Lee County Board of Education member Christine Hilliard has changed her party registration and will run for re-election in 2022 as a Democrat, according to a post on her campaign Facebook page.
Hilliard wrote that her “relationship with the local (Republican) party is untenable.”
“The county Republican party has given me little to no support over the last few years,” she wrote. “Even on election night in 2018 after it was announced that I had won, the chairperson said to my face that he had never considered me a viable candidate and gave me no chance to win.”
She went on to say that she felt the local GOP had pressured her to “be in alignment with the local party’s stance, devoid of any type of independent thought” and that she “will not be treated as some sort of puppet.” Read the entire statement below:
The move changes the board’s partisan makeup from a 4-3 Republican advantage to a 4-3 Democratic advantage. Republican Sandra Bowen remains chair, while Hilliard remains vice chair.
The Lee County Democratic Party welcomed Hilliard to the party in a written statement, which noted the party’s position that school board elections in Lee County should be nonpartisan.
“We have witnessed Christine Hilliard run an honest and sincere campaign and vote consistently in the best interest of the students, staff, and faculty of Lee County Schools, regardless of politics. The Lee County Democratic Party believes education is key to a better job, more freedom, and more opportunities. We always believed when it comes to educating our children that we are all in this together. We never believed the Board of Education should be partisan,” said Democratic Party Chair Vonda Reives. “The Lee County Democratic party looks forward to working with and supporting Christine Hilliard with our shared vision of making sure that every child is given an opportunity to succeed. We welcome her to the party.”
Hilliard is one of many current or former elected officials in Lee County who have left the local GOP over the last several years. Others include school board member Lynn Smith, former Lee County Commissioner Larry “Doc” Oldham, current Lee County Commissioner and former school board member Cameron Sharpe, and former Lee County Commissioner Kevin Dodson. The local GOP also censured one of its own members in 2019, former school board member Stephen Coble, after he voted with Democrats on a school architectural contract.
Thank you Christine! Your thought process could not be any more accurate. We welcome you with open arms. Now, let’s get your buddy, Tom Frye, on the board with you. Happy Days!!
Clearly the GOP in Lee county has succumb to toxic leadership and needs to look for new leaders. You never hear any good news information when it comes to the GOP in Lee county, there is actually many things the GOP has done well for the county, unfortunately it is overshadowed by the failed leadership of the party.
Not a fan of the current GOP leadership in Lee County. I’m a Democrat but do appreciate that we have and need a 2 party system locally and nationally. I have zero respect for the current GOP (Lee) leaders and do look forward to the day I can view them more favorably (hopefully).
Vivian Rosser
I’m drowning in Democrat tears!
Soooooooooooooooooooooooo glad that my child graduates this year! Cant get out of the Lee county school system fast enough!
Sigh….at least not a RINO anymore.
As usual, the rant and its one sided reporting. Good riddance to her. What dod she ever do as a conservative? From following her antics in this rag and the other sanford rag it appears that she is a back stabbing rino. The people elected you to represent their conservative views. Perhaps you and the PERVE on the commissioners are two peas in a pod enjoying screwing people over. Whaaayyyyy! Whambulance!!!! The Lee GOP leadership was mean to me. Did you ever do anything for the GOP? Did you even ask? Doubt it seriously. This aint the sanford airport, no need to anounce your departure, just go away.
LOL ok
She was a worthless turd that bullied special education students when she was at Tramway Elementary. Stupid broad couldn’t even pass the teacher’s exam because she’s half in the bag all the time. The board of education is a joke in Lee County. You have one dude playing S&M bondage games. You have this shrew and basically a joke of a school system that blows money. And you wonder why the kids are failing at life. So yourself a favor, go broke if you have to, don’t send them to Lee County schools. You are screwing your kids if you do.
It is idiotic comments like this that help identify the truly clueless among us. Mrs Hilliard was a teaching assistant while at Tramway and therefore did not have to take or pass the exam you referenced, just like all teaching assistants in the county. She has since passed this exam because she is a TEACHER now. I typed that real slow so as to not confuse you. See, when you make stupid comments like that it helps to discredit your totally baseless accusations of bullying and instead, only self-identifies you as yet another Womack sycophant.
