Join Priscilla Rahn as she delves deep into the realm of education and liberty with her esteemed guests, Tig and Pricella Tiegen. In this compelling episode, the discussion revolves around the necessity of school choice and the introduction of Excalibur Classical Academy in Centennial. Explore the principles and values of servant leadership as Tig, known for his heroic actions in Benghazi, shares his insights on running for mayor of Colorado Springs, while Pricella unveils her plans for House District 15.
00:00:03 Introduction and School Choice Discussion
Welcome to Restoring Education in America with Priscilla Rahn. She’s a master educator and author leading the conversation to restore the American mind through wisdom, virtue, and truth.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, hello, everybody. Welcome to Restoring Education in America. I’m your host, Priscilla Ron, and I am so excited that you’ve decided to join the conversation today. We are right in the middle of school choice time. Parents are looking for great options for their children this fall, and I have one for you. It’s called Excalibur Classical Academy. They’re opening in the Centennial area this fall with kindergarten through third grade. And their mission and vision is restoring America’s heritage by developing servant leaders who are keepers and defenders of the principles of freedom for which our founding fathers pledged their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor. So if you’re interested in learning more or you would like a tour of the school, please go to their website, ExcaliburClassicalAcademy.org. And if you’re a teacher who’s looking for a great classical environment to teach in, please submit your resume to their website. So something that’s really important to children is a great family. And we are living in a time where parents are really invested in the future of their children. They’re seeing what’s happening in our public schools, and they want to know and trust the school that they send their children to. And I have this amazing couple who knows all about raising a family and raising children and They are a power couple. I’m bringing them to the stage right now. Hi, Tig and Priscilla Tiegen. Hi, guys.
SPEAKER 04 :
Hi. It’s so good to be on your show. Thank you for having us. It’s an honor and it’s a huge blessing. And I’m proud of what you’ve done, you know, and all the interviews that you’ve done. I’ve been following you on Facebook and stuff. So thank you for having us.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, it’s an honor to have you two. I call you the power couple. You guys have been doing so many wonderful things outward facing in the community. So Tig, you are best known for your book and the film 13 Hours in Benghazi. You are amazing with what you’ve done and thank you for serving our country with such valor. I mean, it is amazing. And And now you’re running for mayor of Colorado Springs. Again, you know, you’re going to come across that finish line for Colorado Springs. And Pricela, you’ve been doing all of this wonderful work with Truth and Liberty and helping so many people across Colorado. And I have to laugh because, Pricela, people get us mixed up a lot.
SPEAKER 1 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 02 :
And someone, well, several people, Priscilla had come up to me and said, oh yeah, I heard you’re running for office and you’re running for office. And I’m like, no, where are you getting that from? And someone was like really insistent, like I was lying to them. And I said, I am not running for anything. I think I would know.
SPEAKER 03 :
And then I- I remember when you were running and she wasn’t running, I got the same thing. Oh, your wife said, no, my wife’s not running. It was hilarious.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, it was funny when people would come up to me and they’re all excited. And I was like, oh, wait, wait, wait. If you’re excited, it’s definitely not the Priscilla that you’re thinking I am. Not the Priscilla. You’re probably excited because Priscilla Ron. I said, no, I’m not her. And so, yeah.
SPEAKER 03 :
So now you’re getting one. Yes. Yes. It’s pretty fun.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, it’s the role reversal. And so, Priscilla, you’re running for House District 15. So, first of all, thank you both for stepping up to run for office. You’re both parents. And Priscilla, you guys are now grandparents. Do you have a grandma name, Priscilla?
SPEAKER 04 :
Abuela, pretty much.
SPEAKER 02 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 04 :
Abuela.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, OK, I like abuela. And so what’s your favorite thing to cook for the family?
SPEAKER 04 :
My favorite thing, you know, they actually like tacos, which what but I need to make like actually flour tortillas. They like homemade flour tortillas. So once I did that, forget it. There’s no turning back. Anything. If we decide to eat tacos, it has to be homemade flour tortillas.
SPEAKER 02 :
Of course. Of course. So let me start with Tig. You, again, were this amazing warrior in Benghazi. What have you taken from that experience in the military and representing our country to now wanting to run for mayor of Colorado Springs? Yeah.
