The Facebook Slip: Susan Payne Can’t Hide the Machine
On August 22, 2025, Susan Payne announced her run for a full term on the D20 school board. In the comments, Kris Garofalo chimed in: “so proud to be helping with your campaign.”
Payne’s reply? “I could not do it without you.”
That wasn’t campaign politeness. It was truth. Payne is not standing on her Safe2Tell record alone. She is standing on Garofalo’s political machine.
The likes on that comment reveal the circle:
- Brian Moody, another D20 candidate with openly regressive tweets about women and families.
- Buck Meyer, a D20 security staffer, blurring the line between taxpayer-funded roles and partisan politics.
- Daniel Cole, political consultant and owner of Cole Communications, which builds fake “parent” advocacy sites.
- Joel Sorensen, Cole Communications employee and registered agent of Springs Excellence, which is the committee funneling cash into these campaigns.
This is not grassroots. This is a machine.
The Paper Trail: One Agent, Every Candidate
State filings show Kris Garofalo is the registered agent for nearly every hard-right candidate to run in D20:
- Dr. Eddie Waldrep for D20 — Active
- Brian Moody for D20 — Active
- Elect Derrick Wilburn — Elected
- Amy Shandy for D20 — Elected
That list speaks for itself. If you’ve seen a far-right candidate in D20, you’ve seen Garofalo’s signature on their paperwork.
The Discord Leaks: Her Words, Not Ours
Leaked Discord chats from 2022–2023 show Garofalo moving pieces, coordinating strategy, and admitting the truth about the machine:
- On Advocates for D20 Kids: “Advocates isn’t going to win/lose an election…” (4/29/23) → She admits the “parent” page is narrative theater, not grassroots.
- On censorship: “The 2 books were pulled from all schools except…” (5/13/23) → She bragged about book removals while Payne’s allies pretended it was community-driven.
- On political events: “Our straw poll is 5/25 loosely ‘sponsored’ by…” (4/29/23) → Coordinating partisan campaign events under the guise of community concern.
- On branding & messaging: “And I agree – it’s all about data and brand.” (4/29/23) → Not parent advocacy. Marketing discipline.
These are her words, not ours. Receipts that strip away the “concerned parent” mask.
The Web: Cole, Sorensen, Garofalo, Payne
- Cole Communications (Daniel Cole): runs cloned “parent” sites like Advocates for D20 Kids and D11 Momentum, manages branding and messaging.
- Springs Excellence (Joel Sorensen): a so-called Small Donor Committee, really a consultant-run pipeline for cash.
- Kris Garofalo: files the paperwork, tracks the book bans, manages the straw polls, and strategizes in Discord.
- Susan Payne: the candidate who hides behind “safety,” but openly admits she “could not do it without” Garofalo.
This is a consultant-engineered network, not a parent movement.
Payne’s Real Ties: Moms for Liberty & Wilburn
Payne’s campaign biography is silent about her alignment with Moms for Liberty, but the endorsements and the network say otherwise. Moms for Liberty boosts her campaign, just as it boosted Wilburn’s.
And remember: Garofalo wasn’t just Wilburn’s registered agent. She helped him build his candidacy. Wilburn, in turn, is deeply tied to the Truth and Liberty Coalition, the Christian nationalist operation that brags about flipping Colorado school boards.
That is the machine Payne is plugged into. Her “safety” shield is political armor, nothing more.
Why It Matters
The machine has three parts:
- Message control through fake advocacy groups like Advocates for D20 Kids.
- Money flow through Springs Excellence.
- Candidate control through Garofalo’s filings and coordination.
Payne, Moody, and Waldrep (and Holly Tripp?) are not independent candidates. They are the product of this system. One that imports Moms for Liberty politics, fuels book bans, and pulls Christian nationalist turnout into D20.
Final Thought
Kris Garofalo is the machine.
Her paperwork ties the candidates together. Her Discord chats prove the strategy. Her presence in Payne’s comments reveals the dependence. And her network of Cole Communications, Springs Excellence, and Moms for Liberty shows that D20’s “conservative” movements are not grassroots at all.
They are engineered.
When Payne says she “could not do it without” Garofalo, she admits the truth: without the machine, there is no campaign.