Williamson County Republican divisions are growing more apparent amid this year’s school board election, with two outgoing Republican board members breaking with the party by endorsing independent and Democratic candidates.
On July 17, Williamson County Schools 6th district board member Jay Galbreath, who is not running for reelection, announced his endorsement of 8th district independent candidate Cory Martin over Republican incumbent board member Donna Clements.
Galbreath made the endorsement in a lengthy social media post in which he criticized Clements’ abstention on votes related to extending the contract of WCS Superintendent Jason Golden, calling the move an example of “avoiding accountability.”
“Leadership is measured by the willingness to make difficult decisions and accept responsibility for them, and on the most consequential decision of this term, Donna did not,” Galbreath wrote in part.
In the same post, Galbreath also endorsed Republican Kimberlee Calcote for the 6th district seat, adding, “She will say what she means and mean what she says, on behalf of the students and families of WCS.”
Galbreath’s post caught the ire of Williamson County Republican Party (WCRP) Chairman Steve Hickey, who issued a July 20 public statement calling the endorsement “deeply disappointing.”
“Through Mr. Galbreath’s actions, he is tacitly opposed to Republican education policies designed to restore parental control over education and eliminate Marxist indoctrination in our schools. While we welcome robust debate within our party, crossing party lines to oppose Republican nominees in the general election is not principled independence — it is counterproductive to the ideals upon which our party rests,” Hickey wrote on July 20.
On Aug. 4, 10th district school board member Eric Welch, a Republican, endorsed Democrat Jennifer Konyn over Republican Elliott Franklin to take over the 10th district seat following his retirement from the board.
Welch explained his endorsement in an equally lengthy social media post, writing in part, “Jennifer’s platform is built around data over ideology, evidence over politics, and representing the many D10 families, of every political stripe, who just want a school board focused on kids instead of culture war. That's the kind of steady, serious leadership this district needs right now, and it's leadership every parent here should get behind, no matter how you vote in other races.”
Hickey followed his July post with an Aug. 5 video statement which included a condemnation of Welch.
“Both have proven through words and actions to be grossly out of step with the values and platform of the Republican Party. To be clear, both men have endorsed candidates who have and continue to support far-left causes and candidates,” Hickey said in the video.
“I generally believe Republicans should support Republican candidates. But for local school board races, I'd ask voters to apply one additional test: does this candidate have the best interests of our schools and our students at heart, ahead of any other agenda?” Galbreath wrote in his July 17 post.
Welch’s endorsement is not shocking, as he’s spent weeks criticizing Elliott Franklin on social media, sharing screenshots of past communications and social media activity. He also publicly questioned why Franklin, who also serves as the WCRP second vice chair, follows on his personal X account openly racist right-wing commentator Nick Fuentes, who participated in the deadly 2017 white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va., and has since deleted a shared social media post by right-wing media figure Andrew Tate, who was promoting a giveaway,
Tate, a self-described "misogynist," has, along with his brother, been the subject of both public controversy and criminal investigations, including a July arrest in the U.S. for alleged sex crimes in the U.K., including rape and sex trafficking.
Franklin told the Williamson Herald that he doesn’t endorse either Fuentes or Tate.
Franklin previously wrote blog posts for the Williamson County chapter of Moms for Liberty, and argued during a failed 2022 school board campaign that WCS parents were “withdrawing their students due to the harmful curriculum and medical mandates [related to the COVID-19 pandemic].”
The endorsements and criticisms come as both the WCS board and district as a whole are undergoing major changes, with four board members choosing not to seek reelection, the sudden resignation of WCS Superintendent Jason Golden and the appointment of Leigh Webb as interim superintendent in June, meaning that Thursday’s election will result in significant change to the board that will determine the direction of the district.