San Francisco School Board Recall Draws National Attention From Left and Right

SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX) -- Some say the successful San Francisco school recall is a message against liberal "wokeism." In response, one of the recalled board members said "recall supporters are aligned with white supremacists."

The special election is history but the battle over the narrative is ongoing.

Parents say the results simply reflect the school board's incompetence -- not a political message.

But politicians on both sides of the aisle are very publicly drawing their own conclusions.

"You've got a democracy. If the people have spoken, take note of it," said Siva Raj, a San Francisco parent and co-founder of Recall SF School Board..

Parent organizers believe some have failed to get the message.

"Don't be mistaken, white supremacists are enjoying this and the support of the recall is aligned with this" recalled board president Gabriella Lopez tweeted.

"This person is making it about them when it really should be about our kids who have suffered," said San Francisco mayor London Breed on NBC's Meet the Press Sunday.

"Parents recalled three woke school board members who cared more about renaming schools than reopening them," said former vice president Mike Pence during a visit to Stanford University on Thursday.

San Francisco elections department data show fewer than 34,000 voters in San Francisco are registered Republican. That's about 6 percent of registered voters.

More than 72 percent of voters chose to recall Lopez.

"If she believes that this election does not reflect the will of the people then she's welcome to run again in the fall but I don't think she will," said co-founder of Recall SF School Board, Autumn Looijen.

"It speaks to the power of parents," said Lanhee Chen, a Republican running for state controller this fall.

Chen believes the voice of parents is louder than ever and a force to be reckoned with.

"I think that's something we saw in the elections. In Virginia in November and here in California. It just shows there's no jurisdiction, no place that is immune from the power of accountability," Chen said.

The 'Recall SF School Board' organizers will start accepting applications Monday and then narrow their list of approved candidates by next week, before submitting it to the mayor.