SLO County school board candidate who shared QAnon video, fake news wins seat
Final official election results are in for the Nov. 3 election.
Incumbent Kathryn Eisendrath-Rogers and newcomer Eve Dobler-Drew won the two open seats on the San Luis Coastal Unified School District board of trustees.
Eisendrath-Rogers earned 42.2% of the vote, and Dobler-Drew earned 32.1% of the vote, according to the San Luis Obispo County Clerk-Recorder’s Office, which certified election results on Nov. 25.
Incumbent Walt Millar trailed the two, earning just 25.5% of the vote. He had served on the district’s school board for 20 years.
Both elected board members said they “feel great” and are “very pleased” with the results of the election.
The race for the board of one of San Luis Obispo County’s largest school districts earned some notoriety after now-deleted social media posts by Dobler-Drew resurfaced.
The Tribune obtained screenshots of Facebook and Twitter posts that included a video associated with a QAnon conspiracy theory; misinformation about the coronavirus pandemic and Black Lives Matter protests; a video promoting the ex-gay Christianity movement and a post calling philanthropist Melinda Gates “satanic.”
Dobler-Drew deleted those posts after outcry on social media and previously told The Tribune they were “part of the past.”
“Those were personal opinions, and posted before 2020 or very early in 2020,” Dobler-Drew told The Tribune on Wednesday. “And there’s been a new awakening in myself.”
Dobler-Drew said she does not subscribe to the QAnon conspiracy theory and she was “just a retired teacher with time on my hands” when she previously posted on social media.
“In this position of influence (on the school board), I’m going to be highly responsible,” Dobler-Drew added.
She also noted that she does not think posting personal opinions on social media is wise or responsible anymore, especially since many people often take offense to those opinions.
Dobler-Drew wants people to “look at my future actions,” she said. Her priorities moving forward on the school board will be to improve student financial literacy, increase the number of bilingual teachers and help the district move forward from the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.
With a son who attended Morro Bay High School and about 25 years of experience as a teacher in San Luis Obispo County, Dobler-Drew said she has plenty of experience for the school board position.
Eisendrath-Rogers, who’s served on the San Luis Coastal board since 2008, said she has “lots of questions” for Dobler-Drew regarding her previous posts to social media.
“I look forward to meeting her, getting to know her and finding out whether and how that’s (Dobler-Drew’s previous social media posts) going to affect her decisions and her presence as a board member,” Eisendrath-Rogers said. “But, you know, the community has spoken, the voters have spoken and they certainly had ample information to act upon and so this is what it is.”
Eisendrath-Rogers, who had two children attend schools in the district that have now graduated from college, said she will sorely miss serving with Millar on the school board.
But Eisendrath-Rogers added that she is glad the voters chose to keep her on the board.
“This was the right time, I believe, for me to continue to serve as a school board member and I’m delighted to do it. I find it a joy,” Eisendrath-Rogers said.
This story was originally published November 4, 2020 at 1:24 PM.
