Mr. Brown serves on the board of California Life Sciences. This is a biomedical advocacy group based in California working to influence public policy in a way that benefits the medical field and primarily, research and development for pharmaceuticals. Most interesting about this advocacy group for which Mr. Brown serves on the board and therefore helps to shape the organization’s mission and directives, is their Racial and Social Equity Initiative. From their website, “The Racial & Social Equity Initiative is our bold plan to commit to change, a unified effort to do more for the historically excluded Black, Indigenous and other People of Color (BIPOC) populations in California.” And the organization plans to spend $1 Million per year over three years towards this effort.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]In particular, the program seeks to “Advocate for and support legislation and other public options which provide coverage for the underinsured which tends to disproportionately affect our BIPOC populations and review current and future policy proposals for their impact to Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access (IDEA).”
In 2012 and in 2016, Josh Brown made political contributions to Democratic candidate Shelli Yoder for Congress in the state of Indiana. Shelli describes herself as “Mom. Educator. Progressive.” She is endorsed by Emily’s List (a PAC dedicated to placing Democrat pro-choice women in Congress), Planned Parenthood, Moms Demand Action (anti-gun), teachers’ unions, and labor unions[4]. Here are a few of Shelli’s policy positions[5]:
- Fight for our environment. (climate change)
- Grow our economy inclusively. (welfare)
- Ensure equity for our neighbors. (LGBTQ+)
- Protect reproductive justice. (abortion)
- End gun violence. (gun control)
Listen, I bet that there may be palatable explanations for all of this for some. Sure, Mr. Brown works for Pfizer, but does that make him a bad guy? Or is it just bad optics. And yes, from his job title, he seems to be leading the charge on how Pfizer influences public policy across the nation. But does that necessarily mean that he is personally in favor of healthcare mandates?
And yes, he is on the board of a nonprofit pushing an agenda to grow the influence of pharmaceutical companies across the country and that same nonprofit spends millions of dollars pushing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. But does that mean he wants to push Critical Race Theory in our public schools?
And sure, he gave money to a Democratic candidate who supports killing babies in the womb, pushes the LGBTQ+ agenda, and is a gun grabber. But maybe they are just old college friends. Maybe the policies had absolutely nothing to do with it. (Brown also made political contributions to Marsha Blackburn, Bill Hagerty, Mitt Romney, Jeb Bush amongst other Republicans and semi-monthly obligatory contributions to the Pfizer PAC.)
Personally, I would have liked to see a little more time taken with this very important decision. Why the rush? Law does not demand that the vacancy be filled immediately. Are there no parents from District 4 willing to serve on the board that do not have all of the political trappings on their resumes?
It is worth noting that this is a board appointment. Please note that our Williamson County Board of Commissioners is NOT a conservative board. The last time they made a school board appointment for District 12, we ended up with Nancy Garrett. So, there’s that. Maybe Mr. Brown is as conservative of a candidate that an appointment from this board can produce.
And finally, when District 4 last had an opportunity to elect its own school board member, you voted in Brad Fiscus. Let’s be fair and acknowledge that voters in that district did not perform so well when given the opportunity. Own it.
The Williamson County Board of Commissioners will be officially voting on this nomination on Monday, October 11. Feel free to send them an email and let them know your thoughts.
[1] Moran, Cooper. “Williamson County School Board Member Brad Fiscus Stepping down from Board, Leaving Tennessee.” Tennessee Star, 13 Aug. 2021, https://tennesseestar.com/2021/08/13/williamson-county-school-board-member-brad-fiscus-stepping-down-from-board-leaving-tennessee/
[2] “District 4 Commissioners Choose School Board Nominee.” Edited by Tori Keafer, Williamson Herald, 7 Oct. 2021, http://www.williamsonherald.com/news/local_news/district-4-commissioners-choose-school-board-nominee/article_968de96a-27bd-11ec-8c68-ab44c03a3d33.html
[3] “Josh Brown.” California Life Sciences, 19 May 2021, https://www.califesciences.org/josh-brown/
[4] “Endorsements.” Shelli Yoder for State Senate, https://www.shelliyoder.com/endorsements
[5] “Bold, Progressive Solutions.” Shelli Yoder for State Senate, https://www.shelliyoder.com/priorities
Get to know your soon to be newest school board member, Williamson County.
When the husband of the infamous Michelle Fiscus resigned[1] from the Williamson County Board of Education, it became the responsibility of the county board of commissioners to appoint someone to that vacant seat to occupy that role until the next general election.
The process of vetting candidates for the nomination by the committee members has not been very forthcoming. Firstly, the timeline was rushed as the commissioners were uncertain as to exactly when Brad Fiscus would be stepping down from his post. While the process was in limbo, names of possible replacements were trickling in, but an ongoing list was never presented to the public as to who these candidates might be. It was clear from the beginning that public input was not a primary motivator in making this decision. That is not unlawful. But in light of the contentious nature of school board politics and the heated debates that currently exist, involving the public to a greater degree in this matter would have been incredibly advantageous. (Full disclosure, the commissioners did receive over 300 emails in support of Mr. Brown’s appointment to the school board.)
One of the very first lists of candidates to be seen publicly was posted Monday, October 4th on a Facebook group called Back to School – Williamson County, a group started by long-time political player Mary Kate Anderson Brown. The fact that the list appeared in the Back to School group was not at all surprising as the group has been very involved in discussing key issues around Williamson County Schools since early 2020. But what was shocking to many was that Josh Brown, Mary Kate’s own husband was on the list. And by Monday night, admins on the page had already begun the campaign for Josh Brown to take the seat.
