Brian Martin

Non-Partisan | Florida

Candidate Profile*

Leans Liberal

*Additional information appears below for educational purposes; however, only data received prior to the candidate deadline was considered during Panel Evaluation.

BIOGRAPHY

Name

Brian Martin

Party

Non-Partisan

Election Year

2022

Election

General

Race

Pinellas County Schools, School Board, District 6

Incumbent

No

Links

Brian Martin websites
Brian Martin emailFacebookXInstagram

EDUCATION

University of South Florida, Tampa, Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering, 2007

WORK & MILITARY

Candidate did not provide

AFFILIATIONS

Candidate did not provide

POLITICAL OFFICES HELD

Candidate did not provide

POLITICAL OFFICES SOUGHT

Candidate did not provide

Race

View election

ENDORSEMENTS*

*These endorsements were received after the deadline and were not considered in the Panel Evaluations and are for additional educational purposes only.
LIBERAL (12)

National Organization for Women (NOW) PAC

Sierra Club

Florida Education Association

Equality Florida Action PAC

*Sierra Club Florida

REPORTED BY CANDIDATE (2)

Pinellas Classroom Teachers Association

Pinellas Educational Support Professionals Association

SELECTED CONTRIBUTIONS


LIBERAL
GIVEN BY CANDIDATE (2)

Eric Lynn (2022)

Fair Fight (2020)

RECEIVED BY CANDIDATE (7)

American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (2022)

Ben Diamond (2022)

Families Deserve Inclusive Schools (2022)

International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (2022)

Largo/Mid-Pinellas Progressive Political Committee (2022)

SELECTED FINANCIAL SOURCE DOCUMENTS

Campaign Finance Documents:

  • Campaign Treasurer's Report (1/1/2022 - 1/31/2022)
  • Campaign Treasurer's Report (2/1/2022 - 2/28/2022)
  • Campaign Treasurer's Report (3/1/2022 - 3/31/2022)
  • Campaign Treasurer's Report (4/1/2022 - 4/30/2022)
  • Campaign Treasurer's Report (5/1/2022 - 5/31/2022)
    • $148.70 in expenditures to Anedot
  • Campaign Treasurer's Report (6/1/2022 - 6/17/2022)
    • $29.00 in expenditures to Anedot
  • Campaign Treasurer's Report (6/18/2022 - 7/1/2022)
  • Campaign Treasurer's Report (7/2/2022 - 7/15/2022)
  • Campaign Treasurer's Report (7/16/2022 - 7/22/2022)
  • Campaign Treasurer's Report (7/23/2022 - 7/29/2022)
  • Campaign Treasurer's Report (7/30/2022 - 8/5/2022)
  • Campaign Treasurer's Report (8/6/2022 - 8/18/2022)
    • $,000.00 contribution from Pinellas Coalition for Public Schools
    • $1,000.00 contribution from Florida Rising
    • $44.20 in expenditures to Anedot
  • Campaign Treasurer's Report (8/19/2022 - 9/2/2022)
  • Campaign Treasurer's Report (9/3/2022 - 9/16/2022)
    • $500.00 contribution from Local Union No. 915 PAC
    • $250.00 contribution from WCFFL Political Committee
    • $1,000.00 contribution from Pinellas Coalition for Public Schools
    • $1,000.00 contribution from PCTA-PESPA Fund for Children
    • $200.00 contribution from Largo MidPinellas
    • $440.90 in expenditures to Anedot
    • $25.00 expenditure to Florida Democratic Party

OTHER INFORMATION

Filing Documents:

Voter Record from the Florida Department of State indicates candidate's Political Affiliation is Democratic (as of 6/23/2022).

Election Voting History for Brian Martin during time of residence in district and/or at current address:

  • No voter history

**Voter history is not considered during panel evaluations.**

QUESTIONNAIRE

RIGHT TO LIFE

Abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood, should not be a resource for instruction or services in the school.

Choose not to answer

This is an issue decided by the Florida Legislator and not the Pinellas County School Board. I feel strongly that School Board members should focus on ways to improve the public school system within the scope of their position. Please consider your local and national representatives to decide on how to handle this issue.

Human life begins at conception and deserves legal protection at every stage until natural death.

Choose not to answer

This is an issue decided by the Florida Legislator and not the Pinellas County School Board. I feel strongly that School Board members should focus on ways to improve the public school system within the scope of their position. Please consider your local and national representatives to decide on how to handle this issue.

ECONOMY

Free enterprise and the right to private property are essential elements of a productive economic system.

Strongly Agree

School districts should be able to use taxpayer money for lobbying the state legislature.

Strongly Disagree

What is your position on government funding of public education from Pre-K through college?

This is another issue not decided at the school board level. That said, Florida is in the bottom five nationally per student spending in K-12 education. Florida teacher pay is in the bottom 5 nationally as well. I honestly don't see how we could possibly consider allocating additional resources into advanced education when the public school system is so critically and habitually underfunded.

RELIGIOUS LIBERTY

At school, students should be able to speak freely and civilly about matters of conscience and faith, including Christianity.

Strongly Agree

School districts should not discriminate against individuals, organizations or small businesses because of their belief that marriage is only a union of one man and one woman.

Strongly Agree

Students should not be allowed to pray in school.

