch Kira on Fox News or Newsmax, you notice how well she can articulate and analyze a political point in the short space given on these rapid-fire news panels. Speaking in this longer form, Davis comes off as compelling and grounded. This speech showed her to be accomplished, knowledgeable, and equipped for the seat for which she is running.
It is now 17 days until the November 8 elections, and despite what other politicians may be prognosticating, EDUCATION and the Parent’s Movement to secure educational stability and freedom for their children is what is on the ballot. A win for any of these candidates will tip the scales of power in the local community, and ultimately in the state.