Money, turnout, and the rejection of “partisan politics”

ST. LOUIS — After more than a dozen conservative-backed school board candidates lost races across the region Tuesday, politicians and pundits tried to explain the surprising results.

Conservative activists, including former state Sen. Bob Onder and radio host Mark Cox, blamed the defeat on, among other things, strong support from labor unions and low turnout.

In fact, the Missouri National Education Association crowed about the results, claiming that candidates endorsed by local teachers unions across the state had an 83% win rate.

Still, turnout numbers and campaign finance reports do not reveal a clear advantage for most winners. Rather, the election results suggest that the majority of those who voted were moderates who preferred a nonpartisan school board. The results follow a nationwide backlash against the commission, which has caused controversy by restricting books and curriculum on race, gender and sexuality, among other political acts.

A local conservative-backed candidate has lost the Fortney school board election in Frances Howell. Zumwalt, Lindbergh, Melville, Parkway, Lockwood, St. Charles, Wentzville.

However, a major defeat for conservatives does not necessarily mean a victory for liberals. Instead, supporters of the newly elected board members said in interviews that they are tired of the drama and want the board to return to its traditional role overseeing the district’s finances, contracts and tax rates. said.

“People are tired of these candidates, the culture wars, the politicization of schools, the disrespect for teachers,” Tom Ferri, a parent in the Francis Howell School District, said after the election. “They want a school board that focuses on real issues and student success.”

Frances Howell School Board Member Jane Pushker said the district’s conservative voters were uninterested in this election, as the school board still maintains a 5-2 conservative majority after last week’s results. He said it might be.

“But at the same time, I think our decision, which was not very popular, caused a roar on the other side,” she said.

Voter turnout for two school boards that are regularly embroiled in political battles, the Francis Howell School Board and the Wentzville School Board, was not far from the county average. Francis Howell’s turnout was 19.9%, higher than the countywide average of 14.4%, according to St. Charles County Elections Director Kurt Bahr. However, Wentzville attracted only 12.7% of voters.

In Frances Howell, where Mr. Onder occasionally sat on the board, a conservative-backed candidate lost for the first time in three elections.

The conservative Francis Howell Families PAC has raised about $21,000 this year, while the opponent Francis Howell Forward has raised about $16,000, according to documents filed with the Missouri Ethics Commission as of Friday. Collected dollars. The two PACs each supported two candidates. They are Sam Young and Adriana Kuhn of the Francis Howell Families, and Stephen Blair and Carolee Owens of the Francis Howell Forward.

The St. Charles County Public School Families PAC provided an additional boost to Blair and Owens, spending $3,562 each.

The winning candidates also received support from labor unions such as Labor’s Local 660 and IBEW Local 2. Mr. Blair and Mr. Owens were both endorsed by the Missouri NEA, but only Mr. Owens received a $600 donation from the teachers union.

Mr. Blair and Mr. Owens also received more donations from individual donors than Mr. Kuhn and Mr. Young, who received support primarily from the Francis Howell family.

The approximately $19,500 Ms. Kuhn has raised includes $10,500 from her marketing business, Kuhn Strategic Consulting. Kuhn said the company provided marketing materials for her and Young’s campaigns.

This election was the first defeat for a candidate supported by Francis Howell Families, which helped elect the current majority of five members to the Francis Howell School Board.

PAC Chairman Ken Gonters said in an interview after the election that his members were disappointed but were already preparing for the 2025 election.

“We’re on fire,” Gonters said. “Hold on to your pants! We are working with those in the know to withdraw troops early.”

Gonters touted partnerships with people outside the PAC who are “concerned about what’s going on.” He did not provide specifics other than to say they were not from out of state, but rather “primarily from St. Charles.”

Pushkar, a current board member, said the election “reinforces the need for the board to continue the work we started.”

“We know there’s still a lot of work to do,” Pushkar said. “We need to really tighten this up, so it’s going to take a liberal board far too long to roll it back.”

Mary Bryant is Frances Howell’s empty nester, and the board’s decisions, including rescinding an anti-racism resolution and removing social justice standards from the Black Studies elective, have led to what she says is “Embarrassing and Upsetting” She began attending meetings after receiving national attention.

“We’re just concerned about a united citizenry. We don’t want partisan politics at the most local level, so we want more experienced and more qualified people to serve on the school board.” Bryant, who has joined the Francis Howell Forward PAC, said.

PAC Chairman Jamie Martin believes a wave of moderate voters prevented conservative candidates from taking over all seven seats on the board.

“I think there are a lot of people who are fiscally conservative and socially moderate and fall into that category,” Martin said. “They’re paying attention because you pissed them off.”

In Wentzville, the disparity in campaign finance was even greater, with the winning candidate raising nearly four times as much as his conservative competitors.

Teacher David Biesenthal raised $15,318, and businessman Brad Welsh raised $16,281 in his second successful stint on the board.

The St. Charles County Public School Families PAC donated about $6,200 each to Biesenthal and Wales. Board member Jason Goodson, whose term expires this month, split the $5,000 split between the two, and the Missouri NEA spent nearly $1,000.

Conservatives Lee Palitsch and Cindy Reidy raised nearly $4,000 each, including top contributions of $1,000 each from the St. Charles County Republican Central Committee and $500 each from 1776 PAC.

The conservative St. Louis County Family PAC focused on the Lindbergh School District this year, with its seven-member board unanimously supporting diversity and equity efforts. The PAC is primarily funded by Des Peres resident Martin Bennett, who has also led campaigns against tax measures in the Kirkwood School District.

Bennett’s PAC has raised nearly $20,000 to support two unsuccessful candidates for Lindbergh, David Kirshner and David Randleman, who was running for a third time on the board. Kirshner and Randleman continued to prioritize academics over diversity, equity, and inclusion.

The winning campaign raised about $7,400 in contributions, including $1,050 from five different labor unions for Rachel Braaf Koehler, and $500 from sheet metal workers for incumbent Megan Vedder. We collected $6,800 in donations, including: Koehler and Vedder were endorsed by the Lindbergh Teachers Union.

After the election, Bennett posted on social media site X: “The lack of access to a base of support for the Missouri Muni election shows weakness, lack of organization, and lack of leadership. The Center will change politics by 2034.”

Voter turnout across St. Louis County on Tuesday was 16.3%, down from 18.1% in April 2023 and 19.1% in April 2022. However, some precincts in the Lindbergh area had the highest turnout in the county, reaching 50%.