A Texas town votes out its conservative school board amid book bans. [View all]
Conservative Texas School Board Voted Out Amid Book Bans
One Republican said after the loss, "Mansfield has gone to Hell."
State Democrats argued that the results were a sharp rebuke of Republican Governor Greg Abbott's Texas school voucher policy.
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Texas school board has voted out three conservative members in Mansfield.
Why It Matters
Voters in Mansfield Independent School District (ISD) overhauled the school board in the May 3 election, with challengers unseating incumbents—including the board president and secretary—in all three contested races.
Texas is among the states that have seen a recent rise in book bans, with the Lone Star State issuing 625 bans during the 2022-23 academic year. The vote also followed a charged election season, fueled by heightened outside political involvement and growing debate over the influence of partisanship in local school governance.
What To Know
Ana-Alicia Horn, a data management professional in the event ticketing software industry, defeated incumbent Keziah Valdes Farrar in the race for the Mansfield ISD school board.
Horn secured 60.3 percent of the 12,356 votes cast, unseating Valdes Farrar, a Realtor and current board president who had served since 2021.
Jason Thomas, who manages road and bridge operations in Tarrant County's Precinct 2, unseated incumbent Craig Tipping in the Place 3 race. Tipping, a one-term board member with experience in physical therapy and roofing sales, secured 41.98 percent of the 12,269 total votes to Thomas' 58.02 percent.
Jesse Cannon II, the director of visual and performing arts for Fort Worth ISD, won the race against incumbent Bianca Benavides Anderson, a sales consultant completing her first term on the board. Cannon led with 58.6 percent of the 12,163 votes cast.
https://www.newsweek.com/texas-school-board-mansfield-election-day-2067789
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