SARASOTA, Fla. — Despite her fellow school board members voting in favor of her resignation and more than three hours of public comment, most of them pushing for her to go, parental rights advocate Bridget Ziegler doesn’t appear to be giving up her seat on Sarasota County’s school board anytime soon.
“What does it say about Mrs. Ziegler if she doesn't resign” Reporter Katie LaGrone asked board member Tom Edwards one day after the vote.
“If you go back onto her social media after the Vermillion vote went down, she said and I quote, 'I will not back down to the woke mob,'” Edwards said, referring to a proposal introduced by Ziegler earlier this year that would have hired Vermillion Education, a Hillsdale College-associated consultant to review policies and curriculum for the district. [The board voted against hiring Vermillion).
Edwards, who’s openly gay and the sole Democrat on the board, has been a leading critic of Ziegler’s who has pushed anti-LGBTQ and politically driven Christian policies in the district.
“The pain she felt last night is the pain that she inflicted on LGBTQ plus students, trans students, and black students with her rule policies that were conjured up in Tallahassee,” Edwards said.
Ziegler, an original Moms for Liberty co-founder who’s credited for helping to craft what critics call Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill, is currently at the center of a highly publicized sex scandal.
Her husband, Christian Ziegler, is head of Florida’s Republican party and was recently accused of rape by a woman Bridget admitted she and her husband had a consensual three-way sexual encounter with.
During Tuesday night’s meeting, Ziegler listened to the criticism and some support but, ultimately, seemed unfazed. At one point she sought clarification over a resignation vote that doesn’t actually do anything.
“This does not have any teeth, correct?” Ziegler asked the board’s attorney.
Edwards believes moving forward with Ziegler still on the board will be tough.
“Every word that comes out of her mouth will be questioned: is it hypocrisy, is a truth, or is it political? She cannot function as a school board school board member,” he said.
Ziegler has not responded to our requests for comment, nor has she said if she will resign or not. Governor Ron DeSantis has asked her husband to resign. So far, he hasn’t, but this Sunday, the GOP Party of Florida will hold a special meeting to determine his fate.
While the Governor has the power to remove Bridget Ziegler from office, Governor DeSantis has not said if he thinks she should resign from the board. The Governor endorsed Bridget Ziegler during the most recent school board election last year.