Idiots like as this supposed man (that’s a loose term amongst leftist turds) are on fantasy island. Probably the sodomite that was playing bondage S&M games and pretending to be on the school board by day. That attack ad writes itself and it will. I know the twit didn’t have a teaching certificate in 2020, maybe she fellatiated the right people, who knows. God knows she ain’t qualified to teach obedience school to chihuahuas, let alone children. Any opinion against leftist turds always goes back to the Womacks, which again makes you an idiot. THE ENTIRE BOARD AND LEE COUNTY SCHOOL SYSTEM IS GARBAGE. Typed that slow for dolts like you. Go on, send your kids to garbage Lee County Schools, with their touchy feely board and sorry curriculum and those everyone gets a trophy high school diplomas that aren’t really earned, just given out to help self esteem. My kids will need someone to serve them fries and your kids seem just the ones to do it.
Lord, your ignorance makes this easy. Mrs Hilliard was a pre-K teacher at St Luke in 2020. Don’t need a teaching certificate there either big guy. Once again I’ll type real slow so maybe even you can understand: when she actually needed a teaching certificate, she went and applied for one. But don’t worry, you just keep astounding us with your baseless, perverse innuendo so we can fully grasp just how smart you really are.
St Luke, fake church filled with fake folks looking to be seen. Enough said. That place doesn’t teach the bible.
So, let’s do a quick re-cap here:
1. We have proven that you made a stupid, baseless allegation that the person in question had no teaching credentials in an obvious attempt to discredit her, when in fact she did not need one at multiple times which you cited, but in fact has one now because it is required. Got it.
2. You randomly cited she was “half in the bag” all the time, alluding to the fact that she was intoxicated, yet chose not to expound upon that nor provide any sort of proof. Another baseless claim. Got it.
3. You accuse her of having to provide oral sex to secure a position as a teaching assistant, when the county can’t even fill all the teaching assistant positions out there. Yet another baseless claim that makes absolutely no sense. Got it.
4. You accused her of bullying special needs children which is a pretty serious claim. I would assume if this was true, there would be some sort of public record of it. However, there is not one. As a matter of fact, if you were to bother doing any research at all, you would see working with special needs children has been a passion of hers since she was in high school and college, when she worked at our local TLC Home here in Sanford. Among all your other stupid allegations, that one was pretty bad. You should be ashamed of yourself.
5. And through it all, you attempt to show disgust for the board member who was publicly shamed for what he does in his private life, while constantly making references to disgusting sexual acts yourself in your attempt to convey your thoughts. That just shows you are not intelligent enough to articulate your thoughts on a topic without sinking down that low and quite possibly, you have some kinks yourself you may want to go see a professional about.
Look man, you don’t have to like what goes on with our various local government agencies. That is your right and you have a voice by way of your vote. But don’t come on here spreading a bunch of BS lies. If your goal is to persuade someone to share your opinion on something, there is a way to go about doing it that includes legitimate facts. I see you also have a problem with one of our local churches as well. Maybe you should call up the head pastor there and share your thoughts with how they can improve themselves as Christians in your eyes.
Here is my suggestion: put down the Cheetos, come out of mama’s basement, and actually interact with the rest of society around here. Maybe it will open your eyes as to what is actually going on.
And it would be amazing if the Rant ever did real journalism, but I think I have a better chance of starting for Carolina and winning a Natty before that happens.
How about the Rant require people to use their real names…..
I’m sure you would see a big drop in hateful, useless comments!!!
I agree. It gets ridiculously low when folks don’t have to acknowledge who they’ are.
I don’t plan to write in or read anymore of it.
If the lady thinks she can do better in another party for our children under a different, then that’s her prerogative. Although I’m sure it was mostly Conservatives who voted in her office, voted for her beliefs, those aren’t going to change. The backing or support of her fellow rightwing board members wasn’t there and apparently, she had no chance of gaining it. Without the support, plus the alleged comments about the night she won the board seat, proves she never stood a chance of voicing her own ideas and suggesting’s and doing what she was elected to do. I wish her the very best, because our children deserve the very best.
Not convinced