General 2 — Pride At The Pier

We asked all 6 of the candidates running for Orange County Board of Education in this March 5th election the following; “Will you pledge to take these stances in your role as a Board of Education Trustee, if elected/re-elected?”

No to Pride Flag Bans in Orange County Schools
No to Forced Outing “Parental Notification” policies
No to Bathroom Bans Directed at Trans and Non-binary Students
No to K-12 Sports Teams Bans Directed at Trans and Non-binary Students
No to School Library Book Bans
No to Curriculum Changes designed to exclude LGBTQ+ material, i.e. history or sex ed classes
Yes to Publicly Standing with LGBTQ+ Teachers, Students, and Parents when hate crimes occur in OC schools”

Nancy Watkins (Trustee Area #3), Beatriz Mendoza (Trustee Area #1), and David Johnson (Trustee Area #4) all replied with a resounding Yes. These candidates are challengers in these races against the incumbent candidates, Ken Williams, Jorge Valdez, and Tim Shaw respectively. The incumbents did not reply to our requests for a response.

This election was on March 5th, 2024.

Tim Shaw, Jorge Valdez, and Ken Williams all won their respective races.

Non-Partisan Endorsements for March 2024 Election

Pride at the Pier is proud to endorse the recall campaign brought forth by the community in Orange Unified School District. They are seeking to recall OUSD Board Trustees Rick Ledesma and Madison Miner, who have brought chaos and extreme anti-LGBTQ rhetoric to their district while failing to serve the students they were elected to serve.

The safety, dignity, and well-being of ALL children should always come first for school board trustees, and partisan political games have no place in OUSD.

To learn more about the OUSD Recall campaign, visit their website at www.ousdrecall.com, or check out their Instagram at @ousdrecall .

Disclaimer: As a 501c3, Pride at the Pier can endorse Recalls, Measures, Ballot Initiatives, etc that involve our mission. We cannot endorse partisan political candidates.

Pride at the Pier is proud to endorse the campaign for a NO vote on Measure B in Huntington Beach.

Measure B would enshrine the pride flag ban ordinance that was passed in 2023 into the City's Charter, and add an extraordinary additional clause requiring a unanimous vote to ever fly it in the city - something that does not exist for any other piece of governance in HB.

The supporters of Measure B say in their campaign literature and signage that it's about "protecting the children" - Pride at the Pier stands firmly in opposition to any rhetoric that claims that Pride harms children.

To learn more about the No on Measure B campaign, visit their website at www.protecthb.org or check out their Instagram at @protect_hb

Disclaimer: As a 501c3, Pride at the Pier can endorse Recalls, Measures, Ballot Initiatives, etc that involve our mission. We cannot endorse partisan political candidates.

candidates interviewed for orange county superintendent of education appointment

On Wednesday, May 22nd, The Orange County Board of Education interviewed six candidates to replace OC Superintendent of Education, Al Mijares, as he's stepping down due to health concerns.

So who are these people, and what do their track records tell us about the way they may impact the local queer community if appointed to this seat? Let's take a look.

Update: Dr. Stefan Bean was appointed to this role in June of 2024. Bean ran against Mijares in the regular 2022 race, and lost by a ten point margin - approximately 50,000 votes. He is now in this role after being appointed by the five Board of Education trustees.

Ballot Guides

& Non-Partisan Endorsements

Orange County Board of Education Race, March 2024

Non-Partisan Endorsements for March 2024 Election

candidates interviewed for orange county superintendent of education appointment

Pride at the Pier will be putting out a non-partisan ballot guide in early October, 2024.

This will cover every single local race in the November election.

Stay tuned!