Controversial Richland school board member announces bid for Washington governor in 2024
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Richland School Board Recall Effort
A high-profile group of voters filed to recall board members Semi Bird, Audra Byrd and Kari Williams after their controversial vote to make face masks optional.
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A controversial school board member from the Tri Cities announced his bid for the 2024 Washington gubernatorial race Friday amid a Veterans Day crowd of supporters at the Legislative Building in Olympia.
Misipati “Semi” Bird told the crowd of about 60 that he will run as a Republican.
“Our service to this great nation has no expiration date and we must continue to honor our oath to protect and defend the constitution of the United States of America because this is a great nation,” Bird said. “I once again find myself in the position to answer the call to serve, and I must say that the call is to unite in service my fellow Washingtonians as I choose to run for governor.”
He added that his mother, his spirituality and his military service prepared him for challenges in his life such as public service.
Bird came under fire earlier this year for defying statewide mask mandates by moving to make masks optional in Richland schools. The district was forced to cancel some classes following the decision as it tried to figure out a way to accommodate the move.
A recall effort against Bird and two other school board members was later filed by others who claimed that the trio violated the Open Public Meetings Act. The three denied any wrongdoing though they also were accused of code of ethics violations, district policy violations, and defying the COVID mask order.
Recall petitions were given the green light by a Benton County Superior Court judge in May, but the trio appealed the court’s ruling, so circulation of the petitions were halted until the Washington Supreme Court considers the appeal.
If elected, Bird — who characterizes himself as a “constitutional Christian conservative” — would become the first Black governor in the state, and the first Republican elected to the position since 1981.
Former 4th Congressional District candidate Corey Gibson, Tom Dittmar, vice chairman for Yakima County Republicans, and 14-year-old Turning Point USA Ambassador Kellyanna Brooking spoke at the campaign event that was heavily focused on Veterans. Gibson will be Bird’s campaign communications director.
“United we stand, together we can, and we can,” Gibson told the crowd.
Friday’s event was sponsored by the America First PACT and Contract with Washington, two conservative organizations that sponsor and endorse Republican candidates. Contract with Washington also supports election fraud conspiracies, according to their website.
Gibson created the America First PACT, he told the crowd.
Military roots
Bird is a veterans of the U.S. Marine Corps and Special Forces Green Beret who received leadership accolades and honors — including a Bronze Star and Purple Heart — during his service. He also previously worked as the federal director of training and leadership development at the U.S. Department of Energy.
He is the founder and current executive director of Team Concepts Training and Consulting, which offers business leadership development and coaching.
He also is a public speaker, who’s been the keynote at several recent military, veteran and conservative events.
In speeches, he highlights his military background and touts his achievements, touching on his childhood in the “ghetto of the inner city” of East Oakland. He was raised by a single mom of seven, and says he worked to surmount obstacles to find the “American Dream.”
While serving in the Marines, Bird was apparently punished by court martial for assaulting a superior non-commissioned officer. He was sentenced to one month confinement and demoted from lance corporal to private, newspaper records show.
In public Facebook comments, Bird described the incident as a “racially charged event” where a sergeant used a racial slur and assaulted him.
“I defended myself,” he wrote of the incident, which occurred 40 years ago. “I have always learned from my mistakes and have grown from them.”
School board experience
Bird was elected to the Richland School Board last year amid a wave of conservative candidates who rose to power over COVID mask and vaccine requirements. He had no public service experience prior to running for the board.
He has called critical race theory a “Marxist, anti-American initiative” intended to “divide our nation,” and has voiced dissatisfaction over face masks and the state’s mandated comprehensive sex education.
On the school board, he and fellow member Audra Byrd have tussled with two of the more established members over the limits of local school control in Richland classrooms.
Earlier this year, the two attempted to oust board President Jill Oldson from her leadership position just days after passing and later repealing a name-only measure making face masks optional.
Richland schools were closed by the superintendent for two days in February after Bird, Byrd and Kari Williams passed their mask-optional resolution. The board ultimately backed away from the decision, choosing instead to fall in line with the state’s plan to drop masks in public schools a month later and not risk millions in state funding.
The decision sent shock waves through the community. Contentious and vocally hostile board meetings eventually led the district to hire security to keep the peace.
The board also faced allegations that their decision to go mask optional at a February special meeting violated the state’s Open Public Meetings Act. While state law doesn’t limit governments from adding items to agendas at regular meetings, it is more picky about what happens at special meetings.
A lawsuit that was later settled with a $5,000 payment from the school district argued that the Richland board and district failed to provide sufficient notice to the public about the mask vote and that the final vote was out of compliance with the Open Meetings Act.
The board did not include any language on the meeting agenda to suggest a vote was being taken and the resolution listed was vague and its meaning had shifted over the weeks it had been considered.
Community leaders ultimately filed charges to recall the three board members. A judge found four of the five charges to be sufficient to proceed to signature gathering but the state Supreme Court has yet to rule on the appeal.
This story was originally published November 11, 2022 at 7:39 PM with the headline "Controversial Richland school board member announces bid for Washington governor in 2024."
