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In our final Election Spotlight entry for the August primary, we feature the race for the Martin County School Board.
District 2 Incumbent Marsha Powers did not respond to our requests for an interview.
The Martin County Republican Executive Committee has sent out text messages, labeling her challenger Sydney Thomas as a "radical left democrat." Thomas addressed that with us.
"One of the things that has happened is we have seen extremist groups rise to power in our own district as well, and they've had really significant impacts on our school districts statewide and also locally. That's one of the reasons that I'm running is to stop the momentum of this kind of takeover."
She says she's "not a liberal, I'm not registered as one. I don't think like that." She contends she doesn't believe in removing curriculum to "keep everything fair."
After working as a teacher in what Thomas refers to as a conservative school district in northern California, she relocated to Martin County where she worked as a teacher and later as a program specialist.
She left the field in 2020 but says she continues to attend board meetings and has two kids attending local schools.
Thomas admits that she disagrees with "MUCH" of what Governor DeSantis, in her words, "did to our public education system," she does not support CRT in K-thru-12 or to have elementary school teachers teaching her kids about sexuality.
The candidate says she does support acknowledging and encouraging LGBTQ students to feel safe and wanted in schools because it reduces what she calls "risk factors."
This race will be decided on Tuesday August 20th.