SPEAKER 03 :
Honestly, it just comes down to common sense. I look at a lot of things and I try to simplify things and just make it run a lot smoother and a lot easier. I ran last time, but it was really short. It was like nine weeks, I think, is what it was last time. It was really just to kind of, you know, I was always into it regardless, but, you know, it was a million to one pretty much, really, you know, 500,000 to one technically. And just kind of going in there, looking what’s in it. It’s just about getting solid leadership with the backbone and actually standing firm, standing your ground and not giving in and just do what you say you’re going to do and make the hard decision and say, nope, this is what needs to be done and just do it. If people are actually willing to take the pain and actually just do what’s right. the city can be a lot better. It’s just it’s going to take some pain. It really is. This has been going on now for about 30 years. You know, the first strong mayor really kind of got us going in the right direction. But it’s still it just it just needs a really solid backbone and really good leadership. And a lot of things just needs a really true exit plan, especially the homelessness. So to me, it’s just bringing that part to the city and again, just being that backbone and actually being the voice for the city. And what they mean by that is like, when you see things coming through out of Denver, like getting the prostitution thing, the violation against our constitutional rights, like the second amendment stuff, and actually standing up and being a strong voice, kind of like the sheriff does when he goes up and testifies or sends his under deputy goes up and testifies. That’s what the mayor and the state should also be doing, being a voice for the people. Over half a million people down here in Colorado Springs, and you barely see this guy talking. And when he does, he’s reading off a five-by-five card. That’s not the heart of a mayor. That’s just a puppet, in my opinion. That’s not a leader. That’s somebody who needs a speech every single time to relay information. To me, that’s not the heart behind a leader. That’s just a puppet. I don’t think people really care about perfection and how you speak, speaking from the heart and actually, you know, if you need notes like for numbers and stuff like that, I get it. But other than that, you should be just speaking from the heart.
SPEAKER 02 :
You’re making a great point because I think that’s what’s missing in politics today because people are searching for a title rather than desiring to be a servant leader and connecting with everyday people because people come from all different backgrounds. And so, Pricilla, when I look at you and the work that you’ve done with Truth and Liberty and really pouring out your heart in ministry, what made you decide that you wanted to jump into politics?
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, it never crossed my mind because, like you said, I’ve just been a servant. Working for Truth and Liberty has truly been a blessing. I have developed relationships. I have added value to communities just through the resources we have. And so why I decided to run, obviously, Scott Bottoms, Representative Scott Bottoms, asked me to take his seat back in February of 2025. And so he gave me some months to actually pray on it. But when it really came down to is I believe leadership is stewardship and we are entrusted to serve individually. I’m running also to keep House District 15 strong in its value because it’s still one of the strong conservative districts here in El Paso County. There is a Democratic opponent, but that’s why i’m running i’m running to uphold those and defend liberty you know a lot of people talk about freedom and liberty there’s not an understanding what liberty is and those are our natural rights speak live and act according to our conscience so that is what i’m running to defend because right now as you and i know that there’s been legislative bills being passed that are immoral unconstitutional by these unprincipled leaders that don’t know what the heck they’re doing up there. Like my husband said, they have no common sense. It’s almost like they hate the people of Colorado. They hate liberty. They hate freedom. And I can safely say that they hate it because they’re legislating. It’s been proven. they’re undermining our parental rights harming our children through these immoral policies and also threatening our second amendment that’s a huge one also as well i don’t think these people or candidates or even legislators to The ones right now, actually, I don’t think they even have read their constitution probably since junior high. And so God bless the 22 in the House and the 12 in the Senate fighting for these constitutional rights and our parental rights and trying to protect our kids. But that is why I’m running.
SPEAKER 02 :
That’s beautiful. So Tig and Pricella, what was that conversation like? Who decided they were going to run for office first?
SPEAKER 04 :
Um, yeah.
SPEAKER 03 :
I mean, I still had it in my head. I wasn’t going to do it yet, but when, when she came to me, she said, Scott just asked me to run.
SPEAKER 04 :
I said, yeah. So he was, he was on board.
SPEAKER 03 :
I was already pushing her. Cause I think she’d do good at it. Um, And I was, you know, 100% confident she’s going to win this district. And I knew she’d be good at it. I mean, our biggest struggle, I mean, obviously your office, the attacks against her are probably because of me. You know, I’m kind of used to it. It doesn’t matter if she can get used to it. I think, you know, she’s got, you know, thick enough skin. But, again, I just, you know, standing up there, it’s really good and even. It’s not right and wrong anymore. It’s not left and right. It’s really good and even.