Strongly Disagree

EDUCATION

What is the function of the local school board?

The function of the Pinellas County School Board is adopt and review school policies focused on continuous improvement of public education, student achievement, school safety, and efficient operation.

Who should have the authority to set curriculum and determine resources used in those curricula?

The Florida State Legislature establishes curriculum standards.

When should parents be restricted from speaking in school board meetings?

As the only candidate of children in public schools and the father of four children, I feel strongly for parents rights in advocating for their children. Pinellas County has decided to stop broadcasting and recording open public comment at school board meetings and I will see to it that that decision is reversed.

Please list in order the following priorities in relation to the role of a K-12 public school (omitting any that do not apply): Mathematics, Information Technology, Science, Political Activism, Personal Finances, Gender Identity, Physical Fitness, American History, Critical Race Theory, Language Arts, Art & Music, Vocational Learning, Sexuality, Foreign Language, Social Emotional Learning

I don't think a subjective ranking of individual subjects is correct, but I can classify subject areas in distinct buckets. Critically Important: Mathematics, Science, American History, Language Arts, Vocational Learning; Important: Personal Finance, Physical Fitness, Art and Music; Less Important: Foreign Language, Social Emotional Learning.

American civics education should emphasize our nation's founding principles of liberty and equality.

Strongly Agree

Before students are taught courses such as Comprehensive Sex Ed (CSE) or Social Emotional Learning (SEL), they must opt-in with written parental permission.

Strongly Agree

The loss of local control in education is too high a price to pay in exchange for federal dollars.

Strongly Agree

I support the teaching of curricula (such as the 1619 Project, No Place for Hate, Second Step, etc.) that emphasizes slavery and racism as the foundation of American history.

Disagree

Parents are the ultimate authority in their child’s education and should be able to freely pursue whatever educational options they deem best for their child.

Strongly Agree

VALUES

Briefly describe your spiritual beliefs and values.

I was raised Roman Catholic and baptized at an early age. My family are active congregants at our Untied Methodist Church.

I support allowing public high school students to participate in athletic competition based on the gender with which they identify instead of biological sex.

Choose not to answer

This is an issue I would need more information on.

Who is responsible for teaching sexual education to children, and what is the appropriate age when it should be taught?

Parents are the ultimate authority for teaching our own children sexual education. Florida law requires teaching sexual education in 7th grade. The law also requires parental consent prior to teaching. I am proud that Pinellas County Schools has the full sexual education curriculum posted on-line for review.

If you support the teaching of Sex Ed, please answer the following question: Sexual education should include these topics (list all that apply and add your own, if needed) -- Physical and emotional health outcomes; contraceptive methods; consent; abstinence; sexual orientation and gender identity; human anatomy/the reproductive system; abortion methods and side effects; stages of pregnancy and fetal development; sex acts and pleasures of sex

Florida law dictates an abstinence based sex education curriculum and prohibits teaching gender identity or sexuality

Judeo-Christian values established a framework of morality that is necessary for our system of limited government.

Choose not to answer

No healthcare diagnosis or treatment, whether mental, reproductive, or otherwise, should be given to a child without first receiving written consent from the parent.

Choose not to answer

This is an issue decided by the Florida Legislature.

No school official should be involved in the sexual transitioning of a student, including the use of alternative names and pronouns.

Neutral

My wife is a pediatric emergency medicine physician. I know that children can be born with abnormal genitalia and there are cases of medically valid gender reassignment. In cases where a gender conversion is medically relevant, I think it would be appropriate for school officials to aid in the transition of such a student.

ELECTIONS AND VOTING

People should be able to vote without photo identification.

Choose not to answer

This is an issue decided by the Florida Legislature and not the school board.

ABOUT YOU

Have you ever been convicted of a felony or been penalized in either civil or criminal court for sexual misconduct? If so, please explain.

No

A candidate's personal moral values should not be relevant when considering a candidacy for elective office.

Disagree

When you consider your views on a wide range of issues from economic and social matters to foreign policy and religious liberty, which of the following best describes you overall?

Moderate

Please provide publicly available information, including interviews and media reports, validating your answer to the previous question (other than your website).

I am a novice politician running for school board. I don't have any documented media interviews or reports.

Is there anything else you would like voters to know about you?

I am the only candidate running for school board in district 6 with children in public schools. One of my opponents is a private school teacher, who's kids attend private school. She has no investment in K-12 public education. I am a politically moderate candidate that wants to focus on making public education better. I will make decisions regardless of political pressure on either side that improve public education for our students, families, teachers, staff, and community.

2ND AMENDMENT

Teachers who are licensed to carry should be allowed to carry guns at school.

Strongly Disagree

Pinellas County has an excellent track record training students on being inclusive, which reduces social isolation. Teachers and staff receive continuous training on becoming trusted adults, giving students an outlet to voice concerns, warning signs, and threats. Every school in the district has a site-based team working with law enforcement trained on how to address incoming tips and the appropriate way to respond. A carry license is not enough training to have a firearm around students.

OTHER IMPORTANT ISSUES

Under what circumstances (if any) should schools be allowed to require vaccinations?

Florida law dictates the vaccine requirements among students. This is not an issue decided at the school board level.

I support mask mandates.

Strongly Disagree

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