Two years ago, an organized effort by Christian conservatives in southwest Riverside County to elect like-minded candidates to local school boards won five seats, including the majority in Temecula. Now, that same coalition, spearheaded by the Inland Empire Family Political Action Committee, is branching out. The PAC has endorsed six candidates, including two for Temecula school board, three for Redlands’ school board and one running for a Riverside Unified School District seat, ahead of the Nov. 5 general election. If elected, the candidates could pursue an agenda that includes notifying parents if their child identifies as transgender in school, removing or restricting books deemed obscene or inappropriate and countering a perceived leftist bent in public education. The PAC’s endorsements worry those who fear it wants to impose an extreme Christian nationalist agenda to the detriment of the LGBTQ+ community and the basic work of running a public school district. “We aren’t concerned with races outside of southwest Riverside County, but we feel badly for those communities, who like us, suffered through the malicious and extreme outside political influence that we still suffer from today,” Jeff Pack, co-founder of One Temecula Valley PAC, which opposes the family PAC’s agenda, said via email. Southwest Riverside County Pastor Tim Thompson, who serves as the family PAC’s public face, “and his gang have no business staining the political landscape in those communities and we hope voters up there see through the attacks,” Pack added. Thompson, who is pastor of 412 Church Temecula Valley, said via email, “My ministry is tuned into by people in over 160 nations across the world. To limit our sphere of influence to southwest Riverside County is to not understand the very nature of our ministry.” This year, the family PAC is backing Jon Cobb and Joseph Komrosky in Temecula, Lawrence Hebron, Candy Olson and Jeannette Wilson in Redlands and Marcelle Williams in Riverside. Thompson said endorsed candidates had to fill out questionnaires, with in-person panel interviews for “the candidates who met our criteria.” Endorsed candidates “must align with Judeo-Christian values and support the four key issues of our PAC,” Thompson said, including “ensuring the rights of parents to direct the upbringing of their children,” “(protecting) the children from radical sexual indoctrination,” “(having) a strong stance against any future mask or vaccine mandates” and “(supporting) an environment that is supportive of local law enforcement.” 412 Church Temecula Valley Pastor Tim Thompson speaks to volunteers in this 2022 file photo. Thompson is the public face of the Christian conservative Inland Empire Family PAC, which endorsed six school board candidates in Riverside and San Bernardino counties running in the Nov. 5 general election. (File photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG) A private investigator conducted background checks of each candidate, the pastor added. The family PAC, which is not endorsing any other candidates, will support endorsed candidates by sending out mailers and texts “as well as provide training for the candidates, their campaign managers, and ground teams,” Thompson said. John Rogers, a UCLA education professor, said via email the agenda promoted by Thompson and the family PAC “reflects a national movement that emerged in 2021.” That movement, Rogers said, “originally centered on teaching and learning about race and district diversity, equity, and inclusion policies.” More recently, “conservative activism around schools increasingly has targeted policies related to LGBTQ+ student rights,” he said, and churches like Thompson’s “have played an outsized role in California’s conservative attacks on public schools.” In 2022, the family PAC and Thompson, a Donald Trump supporter active on social media and well-connected in conservative circles — Eric Trump headlined the PAC’s Temecula fundraiser in May — endorsed seven candidates for the Temecula, Murrieta and Lake Elsinore school boards. In an interview Wednesday, Oct. 16, Komrosky said he was introduced to the family PAC, which incorporated in 2021, at a candidate recruiting event in Murrieta. He said his ideals matched the family PAC’s and that he was grateful for its help. The PAC raised money and organized volunteers to help the candidates. Five of seven won, with three — Komrosky, Danny Gonzalez and Jen Wiersma — forming a majority on the Temecula Valley Unified School District board. On their first night in office, the trio voted to ban the teaching of critical race theory, a term often used by conservatives to attack certain lessons about diversity and the role of race in U.S. history. They also made national headlines for trying to ban a social studies curriculum that indirectly referenced slain LGBTQ civil rights leader Harvey Milk, with Gov. Gavin Newsom threatening to fine Temecula schools and send the district textbooks if the board didn’t adopt the curriculum; it eventually did. By 3-2 votes, conservatives