SPEAKER 04 :
I think us going in, we understand that doing what’s right and saying what’s right and defending what’s moral and constitutional. We understand that there is consequences, unfortunately, by, you know, stepping in in that way. We understand that. So we’re not naive to that. And definitely they’re not going to hurt my feelings for sure. You know, I’m committed to principle and that’s the way it’s going to be no matter what.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, it’s so simple what we believe in and what we stand for. Like you said, let’s just follow the Constitution. Let’s protect individual rights. Let’s stand up for our freedom of religion, understanding that if we don’t acknowledge that there’s a God, that there’s a creator, which is in our founding documents, then we’ll believe that the government, has control over our rights, right? Because, you know, we were founded, I always say we were founded as a Christian nation. We weren’t founded as a Muslim nation with Sharia law. We were founded with our inalienable rights from our creator. And we believe in providence and all of these things direct us straight back to God. And so if we can acknowledge God, then we realize that all men are created equal, all of our rights are inalienable, and then we know what we can stand for. As both of you have said, our principles, our values, those are critical. I’ll agree with you that I’m looking at the bills, 700 a year, it seems like, that comes out of the state capital, and a lot of them are perverted bills. And I just think, what’s going on there? So Tig and Priscilla, when you look at education and the public, both of you are parents. What do you see are the critical needs in addressing education, but also public safety?
SPEAKER 03 :
I mean, for me, it’s just going back to the basics and teaching our kids instead of indoctrinating them. I mean, actually, you know, my kids, they go down and they’re in the actually go to school and fattening. But, you know, it’s just going back to the basics. And then, you know, they’re struggling because of the whole COVID thing, you know. It’s not really on them. It’s also on us, on the parents as well. So you can’t just say it’s the school’s fault. But it’s making sure that we get this, again, the LGBT crap out of the schools. The schools should not be, the sex ed stuff, that’s just teaching STDs. That’s it. They don’t need to teach them how to have sex, do sex. When I remember going to school, that’s all they taught was what were STDs and how you got it. That’s all they need to be teaching about sex ed, plain and simple, done. Not junior high, not elementary school, high school. And that’s where it should stay, plain and simple. The school safety. So unfortunately, we are where we are. We can’t go back. We’re in the world where it is dangerous. Guns are just a tool. There’s no such thing as gun violence. It’s people violence. Violence brought on by society or society’s causing it, not guns. If you really want schools to be safe, you need to have hired guns inside the schools to actually know how to use the firearms and how to execute when things go bad, not run away. So it goes back to hiring the veterans who are capable of actually doing the job. A lot of veterans would love to do that job. Even officers responding to these schools, but responding to it, it’s already too late. You should be in there already. So that’s what I’m saying. People like, you know, they’re saying make it a gun-free zone. That’s the dumbest thing you could do. Every person, every adult in the school is armed. I guarantee you nobody would go in there and shoot it up. Not even a kid will think about it. Nobody should know if you’re armed or not. That’s just the society you’re in. It’s not going to be perfect. I mean, you can’t go backwards. This is not a movie. This is not a fake utopia. This is a reality of life. This is what we’re in, unfortunately. If you want to change society, then you have to actually… Go in and figure out what’s going on. What is causing these people to snap? What is causing these people to grab a gun and shoot each other? I mean, you just had a kid. It’s a lot of mental health. What was it? A seven-year-old kid just shot his 16-year-old brother over fries and killed him. Why? What is going on with our society? Again, it’s not the firearm. So if you want to address it, truly address it, figure out what’s going on. Don’t blame the tool because he could easily grab a knife and stab him in the neck. Like the, like the guy did with the girl on the train.
SPEAKER 02 :
So when we think about the government and then we think about local control, I know as freedom loving people, we don’t want the government to write more and more and more laws. I mean, when you think about going down to the Capitol and, um, I’d love to see you on the education committee helping to sift through some legislation, but how would you approach some of your decisions? Is there anything that you would like to see changed in our education system in the state of Colorado?
