Category Archives for Thomas Ratliff

Does Ken Mercer Support the Smear Campaign Against a Fellow Texas Education Board Member?

Does Texas State Board of Education member Ken Mercer, a San Antonio Republican, think one of his fellow Republicans on the board “has no integrity”? Does he think his fellow Republican has “disdain for the law,” is ineligible to serve on the board, and is using his position to enrich his business clients? If he [...]

Also posted in Donna Garner, Ken Mercer, State Board of Education, TFNEF
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Right-Wingers Target Two GOP Texas Ed Board Members, Accuse Them of Promoting ‘Socialist Ideology’

Right-wing activists are angry with a couple of Republican members of the State Board of Education who have refused to hop on their crazy train. The source of their anger (right now, anyway) is CSCOPE, the curriculum management tool that we reported about last month. CSCOPE is a product of a collaboration of regional Education [...]

Also posted in CSCOPE, Pat Hardy, State Board of Education, TFNEF
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Handful of Contests See the Most Money in Texas State Board of Education Races

In the 1990s, San Antonio businessman James Leininger — the religious right’s sugar daddy in Texas — poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into State Board of Education (SBOE) races. That money helped hard-right social conservatives build a multi-year campaign to take control of the board — and turned subsequent board debates over textbooks and [...]

Also posted in 2012 Texas SBOE elections, Anette Carlisle, Barbara Cargill, creationism, David Bradley, David Williams, Don McLeroy, Donna Bahorich, Gail Spurlock, George Clayton, Linda Ellis, Marisa Perez, Marty Rowley, Michael Soto, Pam Little, Peter Morrison, Randy Stevenson, Rita Ashley, TFN, Tincy Miller
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SBOE Campaign Finance Reports

All Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) seats are up for election this year, but so far there’s not a lot of money flowing into those campaigns. Nearly all SBOE candidates have now filed their July 1, 2011-December 31, 2011, campaign finance reports with the Texas Ethics Commission. Some non-surprises: Geraldine “Tincy” Miller, R-Dallas, is [...]

Also posted in 2012 Texas SBOE elections, Anette Carlisle, Barbara Cargill, Charlie Garza, David Scott, Don McLeroy, Donna Bahorich, Gail Lowe, Gail Spurlock, George Clayton, Ken Mercer, Linda Ellis, Marty Rowley, Neal Frey, Pam Little, Patty Quintana-Nilsson, Randy Stevenson, Steve Salyer, Steven Schafersman, TFN, Tincy Miller
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SBOE Candidate: Thomas Ratliff

Because of redistricting, all 15 seats on the Texas State Board of Education will be up for grabs in the November 2012 elections. The results of those elections will determine whether the religious right’s corrosive influence over public education will weaken or grow as the board considers what the next generation of public school students [...]

Also posted in 2012 Texas SBOE elections
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How Nasty Could Texas SBOE Elections Get?

If history is any judge, next year’s Texas State Board of Education elections could get very nasty. The image at left (click to enlarge) comes from a campaign flyer supporting Randy Stevenson in his successful election race for the board in 1994: “Homosexuality. Lesbian Adoption. Condom Usage. Do you want your children learning about this [...]

Also posted in 2012 Texas SBOE elections, Randy Stevenson
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Contempt for Voters

So what’s with the dishonest campaign to remove from office a State Board of Education member who had the gall to challenge — successfully — the re-election of a prominent member of the state board’s far-right faction in 2010? Just another example of the far right’s contempt for Texas voters. We’re talking about Thomas Ratliff, [...]

Also posted in David Bradley, Donna Garner, State Board of Education
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Barbara Cargill: Some Things Never Change

UPDATE: Apparently, someone was embarrassed that we were highlighting Barbara Cargill’s comments at a Texas Eagle Forum event last week. YouTube videos of those comments have now been made private. No matter. We already have those comments and the videos. We’ll have more from Cargill’s talk — this time her troubling comments about the coming [...]

Also posted in Barbara Cargill, Bob Craig, Don McLeroy, Marsha Farney, Pat Hardy, State Board of Education
| 15 Comments |


Travis DA: No Problem with Ratliff on SBOE

Far-right members of the Texas State Board of Education are steamed that Thomas Ratliff, R-Mount Pleasant, defeated their ally Don McLeroy, R-College Station, in the March Republican primary last year. Since at least last November, they have been insisting that Ratliff’s status as a registered lobbyist makes him ineligible to serve on the board under [...]

Also posted in State Board of Education
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