1998: Texas School Board Showdown
Texas School Board Showdown: The Christian Right Sets its Sights on the November Elections by Frederick Clarkson In These Times July 26, 1998 After four years, the smear campaign against Mary Knott Perkins is still the talk of East Texas. There is a wince in her voice as she tells the story of how she lost her seat on the Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) to Donna Ballard, a Christian conservative firebrand. "I'm a very traditional person," says Perkins, a Democrat and grandmother of seven. "I had never even been called a liberal. I'm a Methodist. But I was called an atheist and a feminist. I was accused of advocating masturbation for five year olds. My good name was sullied all over my district. Anybody going into politics today is going to face it."   |