Waterford school board candidates tied to El-Sayed, Lawrence as absentee voting is under way

The Oakland County Republican Party is making the Michigan Education Association's other endorsements an issue in the Waterford School Board race, tying the controversial teachers union's two recommended local candidates to Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed and congressional candidate William Lawrence, who have been embroiled in controversies related to 9/11 and socialism.

The MEA recommends Michael Ristich and Kristen Wagner for Waterford School Board in its Election 2026 slate, first published Sept. 23 and updated Oct. 1. The same slate recommends El-Sayed for U.S. Senate. A separate MEA announcement in August recommended Lawrence in Michigan's 7th Congressional District.

In a text message sent to Waterford School District voters and obtained by the Oakland County Journal, the Oakland County Republican Party distributed a video calling Ristich and Wagner "birds of a feather" with El-Sayed and Lawrence, and highlighting the connection between them. The video was accompanied by text that accused them of being radical left-wing extremists and highlighted Lawrence's record as a socialist with a felony guilty plea and El-Sayed's record of refusing to condemn a supporter who said America deserved 9/11. Near the end of the message, it says, "Waterford classrooms are no place for radical politics or terrorist propaganda. Our kids need a school board focused on reading, math, and parents' rights."

The video has since also appeared on Facebook and other social media sites.

Republicans point to El-Sayed's campaign appearances with streamer Hasan Piker, who said in a 2019 livestream that "America deserved 9/11." When El-Sayed campaigned with Piker at Michigan State and the University of Michigan in April, he declined to disavow him, saying "I'm not here to disavow people's views."

Lawrence, the Democrat challenging Rep. Tom Barrett, was convicted after a 2013 incident in Ingham County. He pleaded guilty to felony resisting or obstructing police. Asked about it this summer, Lawrence said, "I'm proud..." He was a member of the Democratic Socialists of America until July. National Republicans call him a "socialist felon."

In a Facebook post about the text message, Ristich and Wagner appeared to try and downplay the issue and conflate the MEA endorsement with the Waterford Education Association instead, which resulted in some voters calling them out for refusing to address the issue head-on and appearing to obfuscate the issue.

Waterford voters will also decide an 18-mill non-homestead operating millage for the district on Nov. 3. The same proposal lost by 865 votes in August.