Schools
Bridget Ziegler Should Resign: Sarasota County School Board
Bridget Ziegler, embroiled in a sex scandal with her husband Christian Ziegler, was the only person to vote against her resigning.
Updated: Tuesday, 9:37 p.m.
SARASOTA COUNTY, FL — The Sarasota County School Board voted 4 to 1 Tuesday evening in favor of a resolution calling for the resignation of member Bridget Ziegler, according to multiple reports.
She was the only vote in favor of her remaining on the board.
Find out what's happening in Sarasotawith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Bridget Ziegler, a Moms for Liberty co-founder, is currently embroiled in a sex scandal with her husband, Christian Ziegler.
Her husband, the Florida GOP chair, is accused of raping a woman they previously had a consensual, three-way sexual relationship with. The couple has known the victim for more than 20 years.
Find out what's happening in Sarasotawith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Bridget called the resolution “toothless,” but limited her comments ahead of the vote at Tuesday’s school board meeting, according to NBC News.
The school board can’t oust Ziegler from her position, but the resolution that passed requested that she step down.
Still, it was a bipartisan vote against Ziegler, a conservative voice on the board.
The board chair, Karen Rose, said her resignation would allow the district to focus on student achievement, according to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
"It's not about the left, it's not about the right, it's about students," she said.
Board member Tim Enos agreed.
"Whether it's Democrat, Republican, whatever it is, it should be only about the kids," he said. "My decision tonight was only about the kids."
Prior to the meeting, openly gay board member Tom Edwards, a Democrat, told the Herald-Tribune, that Bridget Ziegler “is nothing but a distraction from before and only getting worse, and it will never go away as long as she sits there. As a school board member, my focus is on our students, their academic achievement and educational outcomes. It is not on the Zieglers' escapades."
Sarasota police are investigating the accusations made against Christian Ziegler. Florida leaders, both Republicans and Democrats, are also calling for him to step down from his leadership role with the state GOP.
This story includes reporting from The Associated Press.
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