Conservative Christians Eye Control Of Southwest RivCo School Boards

SOUTHWEST RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — It's a benign name: Inland Empire Family PAC.

The aim of this Southwest Riverside County political action committee is anything but — and the latest election returns in Lake Elsinore, Murrieta and Temecula show just how strategic the organization's campaign to "Take Back School Boards" is.

"The Inland Empire Family PAC works to stop the indoctrination of our children by placing candidates on school boards who will fight for Christian and Conservative values," the IE Family PAC website reads.

Those "values" include nixing teachings of inclusion and tolerance, but not everyone adheres to the ideology. Temecula Valley Unified School District board member Adam Skumawitz said he rejects the "all-out culture war" and "outrageous lies" perpetrated by the PAC.

Skumawitz is one of the PAC's targets. The organization fielded at least six candidates for the Nov. 8 General Election: three in the Temecula Unified School District, two in the Murrieta Valley Unified School District, and one in the Lake Elsinore Unified School District.

Each candidate seeks to unseat incumbent school board members deemed "weak" in fighting "problems" on campuses, according to the PAC. (The only exception to the strategy is MVUSD's Trustee Area 2, where the incumbent did not run for reelection.)

The PAC identifies some of those campus "problems" as "perverted sexual training," "forced" LBGTQ+ acceptance, "encouraging transgenderism," state mandates, and "critical race theory" — buzzwords that seem to resonate with some Southwest Riverside County parents who may feel disenfranchised.

With thousands of ballots still uncounted as of Wednesday night, most of the races were tight and four IE Family PAC-backed candidates were leading (IE Family PAC candidates are denoted with an asterisk*):

TVUSD Trustee Area 2

Sandy Hinkson 50.26%

*Danny Gonzalez 49.74%

TVUSD Trustee Area 3

*Jennifer "Jen" Wiersma 52.67%

Barbara Brosch 47.33%

TVUSD Trustee Area 4

*Joseph Wayne Komrosky 50.73%

Adam Skumawitz 44.48%

Anthony Kelly 4.79%

MVUSD Trustee Area 1

*Nicolas Pardue 57.07%

Takesha Cooper 42.93%

MVUSD Trustee Area 2

Nancy Young 51.81%

*Courtney Cooper 39.94%

Jeff Hoggard 8.26%

LEUSD Trustee Area 5

*Jill Juanita Leonard 57.33%

Christopher McDonald 42.67%

See all the latest return results here.

"I am positive that together we can restore parental rights in our schools and be a force for truth and transparency in education. I truly believe the conservative voice will become the dominating force in California politics," according to a quote on the IE Family PAC website from Pastor Tim Thompson of 412 Church Temecula Valley. He staged an endorsement rally for the candidates and interviewed them on his YouTube channel.

Thompson's become a player in Southwest Riverside County politics. Besides the PAC, he networks on the ground and made vote recommendations up and down the ballot for his followers. He's linked to several high-profile conservative figures, including Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, and he throws his backing behind like-minded politicians. He was on hand recently in support of Temecula City Councilmember Jessica Alexander's failed attempts to have the city officially denounce abortion.

The political maneuverings of the PAC and Thompson were omnipresent in Temecula during this year's election cycle. After weeks of politicking and door-to-door campaigning by PAC supporters, residents in TVUSD Trustee Area 4 were mailed flyers that attacked Skumawitz on a personal and professional level.

Joseph Wayne Komrosky, Skumawitz's challenger, took to Facebook and attempted to distance himself from the flyers, saying that he neither gave permission for the group to share his likeness nor approved of the political ad's negative content.

"Comments (about the ad) should be addressed by the IE Family Pac," Komrosky wrote on the social media platform.

Skumawitz came out swinging on his Facebook page, blasting Komrosky and the PAC for the tactic.

"I reject the all-out culture war and the outrageous lies the IE Family Pac, the 412 Church, and their candidates for TVUSD School Board are throwing at me, my fellow incumbents, and my family," Skumawitz wrote. "Attempting to save face now, trying to distance yourselves from this group who has funded and endorsed you, to play the victim in all this is laughable ... and this pathetic attempt to stoke fear and win votes is shameful. The ends do not justify the means."

Skumawitz has served as a TVUSD Governing Board Member for Trustee Area 4 since 2018. He is a long-time Temecula resident, a graduate of Cornell University, a former professional soccer player and coach, and is a financial consultant and vice president of a local investment firm.