The conservative president of the Temecula Valley Unified School District board is facing a recall election.
Joseph Komrosky has gained notoriety for controversial decisions on the display of the LGBTQ+ Pride flag and allegedly stifling free speech with a soccer-style card system.
Now, he will have to defend his record in a new election, which the board has 14 days to schedule. Based on the timing of the announcement, the election is likely to occur between April 19 and May 26.
“Riverside County election officials announced Monday, Jan. 22, that they had verified 4,884 signatures from voters in Komrosky’s district who signed recall petitions. That’s 604 more than the minimum needed to force a recall,” The Press-Enterprise reports.
The Press-Enterprise added that Komrosky emailed his supporters once the “asinine recall” was announced to ask for their support.
“I have fulfilled my campaign promises to my constituents and have done exactly what I was elected to do,” he said. “I’ve represented the voices in my community by fighting for traditional family values, such as parental rights … I will rigorously seek out and stand against any evil such as pervasive obscenity, vulgarity, pornography, and erotica here at TVUSD. I will continue to resist these harmful things with every ounce of my being.”
A group of opponents targeting Komrosky and other Christian conservative board members celebrated the announcement in an email to their supporters.
“This is an amazing day for our school district, city and community and we’re hoping this is yet another step to correcting the wrongs that have occurred over the past year under Komrosky and his cohorts,” said Jeff Pack, co-founder of One Temecula Valley PAC.
Pack added that Temecula residents want “good governance and will seek to remove partisan political maneuvering from these nonpartisan elected positions.”
“It should serve as notice that Temecula is engaged and eager to ensure the best possible governance for the city and region,” Pack said. “Failure to do so in the best interest of the city, can and will result in recall efforts like this.”
If Komrosky is removed from office, he would be the second conservative to depart the board after Danny Gonzalez stepped down late last year to move to Texas.
