RECALL ME MAYBE: It’s been a tough couple of months for social conservatives seeking to flex political muscle on local school boards. Since March, a string of recall elections unseated two right-leaning school board members in Orange County, a trustee in Woodland — and now, the Temecula Valley school board president is on the cusp of being ousted as well, according to early returns. The ‘yes’ vote to recall Joseph Komrosky is leading by seven percentage points — roughly 500 votes — with around 1,400 mail ballots still uncounted, according to the Riverside County registrar of voters. Recall organizers aren’t declaring victory yet, but they’re projecting confidence that the remaining ballots will mostly break their way. Conservatives, boxed out of the highest echelons of power in California, saw local offices like school boards as a pathway back to relevance. Their rallying cries against critical race theory and LGBTQ issues are catnip to their base — and seemed to strike a broader chord with the public, particularly in the era of Covid-fueled frustration with prolonged school closures and mask mandates. But the recalls suggest that voters are craving governance that’s less combative. State Sen. Susan Eggman, the chair of the Legislative LGBTQ caucus, said the recalls are evidence that the fever-pitch politicking on school boards that exploded after the pandemic “are beginning to backfire.” “Those school board meetings with the signs and the screaming and the exaggerations of everything — I don't think the average voting citizen thinks that's okay,” she said. Joy Silver, chair of the Riverside County Democratic Party, put it bluntly: “Even in conservative places, I think that the population is getting tired of this.” Komrosky did not respond to a request for comment, nor did some of his more fervent backers. Temecula Valley has been a microcosm of the pendulum swings around school board politics. A trio of conservative members, backed by an evangelical pastor, narrowly won a majority on the board two years ago. Once in power, they passed resolutions condemning critical race theory and restricted flag displays — a move that was seen as targeting pride symbols. They attempted to reject a curriculum that featured slain gay rights leader Harvey Milk, only to back down in the face of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s threat of a $1.5 million fine. When the board fired the district’s popular superintendent, opponents launched a recall drive. Organizers were skeptical a year ago that they could gather enough signatures to put a recall of Komrosky on the ballot — let alone dethrone him at the polls. His conservative district littered with ranch-style homes had, in the highest-turnout election of three 2022 Temecula school board races, handed him a 12.5 point victory over a more liberal candidate. “I don't see how we're gonna get many signatures in Komrosky’s district,” recall proponent Nancy Hughes told organizers during a June strategy meeting last year. “I don't know where they're getting their information, but they voted for him.” The campaign originally planned to focus on recalling Komrosky allies including Danny Gonzalez — who has since resigned and moved his family to Texas. But sensing the most enthusiasm for ousting Komrosky during signature gathering, the campaign shifted its focus to the local college professor, who has frequently tossed protesters from board meetings and scolded them for being disrespectful. “People had a lot of energy for Komrosky, and I think a lot of it had to do with his demeanor,” said recall organizer Jeff Pack. “And people could see that he was making it very political.” Komrosky’s cause drew the attention of the deep-red Republican base, including Eric Trump, who appeared last month at a fundraiser and rally for conservative school board candidates that featured the embattled board president. One group opposing the recall glumly attributed the early election results to California being “one of the wokest states.” “Also a joke at how little parents are even paying attention to government ran schools,” the group said on Instagram, bemoaning the low number of ballots returned. Eggman said the results in Temecula and elsewhere signal that passions have sufficiently calmed for the Legislature to take up a bill that would stop so-called “forced outing” policies at local school boards. But, she said, Democrats should not be so emboldened by these wins that they blow off social conservatives. “We’re in charge. We should be setting the tones and leading and not crowing over a victory or thinking, ‘How far can we go on our next bill?’” Eggman said. “We should be thinking about, ‘How do we govern for everybody?’ And realize that without people feeling represented, then you see these kinds of things popping.” IT’S WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. This is California Playbook PM, a POLITICO newsletter that serves as an afternoon temperature check on California politics and a look at what our policy reporters are watching. Got tips or suggestions? Shoot an email to mmason@politico.com. | 
