Bridget Ziegler isn’t going anywhere—at least, that’s the message she appears to want the public to know.
On Tuesday, the embattled conservative school board member caught in a three-way sex scandal with her husband and another woman still didn’t budge as her future on Sarasota’s school board, once again, became the focus of public comment, criticism and ridicule.
“Your involvement is a distraction,” said one citizen.
“Our meetings have become a circus,” said another.
Bridget, an original Moms for Liberty founder whose political platform has focused on eliminating LGBTQ+ rhetoric in public schools while advocating for traditional Christian family values, has faced a mountain of scrutiny over her apparent hypocrisy after rape allegations lodged against her husband exposed the couple’s untraditional personal lives.
Court records show Bridget admitted to police that she and her husband Christian, former chair of Florida’s Republican Party, had a consensual three-way sexual encounter with a woman now accusing him of rape during a separate, more recent planned hook-up that Bridget backed out of. (Christian Ziegler denies the allegation, claiming the encounter was consensual).
Tuesday night, Bridget remained, for the most part, stone-faced, tearing up only briefly amid nearly three hours of public comment where few showed their support while the majority said it was time for her to go.
“Frankly, it doesn’t seem fair to you guys,” Investigative Reporter Katie LaGrone said to Board Chairwoman Karen Rose about Bridget's ongoing presence on the board, which, for the past two board meetings, has inspired about three hours of public comment before board members could begin discussing official district business.
“I don’t control what happens at this point, what a board member's decision is or what our governor’s decisions are. I don’t control that," Rose said.
Last month, Rose led efforts to pass a resolution seeking Bridget's resignation, but the resignation lacks teeth and was passed as a symbolic gesture. The only person who can remove Bridget is the governor, who has been a political ally, endorsing her for the school board seat.
Governor DeSantis also appointed Bridget to serve on the board of his controversial Disney Reedy Creek District.
But citizens who came out Tuesday night are determined their voices will control what happens next for Bridget, whose ongoing presence, they believe, will continue to only be a distraction.
“We won’t stop until you’re gone,” multiple members of the public said.
Bridget didn’t offer any comment to the public and quickly left the meeting, refusing to answer any questions from the media.
Meantime, her husband Christian, who was recently forced out of his job with the GOP, has denied the allegations, calling his sexual encounter with the accuser consensual.