also voted to require Temecula school officials to notify parents if their child identifies as transgender and enacted a policy that critics said banned the display of LGBTQ pride flags on school grounds. The majority ended when Gonzalez resigned in 2023 and moved to Texas and voters recalled Komrosky from office in June. Komrosky is running to reclaim his seat while Cobb is challenging board incumbent Steven Schwartz, who routinely votes against the conservatives’ agenda. In Redlands, Hebron, Olson and Wilson are also endorsed by Awaken Redlands. On its website, the group describes itself as “a non-partisan group of parents and community members focused on preserving traditional values in our city and schools.” A new state law barring schools from disclosing students’ sexual identities to parents is being challenged in court. In written responses to the Southern California News Group’s candidate questionnaires, Hebron, Olson and Wilson all expressed support for a transgender notification policy. “I do not promote ‘outing’ kids,” wrote Olson, who is running for the Trustee Area 5 seat along with Valerie Taber and Carolyn Williams. “However, I also believe parents should not be lied to and should have access to any information regarding their children’s education, well-being, and emotional/psychological health.” Taber and Williams oppose transgender notification policies. So does Redlands school board incumbent Melissa Ayala-Quintero — Hebron is running for her seat — and board President Alex Vara, who is opposed by Wilson. “I oppose any policy that has the potential to harm a child,” Ayala-Quintero wrote in her questionnaire. “ … We use our youth to find our voice (and) find our footing in this world and I respect them enough to give them grace as they find their path in all aspects of their life.” In her questionnaire, Williams, the family PAC-endorsed Riverside school board candidate, wrote: “Withholding important information about a student’s mental, physical and emotional health from their parents is wrong.” Williams is running in Trustee Area 4, represented by Tom Hunt until his death in June. Marla A. Matime and Jesse Tweed, Williams’ opponents, don’t support transgender notification policies. Traci Lowenthal, who attended Redlands schools and has spoken at Redlands school board meetings, said she’s “very concerned” about what will happen to the Redlands Unified School District and LGBTQ+ students and district staff if the family PAC’s candidates are elected. “I’m a parent too. I want to know what’s going on with my kids,” Lowenthal said. “But if a student needs to tell a counselor or a teacher about their identity and they haven’t shared it at home, there’s a reason for that.” The family PAC’s involvement in Redlands “concerns me greatly,” Lowenthal said. “It feels very Christian nationalist to me based on what I know.” Related Articles Local Politics | Why are so many sales tax hikes on city ballots Nov. 5? Local Politics | 4 compete for San Bernardino County assessor’s seat in November election Local Politics | Election 2024: Confused about California’s statewide propositions? Watch us explain all ten Local Politics | Among 26 Southern California congressional districts, demographic data shows differences, similarities Local Politics | Interactive map shows demographic details of 26 Southern California congressional districts She added: “I think that having that funding behind these kinds of candidates is really concerning and it means to me that these are not really community members that want to be on our school board. These are seeds that are being planted by these larger organizations that have much bigger aspirations beyond our school board.” Chino Valley school board President Sonja Shaw, who champions a number of conservative school policies, welcomes the family PAC’s involvement in school board races beyond southwest Riverside County. “It’s about time someone stepped up to support those who genuinely care about our communities and put the best interests of children and families at the forefront,” Shaw said via text. “I’ve seen firsthand how challenging it is to run against these powerful special interest groups and unions with deep pockets,” she said. “That’s why the IE Family PAC’s support is so crucial; it helps level the playing field and ensures communities have a voice in protecting parental rights and creating safer environments for our kids.” Staff Writer Jordan B. Darling contributed to this report.  FAMILY PAC CANDIDATES The Christian conservative Inland Empire Family Political Action Committee endorsed these school board candidates on the Nov. 5 general election: Redlands Unified School District Trustee Area 3: Lawrence Hebron Redlands Unified School District Trustee Area 4: Jeannette Wilson Redlands Unified School District Trustee Area 5: Candy Olson Riverside Unified School District Trustee Area 4: Marcelle Williams Temecula Valley Unified School District Trustee Area 4: Joseph Komrosky Temecula Valley Unified School District Trustee Area 5: Jon Cobb