{"id":2621028,"date":"2026-06-29T14:51:01","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T18:51:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/california-races-to-neuter-an-office-that-a-conservative-might-win\/"},"modified":"2026-06-29T14:54:06","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T18:54:06","slug":"california-races-to-neuter-an-office-that-a-conservative-might-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/california-races-to-neuter-an-office-that-a-conservative-might-win\/","title":{"rendered":"California Races To Neuter Office That A Conservative Might Win"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fcalifornia-races-to-neuter-an-office-that-a-conservative-might-win%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2621028&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>California legislators are rapidly taking actions to limit voter influence over public schools. Notably, Sonja Shaw, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/44-san-francisco-schools-to-see-name-changes\/\" title=\"44 San Francisco ... to see name changes\">school board member<\/a> from Southern California who successfully pushed for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/politically-neutral-school-policies-are-actually-racist-new-jersey-argues\/\" title=\"New Jersey claims politically neutral school policies are racist.\">parental notification policies<\/a> regarding gender identity discussions in schools, has gained significant support. Despite ongoing legal challenges, <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >district policies requiring parental awareness remain<\/a> in effect, and Shaw emerged as the leading candidate in the race for California\u2019s superintendent of public instruction-the first time a pro-parent conservative has topped the primary in a deeply Democratic state. <\/p>\n<p>In response, lawmakers have advanced a bill, AB 181, which aims to transfer authority from the elected superintendent to a governor-appointed \u201ceducation commissioner,\u201d reducing the superintendent\u2019s role to mainly advocacy activities. This move appears to be a strategic effort to weaken potential conservative leadership in education and prevent meaningful reforms. Shaw criticized such legislation, condemning it as an attempt by Sacramento to undermine voters&#8217; will. The article suggests that this pattern reflects a new tactic by blue states to render conservative officials ineffective when they threaten to win public office.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-body body-md bdr-top-black pt-30\">\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=xrHl0XW_vbM\">California Family Council \/ YouTube<\/a>       <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-share text-center article-share-simple\">\n<h5 class=\"label-sm mb-10\">Share<\/h5>\n<ul class=\"article-share-list list-unstyled m-0 p-0\">\n<li class=\"article-share-facebook m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/06\/29\/california-races-to-neuter-an-office-that-a-conservative-might-win\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-facebook\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Facebook<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-twitter m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=California Races To Neuter An Office That A Conservative Might Win&#038;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/06\/29\/california-races-to-neuter-an-office-that-a-conservative-might-win\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Twitter<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-truth-social m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/share?title=California Races To Neuter An Office That A Conservative Might Win&#038;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/06\/29\/california-races-to-neuter-an-office-that-a-conservative-might-win\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"currentColor\" style=\"width:36px;height:auto;\" viewbox=\"0 0 92 93\"><path d=\"M69.444 55.716H56.772v10.37h12.672zM64.487 37.795V27.32H38.666v38.664h13.18v-28.19zM21.05 27.321h12.653v10.471H21.051z\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/><\/svg>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Truth Social<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-link m-0\">       <button data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/06\/29\/california-races-to-neuter-an-office-that-a-conservative-might-win\/\" data-tooltip-content=\"Copied!\" class=\"clip tooltip\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-link-variant\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Copy Article Link<\/span>       <\/button>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\">       <a href=\"mailto:?subject=California Races To Neuter An Office That A Conservative Might Win&#038;body=\"State superintendent will no longer manage California schools under deal Newsom cuts with Legislature.\"%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/06\/29\/california-races-to-neuter-an-office-that-a-conservative-might-win\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-email\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article via Email<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\"><span class=\"printfriendly pf-button  pf-alignleft\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &#038; Email\"><span id=\"printfriendly-text2\" class=\"pf-button-text\"><i class=\"mdi mdi-printer\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">California legislators are acting quickly to protect the state from voters.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One of the surprises in California\u2019s primary elections this year was the success of <a href=\"https:\/\/shawforca.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Sonja Shaw<\/a>, a Southern California school board member who has <a href=\"https:\/\/abc7.com\/post\/chino-valley-unified-school-district-transgender-students-parents-notified\/13528606\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">led an effort<\/a> to secure parental notification policies in a state that wants to protect secret sexual discussions between groomer teachers and children. With Shaw as its president, the Chino Valley School Board adopted a policy requiring school officials to notify parents when students declare a new gender identity on campus.<\/p>\n<div id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-1623381499\" class=\"d-flex justify-content-center fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2 fdrlst__b89e9-entity-placement\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1463670073398-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That local policy effort led to bruising litigation that ended with a <a href=\"https:\/\/supreme.justia.com\/cases\/federal\/us\/607\/25a810\/\">tenuous victory<\/a> for parents. Though ongoing appellate litigation purportedly places school districts in a \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/edsource.org\/2026\/supreme-court-order-puts-california-schools-in-legal-limbo-over-transgender-student-privacy\/752695\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">legal limbo<\/a>,\u201d the state can\u2019t currently prevent districts from adopting parental notification policies.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This year, Shaw ran for a statewide role as California\u2019s superintendent of public education. In a deep blue state that doesn\u2019t elect Republicans to statewide office, Shaw was the <a href=\"https:\/\/calmatters.org\/education\/2026\/06\/primary-election-california-superintendent\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">top vote-getter<\/a> in the primary, with close to a quarter of the vote against a crowded field. A pro-parent conservative has a real shot at becoming the state\u2019s top public school official.