Racist posts roil election

Candidate in Antelope Valley school board race comes under fire.

Offensive Facebook posts made more than a decade ago by a school board candidate and her husband — including one referring to then-President Obama as a “plantation house boy” — have shaken up an election in the Antelope Valley, reviving tensions in a district where battles have taken on racial overtones in recent years.

Despite earlier reporting that she would withdraw from the race, candidate Susan Strom told The Times she will stay in the running and dismissed the affair as a political attack.

The comments were made during an argument that Strom — who is running for a seat on the Antelope Valley Union High School District Board of Trustees — and her husband, Doug, had with her nephew in 2011 on Facebook.

Along with the comment about Obama, Doug Strom called Muslims “muzzys.” When her nephew called Doug racist, Susan Strom shot back.

“He is not a racist. He’s a realist,” she wrote.

Strom, who taught special education in the school district for 22 years, then took it a step further.

“Having an argument over the internet is like the Special Olympics. Weather you win or lose ... you’re still r—,” she wrote, using a derogatory slur against mentally disabled people.

The exposure of the posts has shaken up the race, which pits Strom against former corrections officer Charles Hughes. The Antelope Valley Teachers Assn. withdrew its support for Strom at a special meeting called to discuss the issue, she said.

“I felt bad it had to come to this,” said Darrell Downs, an Antelope Valley pastor who revealed the Facebook posts in a news release. “She’s a school board candidate making offensive comments about the mentally disabled.”

The Antelope Valley Press reported Friday that Strom had announced that she would withdraw from the race, but she and her husband denied this.

“I think I’m gonna beat” Hughes, said Strom, who denied being racist or doing anything wrong.

“She is still running,” Doug Strom added. “These are from 11 years ago. They’re derogatory, I’ll give you that. My nephew was a little triggered . ... But she’s definitely not a racist.”

The Stroms said that the posts were dug up by Hughes and alleged that he has been “playing dirty” in the race — including by placing his campaign signs in front of hers.

“I didn’t throw any mud at this idiot. And I can tell you, I believe he’s an idiot,” said Susan Strom.

Hughes could not be reached for comment Friday.

The Antelope Valley Union board has been rocked by conflict in recent years. Three members faced a recall effort in 2019 following allegations of misusing public funds; the effort failed to make the ballot.

The same three board members had previously voted to launch an independent investigation into alleged discrimination in district hiring practices and the suspension and expulsion of nonwhite students.

“When I opened that investigation into racism in the district, it was like I set off a bomb in the white community,” said Robert Davis, a target of the recall effort. He resigned from the board soon after the recall failed.

“There’s a systemic racism problem in this school district. It’s always been run by all white board members, basically,” he said.

Strom said she hopes her supporters will stick with her despite the controversy.