Charlie Kirk Photos Included in a Cy-Fair ISD Candidates Mailer

Aren’t school board elections supposed to be nonpartisan?

That’s the question some Cypress-Fairbanks ISD residents asked when they got postcards in their mailboxes on Thursday featuring a photo of conservative Christian activist and Donald Trump ally Charlie Kirk, who was murdered last month at a Utah college campus.

“Keep crazy out of our schools!” the mailer states above the following bullet points:

• Nationwide violence has escalated on the left, to the point of political assassinations.
• It is the result of the leftist and Marxist takeover of our schools.
• It is years and years of indoctrinating our kids to accept and normalize radical ideas. 
• If you wouldn’t vote for a Democrat at state and national elections, why do it locally? 

It’s an advertisement for incumbent Natalie Blasingame, former board member George Edwards Jr. and retired CFISD administrator Radele Walker, “the only candidates in this race endorsed by the Harris County GOP.” 

The mailpiece was paid for by the CyFair4Liberty Political Action Committee, led by Bill Ely. 

Ely did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday mornin, nor did the slate of Republican candidates. 

But those supporting challengers Lesley Guilmart, Cleveland Lane Jr. and Kendra Camarena, all of whom have voted in a Democratic primary but are identifying themselves as a “pro-public education” slate, had plenty to say. 

“What does Charlie Kirk have to do with a school board election and why are they implying their opponents have something to do with it?” said Odus Evbagharu, a Cy-Fair ISD graduate and Democratic candidate for Texas House of Representatives. 

The mailer also stirred some strong feelings in hardcore Republicans. 

A former Harris County Republican Party precinct chair said in a text message to the Houston Press, “This is a new low. How can they desecrate Charlie Kirk and his image/memory? It is disparaging and insulting. I am literally feeling the same feelings I felt when I heard of [Kirk’s] assassination. This is inhumane and insensitive. Have they no morals or ethical boundaries?” 

A post in the Facebook group CFISD Parents for Librarians had more than three dozen comments early Friday morning. 

“Teachers are not the enemy and to equate them as such and that they are the result of ‘nationwide violence’ is absolutely INSANE,” wrote Ashley Buckner, who posted photos of the mailer. 

One commenter added, “That sure is a great use of the fear propaganda technique and a testimonial by putting Charlie Kirk on there. If I was still teaching, I would be saving this one as one of the mailers for the kids to analyze when teaching propaganda techniques.” 

Another commenter pointed out that school boards are supposed to be nonpartisan. “Why do they keep using our children and teachers as the frontlines in their political war?” she asked.

The Cy-Fair ISD board has been under fire since a conservative Christian majority led by Blasingame began last year supporting book bans, removing chapters from textbooks and trying to get chaplains installed at district campuses, which critics say blur the lines of separation of church and state. 

In addition to the GOP-endorsed candidates and the pro-public education candidates, board president Scott Henry is also seeking re-election, running for Position 6 against Blasingame and Lane. Henry is backed by trustees Todd LeCompte, Justin Ray and Lucas Scanlon. Elecia Jones is running for Position 7 against Camarena and Walker. 

The Harris County GOP endorsed the three candidates before the filing period ended and days prior to the publication of a Houston Press story in which Blasingame admitted she’d secretly recorded members of the community, prompting a board policy change that prohibits trustees from taping conversations with community members, district administrators and other trustees without the knowledge of all involved parties. 

A GOP precinct chair proposed a resolution last month to revoke Blasingame’s endorsement, alleging the trustee brought shame upon the district, but rescinded the motion when she determined she didn’t have enough support from party officials for it to go through.  

Earlier this week, Cy-Fair Republicans welcomed Gov. Greg Abbott and Senators Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, and Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, to a Cypress barbecue restaurant. At the event, Abbott said he wanted to turn Harris County “dark red.” Blasingame, Edwards and Walker attended the event, and Blasingame posted on Facebook on the day of the visit that a “YUGE endorsement announcement” would be forthcoming. 

Abbott didn’t endorse any of the school board candidates but said his top two priorities are to win re-election in November 2026 and to win Harris County — and he’s willing to spend most of the $90 million in his coffers to do so. 

Early voting continues through October 31. Election Day is November 4. 

The post Charlie Kirk Photos Included in a Cy-Fair ISD Candidates Mailer appeared first on Houston Press.