Crist Running Mate Karla Hernandez-Mats Targets ‘Extremist Groups’ Taking Control of School Boards

TALLAHASSEE (FLV) – Democrat candidate for governor Charlie Crist’s running mate, Karla Hernandez-Mats criticized changes by “extremist groups” on the Florida Education Association podcast, in which she says school boards have become circuses.

Hernandez-Mats is the president of United Teachers of Dade, a teachers union in Miami.

During the podcast, Hernandez-Mats was asked what educators can look forward to in a Crist-Hernandez administration to attract people back into the profession amid reports of teacher shortages.

Hernandez-Mats pointed to having “good working conditions, dignity and respect for the work that we do.”

“You know, school boards have become circuses now. We have people that unfortunately are part of a political agenda that are coming in and disrupting what it is that we do. And so, you know, we have to, you know, get rid of that. We can’t have these extremist groups coming in and trying to change the things that we, that we’re doing because we are, we’ve been working really hard to make sure that our kids get a high quality education even during the pandemic.”

Karla Hernandez-Mats on Florida Education Association’s podcast

The comments come not long after Gov. Ron DeSantis-endorsed school board candidates score major victories in August’s primary amidst a rising concern among parents surrounding left-wing school board policies.

Hernandez-Mats previously tweeted a picture depicting residents and parents at school board meetings as violent and armed.

She tweeted a picture of various famous horror characters in costumes with chainsaws and blades saying they are “going to a school board meeting.”

The tweet is from October 21, 2021 with the hashtag “antivaxxers.”

“For any of you following the school board meetings, you know that the craziness is real,” Mats said. “God be with us.”