Election Day is nearing. As races for Temecula Valley Unified School District governing board widdle down to the last few days, much is at stake.
Four seats are up for election in the TVUSD. A Christian conservative political action committee has backed two candidates in the hope of resetting a controversial agenda. The Inland Empire Family PAC has put forward candidates Jon Cobb in Trustee Area 5 and the familiar face of Dr. Joseph Komrosky in TA 4.
Komrosky previously served on the TVUSD board representing TA 4 after being elected to the seat in November 2022. He was appointed board president by his like-minded colleagues Danny Gonzalez and Jennifer Wiersma, who were also elected to the board in 2022. The three trustees were backed by the Inland Empire Family PAC. Pastor Tim Thompson of 412 Church Temecula Valley has been the PAC’s spokesperson.
However, ongoing concerns over the trio’s controversial decisions prompted a June 4 Special Recall Election that targeted Komrosky.
Critics, including national organizations, blasted Komrosky, Gonzalez and Wiersma over their critical race theory ban; their controversial critical race theory “panel” that many TVUSD teachers dubbed “indoctrination camp”; their censoring of instruction about California’s gay rights movement; their attempted defiance of state education code; their firing of the district superintendent; the hiring of their team of attorneys at taxpayers’ expense to defend against ongoing lawsuits over their actions; their ban on pride and other flags; and their mandate that educators report to parents about transgender students.
Ultimately, TA 4 voters gave Komrosky the boot and the seat has remained open. Gonzalez had already resigned his TA 2 seat one year into his four-year term; the vacancy has continued.
Wiersma’s TA 3 seat is not up for reelection until 2026. She has remained on the dais as the sole far-right voice. With Cobb and Komrosky on the ballot, the Inland Empire Family PAC is attempting to reclaim a majority on the TVUSD governing board.
The PAC’s website continues to make statements that align with politicians who support Christian Nationalism. For example, the site claims that “public schools across the nation have become a place of indoctrination into a woke ideology. … Conservative school board members who hold to a Judeo-Christian set of principles is this nation’s ticket back to American academic superiority on the world scene.”
This year’s races for the TVUSD board are well-watched. In TA 4, Komrosky faces David Sola. Despite being recalled, Komrosky successfully filed paperwork to run in the November election.
In TA 5, Cobb vies against incumbent Steven Schwartz.
Schwartz, along with Trustee Area 1’s Allison Barclay, frequently criticized Gonzalez, Komrosky and Wiersma for their policies. Barclay is up for reelection and is facing off against Melinda Anderson.
Also running in the TVUSD board races are three candidates looking to fill the TA 2 seat vacated by Gonzalez. Emil Roger Barham, Gary Oddi and Angela Talarzyk are vying for the open spot.
In addition to the TVUSD races, the Inland Empire Family PAC is attempting to influence other school districts across the IE. The PAC is backing candidates in the Redlands Unified School District and the Riverside Unified School District.
