Sarasota School Board member Tom Edwards calls on Bridget Ziegler

Sarasota County School Board member Tom Edwards called for colleague Bridget Ziegler to resign from the board amid accusations that her husband sexually assaulted a woman who had been part of a three-way relationship with him and Bridget Ziegler.

Edwards, a self-described moderate endorsed by Sarasota Democrats, has been in the voting minority on the board since a conservative-leaning majority that included Ziegler rose to power last year. Following the sexual assault allegation against Christian Ziegler becoming public last week, Edwards said that last year’s School Board chairwoman has become too much of a distraction for the district.

“She is nothing but a distraction from before and only getting worse, and it will never go away as long as she sits there,” he said. “As a School Board member, my focus is on our students, their academic achievement and educational outcomes. It is not on the Zieglers’ escapades.