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So here\u2019s a Friday <a href=\"https:\/\/edsource.org\/2026\/california-education-governance-reform-3\/761057\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">headline<\/a> from an education news website: \u201cState superintendent will no longer manage California schools under deal Newsom cuts with Legislature.\u201d The conservative activist Lance Christensen, a vice president at the California Policy Center, sounded the alarm about a \u201cgut-and-amend\u201d bill that had no text until late last week but is suddenly set to race to the governor\u2019s desk for a signature.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"> <span class=\"KD2MFqCRNkh8JvWIU9rtpaTeHG\"><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I&#39;ve been asked about AB 181 several times this weekend, a bill to strip the Superintendent of Public Instruction of his statutory authorities without eliminating the office in the CA state constitution. The <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/hashtag\/caleg?src=hash&#038;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#caleg<\/a> gutted and amended one of the budget trailer spot bills on Friday\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Lance Christensen (@lancelands) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/lancelands\/status\/2071500042305962186?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 29, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/span> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You can read the full text of AB 181 <a href=\"https:\/\/leginfo.legislature.ca.gov\/faces\/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB181\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">here<\/a>. The likely-to-succeed bill proposes to transfer authority for public schools to an \u201ceducation commissioner\u201d appointed by the governor, turning the role of the superintendent of public schools into a functionally empty advocacy role: \u201cthe independently elected nonpartisan voice for the public interest in the governance of the state\u2019s educational system.\u201d The job would be to give speeches and attend rallies.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Shaw\u2019s reaction:<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"> <span class=\"JGXEgB7mfxUFYTn8eiVw4tAhD2judryKaqWs1M90S6lN3\"><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">CA families said NO to failing schools and insider politics. So Sacramento\u2019s answer? A gut-and-amend bill to strip power from the elected Superintendent and hand it to a Governor-appointed bureaucrat. They know change is coming, and they\u2019re trying to stop voters before November.\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Sonja Shaw (@realSonjaShaw) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/realSonjaShaw\/status\/2070712194115772713?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 27, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/span> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">New blue state tactic: When conservatives threaten to win public office, make the office meaningless.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">      Chris Bray is a senior correspondent at The Federalist and a former infantry sergeant in the U.S. Army. He has a history PhD from the University of California Los Angeles, not that it did him any good. He also posts on Substack, at &#8220;Tell Me How This Ends,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/chrisbray.substack.com\/\">here<\/a>.<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-30 bdr-top-bold-black\">\n<div class=\"row g-0 align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n<div class=\"article-author-profile d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center justify-content-md-start\">\n<div class=\"article-author-details\">\n<div class=\"label-md\">Chris Bray<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-md-end mt-15 mt-md-0\">        <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/chrisbray\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">More Articles<\/a>     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/blue-mode\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">blue mode<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/california\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">California<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/california-legislature\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">California Legislature<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/corruption\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Corruption<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/elections\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Elections<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/grooming\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">grooming<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/legislature\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">legislature<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/mirabelli-v-bonta\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Mirabelli v. Bonta<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/parental-notification-policies\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">parental notification policies<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/public-schools\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">public schools<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/school-boards\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">school boards<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/sonja-shaw\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Sonja Shaw<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/superintendent-of-public-education\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">superintendent of public education<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/transgender\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">transgender<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>California lawmakers move swiftly to limit voter influence; Sonja Shaw&#8217;s primary win surprises<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2086,"featured_media":2621029,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/shaw-scaled.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[4045,35305,34541,81909,65733],"class_list":["post-2621028","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-california","tag-conservative-politics","tag-election-strategy","tag-office-neutering","tag-political-races"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/shaw-scaled.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2621028","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2086"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2621028"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2621028\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2621032,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2621028\/revisions\/2621032"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2621029"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2621028"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2621028"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2621028"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}