On its face, there is nothing nefarious about the fact that Josh Brown is the husband of Mary Kate Anderson Brown. But what is concerning, perhaps, is Brown’s political ties and role on the national stage as a lobbyist. Many members of the Back to School group on Facebook raised concerns, asked questions, and tried to get answers. But they were immediately blocked and censored by the admins of the group. To our knowledge, Mr. Brown has not publicly addressed these concerns. Additionally, I tried to reach out personally and got no response.
Sticking strictly to the facts, here are some very crucial items that you may want to know about Josh Brown as he has now received the nomination from District 4 Williamson County Commissioners, to assume the vacant seat on our board of education. That is correct. In only three days from this information being available to the public, Josh Brown now has the nomination[2] as of Thursday, October 7th. Boy, that was fast.
Josh Brown is the National Vice President of State Government Relations for Pfizer. He manages a team of state government relations professionals throughout the country as well as a portfolio of state legislative issues on behalf of the company. He serves as the state lead for Pfizer to a number of external organizations including the National Governors Association, PhRMA, and BIO. He also serves on Pfizer’s US Global Innovative Pharma Sales extended leadership team in his role as government affairs liaison to the commercial business. He represents Pfizer on the PhRMA State Section, where he recently served as Chair, and currently serves on the BIO State Government Relations Committee.[3]
Mr. Brown serves on the board of California Life Sciences. This is a biomedical advocacy group based in California working to influence public policy in a way that benefits the medical field and primarily, research and development for pharmaceuticals. Most interesting about this advocacy group for which Mr. Brown serves on the board and therefore helps to shape the organization’s mission and directives, is their Racial and Social Equity Initiative. From their website, “The Racial & Social Equity Initiative is our bold plan to commit to change, a unified effort to do more for the historically excluded Black, Indigenous and other People of Color (BIPOC) populations in California.” And the organization plans to spend $1 Million per year over three years towards this effort.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]In particular, the program seeks to “Advocate for and support legislation and other public options which provide coverage for the underinsured which tends to disproportionately affect our BIPOC populations and review current and future policy proposals for their impact to Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access (IDEA).”
In 2012 and in 2016, Josh Brown made political contributions to Democratic candidate Shelli Yoder for Congress in the state of Indiana. Shelli describes herself as “Mom. Educator. Progressive.” She is endorsed by Emily’s List (a PAC dedicated to placing Democrat pro-choice women in Congress), Planned Parenthood, Moms Demand Action (anti-gun), teachers’ unions, and labor unions[4]. Here are a few of Shelli’s policy positions[5]:
Listen, I bet that there may be palatable explanations for all of this for some. Sure, Mr. Brown works for Pfizer, but does that make him a bad guy? Or is it just bad optics. And yes, from his job title, he seems to be leading the charge on how Pfizer influences public policy across the nation. But does that necessarily mean that he is personally in favor of healthcare mandates?
And yes, he is on the board of a nonprofit pushing an agenda to grow the influence of pharmaceutical companies across the country and that same nonprofit spends millions of dollars pushing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. But does that mean he wants to push Critical Race Theory in our public schools?
And sure, he gave money to a Democratic candidate who supports killing babies in the womb, pushes the LGBTQ+ agenda, and is a gun grabber. But maybe they are just old college friends. Maybe the policies had absolutely nothing to do with it. (Brown also made political contributions to Marsha Blackburn, Bill Hagerty, Mitt Romney, Jeb Bush amongst other Republicans and semi-monthly obligatory contributions to the Pfizer PAC.)
Personally, I would have liked to see a little more time taken with this very important decision. Why the rush? Law does not demand that the vacancy be filled immediately. Are there no parents from District 4 willing to serve on the board that do not have all of the political trappings on their resumes?
It is worth noting that this is a board appointment. Please note that our Williamson County Board of Commissioners is NOT a conservative board. The last time they made a school board appointment for District 12, we ended up with Nancy Garrett. So, there’s that. Maybe Mr. Brown is as conservative of a candidate that an appointment from this board can produce.
And finally, when District 4 last had an opportunity to elect its own school board member, you voted in Brad Fiscus. Let’s be fair and acknowledge that voters in that district did not perform so well when given the opportunity. Own it.
The Williamson County Board of Commissioners will be officially voting on this nomination on Monday, October 11. Feel free to send them an email and let them know your thoughts.
[1] Moran, Cooper. “Williamson County School Board Member Brad Fiscus Stepping down from Board, Leaving Tennessee.” Tennessee Star, 13 Aug. 2021, https://tennesseestar.com/2021/08/13/williamson-county-school-board-member-brad-fiscus-stepping-down-from-board-leaving-tennessee/
[2] “District 4 Commissioners Choose School Board Nominee.” Edited by Tori Keafer, Williamson Herald, 7 Oct. 2021, http://www.williamsonherald.com/news/local_news/district-4-commissioners-choose-school-board-nominee/article_968de96a-27bd-11ec-8c68-ab44c03a3d33.html
[3] “Josh Brown.” California Life Sciences, 19 May 2021, https://www.califesciences.org/josh-brown/
[4] “Endorsements.” Shelli Yoder for State Senate, https://www.shelliyoder.com/endorsements
[5] “Bold, Progressive Solutions.” Shelli Yoder for State Senate, https://www.shelliyoder.com/priorities
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Gary Humble
Gary Humble