WEST PALM BEACH — An outspoken “parental rights activist” is running to unseat a seven-year incumbent on the Palm Beach County School Board to represent the West Palm Beach shoreline and eastern Delray Beach.
Erica Whitfield, known for her support of school district leadership, meets Angelique Contreras, who has been vocal about her desire to improve both district leadership and its curriculum in favor of parental rights and align with Gov. Ron DeSantis’ policies.
The two candidates will face off in the bipartisan primaries on Tuesday, August 23.
District 4 is unique because one of the two candidates will win the majority of the vote that day and decide the race.
The qualifying period for school board elections ended on June 17th. The board members have a term of office of four years and are elected on a rotating basis.
Four districts — 3, 4, 6, and 7 — are up for election this year, and all Palm Beach County voters, regardless of party affiliation, can vote in school board elections as long as they live in the district being voted on.
The Palm Beach Post conducted a criminal background check on every candidate for the school board, including incumbents. The Post reports on all criminal complaints filed since January 2012 and the outcome of the cases, even if they did not result in a conviction.
The candidates below are listed in alphabetical order using the names that will appear on the ballot.
More on the 2022 elections:Who is running for the Palm Beach County School Board? Inside the crowded races in August
FL School Boards:With Ron DeSantis fomenting culture war issues, school boards become a major battleground in Florida
About Angelique Contreras
Age and place of residence: Angelique Contreras, 32, lives in unincorporated Palm Beach County south of Palm Springs.
Platform: Contreras’ key campaign priorities include codifying parental rights in education, removing “anti-American” materials from the curriculum, and equipping law enforcement officers to protect schools.
“I believe that raising a child should be free of anti-American concepts such as promoting ‘justice’ rather than our constitutionally guaranteed right to ‘equality,'” she wrote in response to a candidate questionnaire distributed by The Post.
“My passion is fueled by the fact that my family lost their home and their entire livelihood to the communist takeover of Cuba. Since 1962, my family has valued the freedom and opportunity that the United States of America offers.”
Professional background: Contreras is a certified insurance broker who describes herself as a homemaker and has three children aged 12, 5 and 2.
Education: Contreras holds a high school diploma from Fort Pierce Central High School.
Children in the district: None of Contreras’ three children attends the school in the district. She started homeschooling them in 2020.
Social Media Presence: Though Contreras once sought former President Donald Trump’s support for the school board, she uses her social media profiles to speak up for herself and to highlight the District 4 race as a fair competition.
She publicly responded on Youtube to a viral Reddit post showing her presence at the January 6, 2021 violent riot at the US Capitol.
State and federal court records show she was never charged with a crime related to the riot, and Contreras has told local media that she did not enter the building.
criminal history: none
Notable media coverage: Contreras has been known for vocally denouncing the mask mandate of Palm Beach County commissioners in 2020.
In March 2021, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office visited Contreras’ home to investigate “possibly threatening” comments she had made online that alluded to her dumping trash on County Administrator Verdenia Baker’s front yard.
Her comments referenced a story from The Post about maskless residents who could only attend county commission meetings from a different building than the commission chambers.
The visits to Contreras’ home did not result in any legal action.
Confirmations: Although the police union once received support from the Palm Beach County Police Benevolent Association, on April 19 it withdrew its support for Contreras.
In a letter to Contreras, the PBA said it would no longer support her for calling the sheriff’s deputies “Gestapo” when they visited her home in March 2021, in reference to comments she made to the District Administrator Baker made.
The PBA called her comments “embarrassing and disappointing.”
Finances: As of May 31, Contreras had raised $33,579 and spent $2,520 on her campaign, primarily on credit card processing fees, campaign T-shirts, food and beverages for campaign events, and travel and baggage fees.
Donations to her campaign include a $2,000 check from the Palm Beach County Republican Party.
Both Contreras and Amanda Silvestri (a District 6 school board candidate) received $500 in donations from Trent Leisy, a Colorado-based crop seed company that supports conservative school board candidates across the country.
Despite the national media attention Contreras has received for her political stance on issues such as face masks and the January 6 riot, most of her donors have listed Florida addresses on their donation forms.
About Erica Whitfield
Age and place of residence: Incumbent Erica Whitfield, 44, lives in Lake Worth Beach.
Platform: As she seeks re-election, Whitfield’s top campaign priorities are financial responsibility, keeping students and teachers safe at school, tackling student homelessness, supporting the mental health of students and staff, and improving literacy.
“Although our school district has made serious strides in terms of more funding, higher standards, updated technology, improved efficiency and higher teacher salaries, we still have much more work to do,” she wrote in a response to a The Post candidate questionnaire.
Professional background: Whitfield is a seven-year school board veteran. She was the wellness coordinator for the school district’s food department and a former employee of the Palm Beach County Health Department.
Education: She holds a master’s degree in public health from Emory University in Atlanta and a bachelor’s degree in health science education from the University of Florida.
Children in the district: She is the only acting school board member with a child attending school in the district, and Whitfield frequently references her daughter’s school experience to explain her political choices and preferences.
Social Media Presence: Both her personal and campaign social media accounts are primarily concerned with her business as a school board member. She posts photos of award ceremonies, public meetings, and other board business online.
criminal history: none
Notable media coverage: During her time on the board, Whitfield has been the most supportive of district leadership. With a background in healthcare, she has a particular interest in student mental health, which led to her early advocacy for the reopening of face-to-face classes during the pandemic.
She is also a vocal advocate for LBGTQ+ students. Last year, in a year-long campaign, she got the school district to ban male and female students from having to wear different colored caps and gowns when they graduate.
Confirmations: Whitfield is supported by several labor organizations including the AFL-CIO and the Service Employees International Union, as well as local politicians such as Boynton Beach Mayor Ty Penserga, Lake Worth Beach Mayor Betty Resch, Palm Beach Gardens Mayor Chelsea Reed , and Palm Beach County Commissioners Mack Bernard and Melissa McKinlay.
Florida Sens. Tina Polsky, Bobby Powell and Lori Berman and Reps. David Silvers and Joe Casello have also supported her, according to a list released Sunday by Whitfield’s campaign.
Finances: As of May 31, Whitfield had raised $47,611 for her campaign and spent just $3,345, mostly on a campaign event organized by Cornerstone Solutions and processing fees for online donations.
Donors to her campaign include such government officials as Palm Beach Gardens Vice Mayor Rachelle Litt and Palm Beach City Council Member Lew Crampton.
She received $500 from George Elmore, the vice chair of the district committee that oversees the $1.3 billion raised by the voter-approved one-cent sales tax hike in 2016.
Whitfield also received $500 from Gunster PAC, LLC, a political action committee formed by the West Palm Beach law firm Gunster. and $500 from Kate Arrizza, CEO of the Cox Science Center.
Katherine Kokal is a journalist covering education in Palm Beach County for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach them at kkokal@pbpost.com. Support our work, register today!