Live from Music Row, Wednesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. – guest host Cunningham welcomed Robin Steenman of Moms for Liberty-Williamson County and founder of the newly formed PAC Williamson Families to the newsmaker line to weigh in on the appointment of Pfizer VP Josh Brown to the Williamson County School Board and the mission of her new PAC.
Leahy: We are joined on our newsmaker line now by Robin Steenman, who’s involved in the new Williamson Families PAC and Moms for Liberty. Good morning, Robin.
Steenman: Good morning, Michael. Good morning, Grant.
Leahy: Robin, tell us about your reaction to the Williamson County commissions decision on Monday to appoint a Pfizer vice president to the open seat on the Williamson County School Board.
Steenman: There was a lot of shock. And then there’s a lot of people that weren’t surprised at all. We always expected that there was a swamp in Williamson County, but we never really knew how deep.
And it really proved its existence this past week in the willful not listening to the people and the cronyism. And the who knows who and the back door deals. And so right in time for the launch of Williams Families, the swamp really showed itself off in grand fashion for all to see.
Leahy: Robin, were you there at the board meeting of the Williamson County Commission on Monday night?
Steenman: Yes, I was there.
Leahy: Did you speak? And how did the commissioners listen to what you said?
The Williamson Co Commission voted to appoint Josh Brown to fill a vacancy on the school board. Brown is a graduate of WCS but he's also an executive for Pfizer. Some are unhappy.
"If you will not listen we will change who is listening in 2022," says parent Robin Steenman. pic.twitter.com/FgnN1xRxLV
— Justin McFarland (@ThisJustinTv) October 12, 2021
Steenman: I spoke and they kind of just look at you with a blank face like they always do. But, you know, I told them that the fans of Josh Brown were sitting in their chairs, right? The only ones that were speaking up for Josh Brown were the commissioners themselves.
We the people wanted a delay of the vote because this is an important seat at a crucial time. And he’s a lobbyist for Pfizer. Let’s stop and think about this. Let’s stop and look at the other candidates because one of the primary reasons I was told that they wanted Josh Brown was well because we know him.
We’ve always known him. He’s been around forever. Well, gentlemen, that’s called vetting. You have to do your due diligence to vet the other candidates that perhaps you don’t know. So the people were asking for a delay.
Let’s think about this. Let’s look at the other candidates. Let’s have community input and vote on this in November. And they just weren’t listening. And so I concluded my speech with saying, if you’re not going to listen to we the people, then we’ll elect new people to listen in 2022.
Leahy: Tell us about your new group Williamson Families PAC.
Steenman: Williamson Families is a recipe that’s been done before. It was done in South Lake, Texas, which made headlines last May when they replaced two school board members and city council, and their mayor.
And the proponent for them to launch South Lake Families was the specter is CRT and their Carroll ISD schools, and Carroll ISD is really like a crown jewel for the Texas school system, just like Williamson County is for Tennessee.
Leahy: And you say Carroll ISD. In Texas, they don’t have county school systems. They have independent school districts which typically cover a larger city within a county that’s Carroll, Texas. That’s in the North Texas Dallas area.
Steenman: Correct. So I said, wow, that really works. That could really work here. Let’s launch Williamson Families. It’s a political action committee. It’s going to be run by the families.
It’s of the families and absolutely for the families in which we have to take back these elected positions. And we have to elect people that put the families first.
Leahy: What is your agenda for 2022?
Steenman: The school board, the county commission, the mayor, and any elected position that hasn’t been listening, it’s up. And we we will have our say.
Leahy: How many school board seats are up? There are twelve members of the school board. How many of those are up in 2022?
Steenman: The even numbers.
Leahy: So six. And how about the county commission?
Steenman: All 24.
Leahy: All 24. And the mayor is up also.
Steenman: The mayor is up and the sheriff is up. They’re all up.
Leahy: Is the current may are going to run for re-election? Mayor Anderson.
Steenman: I’m not sure if he’s officially announced that or not.
Leahy: Do you have any indication?
Steenman: I can’t say for sure. But based on the actions of our mayor over the past week, I think we are definitely going to have a candidate against him.
Leahy: There will be an alternative. Grant Henry is in our studios on Music Row in Nashville and he has a question for you.
Henry:Â Honestly, I want to know from the sentiments that were delivered. Robin, in that school board meeting itself, from everything I’ve heard you say from the previous interviews that I’ve heard from you, from other parents that gave testimonies.
It seems like there’s this notion of I’m just not being heard. I finally woken up. I’m paying attention. The COVID shutdown has caused me to look at the curriculum for the first time.
Here’s the question, though. Do you think the elected representatives get it? Do you think they know and they just don’t care or are they sort of still a little bit oblivious?
Steenman: I would say some of the county commission could be oblivious, but no longer. We’ve been engaging. I mean, after Monday night, how can they be oblivious anymore?
And on the Moms for Liberty side, I’ve been engaging with the county commission since this summer as we’ve been trying to educate the county commission on the challenges in Williamson County schools.
But our work on the curriculum, on Moms for Liberty, with Moms for Liberty, and our work to educate the community about critical race theory to keep it out of the schools, we have just come up against the stone wall for the most part.
The board doesn’t care. The commissioners well express concern, but it doesn’t translate to any action whatsoever.
Henry: Because I remember the first time I heard of Moms for Liberty. It was at the Franklin factory there, and there must have been 400, 500, 600 people. It was a massive event. And from that point on, I’ve heard you all in the headlines week after week after week.
So if a random guy like me clearly knows what’s going on, maybe I have a bit of bias because I also do grassroots as well for Americans for Prosperity. But let me just ask you, it seems like I’m aware.
The elected officials, they should be aware. What do you need? What do you need more help with? Do you need more grassroots people? Do you need donations? What’s the thing that’s going to further help where you need to get?
Steenman: We launched Williamson Family. So to back up a bit. Yes, Moms for Liberty has been in the news. We have been working every week to educate the community as to engage with our elected officials to change the issues that are before the kids in Williamson County, and it’s just come up against nothing.
So when all of those efforts have failed, both at the county level and at the state level, then what do you do? You change the elected officials? So last week we launched Williamson Families PAC. It’s brand new.
We launched it right in time for this scandal for District Four and we need donations and we need engagement. We need grassroots. We need people to join the families.
Leahy: Your website is williamson-families.org. You have a PAC kick-off event Tuesday, November 2nd at Liberty Hall at The Factory. Who’s going to be there?
Steenman: John Rich is going to be there, and Grant Henry will also be there, among other speakers. It’s very exciting.
Leahy: Well, that sounds good. John Rich is a great guy and big conservative. There are 16 county commissioners that voted yes to appoint Josh Brown, the Pfizer VP to the open school board seat. Will you be running candidates against all 16 of those commissioners who voted yes for Josh Brown?
Steenman: We’re going to be running candidates against them and more than that as well.
Leahy: So you’re going to have candidates in all 24?
Steenman: We’re going to have at least candidates in 22.
Leahy: At least in 22 out of the 24. And I’m guessing every candidate that you have is going to be opposed to those who voted yes on Josh Brown, the Pfizer VP being appointed to the school board in Williamson County. We got 30 seconds. Here your final comments.
Steenman: Join the families. We need citizens to wake up and to stand up and take action for these elected positions we need statesmen, not politicians.
They need to be the people that come forward and the average citizens that say, you know what Williamson County is worth fighting for, and I’ll do that.
Leahy: Robin Steenman with Williamson Families PAC. Williamson-families.org. Thanks for joining us.
Listen to the second hour here:
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