Washington school board member loses seat after being recalled for defying mask mandates
Semi Bird, R-Wash., tells Fox News Digital about the recall effort that led him and other conservative school board members to lose their seats.
Three conservatives have been ousted from a Washington State school board over a February 2022 decision to make face masks optional for students despite Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee's statewide mandate requiring them.
Members Kari Williams, Audra Byrd and Semi Bird – the last of whom is eyeing the governor's seat in 2024 – were recalled after an extended effort to shake up the board.
"The leader of the recall said, ‘We will fix the mistake that was the election,’" Semi Bird told Fox News Digital on Sunday.
People gather in support of continuing the school mask mandate during the coronavirus pandemic. (Photo by Matt McClain/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
"This was never about just a mask mandate," he said. "It was a combination of change and accountability that we brought forward that the progressives within our district did not like. With the support of the teachers union and other progressive advocacy groups, they brought tens of thousands of dollars to a school board recall during an off-year primary where we had our supporters come out in numbers and support us, but the masses of conservatives who are our voter base did not turn out."
Bird, who served in the U.S. Marine Corps and was the first-ever African-American elected to the district's board, is running for governor as a Republican with the goal to remove divisive labels from discussions and foster hope among people who want to see civility and unity return to politics.
Despite the support he's received, the odds seem stacked against him. In the district recall, parents who supported Bird and his fellow conservative board members were up against spending that far outpaced their own.
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Republican Semi Bird is eyeing the governor's seat in Washington state. (Semi Bird for Governor)
"Parents who had children in the district who supported us turned out in mass and supported us by $5,000 for fliers or signs. It's not enough against the tens of thousands of dollars," he explained.
"When they were running commercials against us myself, I only had two and a half months left on my term. The other school board member who was recalled [Williams], she only had two and a half months left in her term and she was running for reelection. So the recallers spent tens of thousands of dollars, almost hundreds of thousands, depending on what the tally is at the end, to recall us knowing that two of us were up for reelection and, myself, I was not running for reelection."
On a broader scale, he says state Republicans have remained completely silent throughout the ordeal, showing no support for him or his fellow board members under attack from progressives.
"You would think this Washington state Republican Party would have said something or done something but no, they stayed silent," he said. "That is a problem within Washington state where we have the political elite and the wealthy, which we call the GOP establishment. They've taken over. The party is no longer in the hands of the people. The Republican Party is more in the hands of we the wealthy, we the powerful, because they are the ones who donate. They are the ones who contribute and those who have power."
Washington state Governor Jay Inslee's mask guidance was made optional in Bird's school district, sparking controversy from critics. ((Photo by Elaine Thompson - Pool/Getty Images))
On the opposite end, those behind the recall applauded the outcome as a source of "closure" for the community, particularly petitioner Elizabeth Lugo with the Richland School Board Recall campaign, according to the Tri-City Herald in Washington.
The successful recall does not prevent Williams – the only one of the three recalled members who appears on the ballot for the 2024 term – from running again.
Bird told Fox News Digital in March that the decision to make masks optional in district schools followed guidance from the county health director who ensured him the area was not struggling with hospital occupancy and urged him to consider the mental health of students. He also said student complaints that masks interfered with their learning and hurt their mental wellbeing were behind the decision.
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"It's important for people to understand that the Washington State mask mandate was not a law, so a law was never passed to enforce this. It was a mandate that they were using emergency powers that the governor obtained by the legislature to influence schools not to do what we did," he said at the time.
But said he wants to see policies that let children be children and let parents do the parenting come into play, preaching kindness and a push to "get back to human decency."
"I will fight every day to get us back to human decency, because that's what Dr. King fought for, the soul of America," he said. "We must fight for the soul of America together. And I pray people drop those labels. I pray they come together and say, stop it. Let's protect our kids. Let's do what's right. Let's take back America together. Black, White, Muslim, Christian, or non-denominational. Let's come together as Americans."
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