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, going in, I don’t plan to introduce more laws. I believe there’s one bill that I’ve somewhat drafted already, and that is to limit how many bills are actually proposed a year. Like you said, there is, it’s ridiculous that they’re proposing six to 700 within the session, which is five month period that they’re up there, you know, from January to May. probably the beginning of May, so really four months. So I think proposing a bill that limits how many bills they propose, that will focus on the quality of legislation and not quantity. And so that’s kind of what we need, a bill where say only a hundred bills can be introduced. At that point, you get legislators to think about what kind of bill will they pass instead of just passing ridiculous bills that literally are burdensome, intrusive, and a lot of bills have lost their purpose and they’re still hanging around. We don’t even know. So we have accumulated thousands of bills throughout the years And legislating that many bills, it’s really choking our freedom and liberty straight out of us that told this point that it’s really stretching each individual because it’s really our, now it’s not just our freedoms, but like we were talking about is those natural rights. They’re literally legislating against those individual God-given rights that we have. And so that’s what’s making people right now uncomfortable. I believe, Priscilla, that we can gain or we can restore, say we can restore liberty back. We need to start reviewing our current laws that we have now. within the house, reviewing and starting to review them to see if they’re moral, constitutional, and then start repealing the ones, like I said, that have lost their purpose, that have been burdensome, intrusive on our rights. And so I think that’s where And the priority can be, you know, prioritize 50 to 100 bills. It could be from parental authority to pro-life to our guns to all of that. And it’s really, I call this bill, and I hope nobody takes it from me. Because I’ve done research and no state legislative has done it yet. And it’s called Constitutional Compliance Legislative Cleanup Act. That’s what we’re calling it. That’s where we don’t wait for the, so the current runs reviewing that, and then also reviewing the ones that are being proposed. And if they’re unconstitutional, going against those natural rights, which is our liberties. Then at that point, they get reviewed and repealed right there. And instead of passing them and then going to courts and having a judge repeal one bill at a time or one law at a time, which costs thousands of dollars in taxpayer money going to court for this stuff. when we can actually just establish one law to start cleaning up house at the legislative level that’s really what we need but we do need to gain the house first and the senate if we want to build past like that because we can do it that’s an article five section one of the constitution legislators you just have to establish a law just one law And I’ve shared this draft with other states also that are considering it. They’ll probably adjust it to their state, but they’re actually liking it.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, I want to make sure the listeners know where to go to learn more about each one of you and to support you. So Tig, what is your website?
SPEAKER 03 :
Tigformayor.com.
SPEAKER 02 :
Okay. Thank you for spelling out the four instead of doing the number four. Okay. The teacher in me is like always spell out the four. F-O-R, Tig for mayor. And Pricilla, what’s your site?
SPEAKER 04 :
My full name, PricillaTiganHD15.com.
SPEAKER 02 :
We need to make sure people know to spell your name differently from mine. So it’s P-R-I-C-E-L-L-A. Yes. Priscilla. Okay. So both of you embed your faith so much into who you are. I mean, I’ve seen a big difference even in our federal elected officials being really bold about their faith. How do you find the courage to be so bold in your faith in politics?
SPEAKER 03 :
I don’t think it’s courage. I think it’s just being who we are.
SPEAKER 04 :
I think once you read the full counsel of God and you understand and you understand the history, like you said, how this nation was built, the covenant we have with God, you respect that. And so for me, my faith gives me confidence. and clarity when it comes to difficult decisions in life and whatever I’m doing, whether it’s in leadership, figuring out a situation. Right now, Priscilla, what’s lacking in society is the type of leadership that’s with virtue and morality. I believe that’s the key ingredient for a thriving society. But morality obviously comes with those biblical principles. And virtue is definitely cultivated day by day, even in growth. and learning different things. We shouldn’t be fearful in speaking what’s true. We are responsible to speak truth to people and not lie to them. It’s courage, but it’s also our responsibility to do that. It’s not fair to lie to somebody when it’s wrong. You share the truth, and whether they like it or not, It’s up to them and it’s between them and God. Our responsibility is just to speak truth and speak it boldly. And I think we’ve been complicit. We’ve been lazy. We’ve been fearful as a whole, as the body of Christ. And I believe now we are actually rising up. We are really speaking out how faith also intertwines with governance. For one example, in our founding era, which they were geniuses, that they understood that the moral law, they made the moral law the civil law. You shall not steal, kill, or murder, covet. Those are just core principles, and that’s our civil law. So our civil law is actually the moral law. And so when we start legislating laws that go against our civil law, this is why we have chaos. This is why we have lawlessness in our communities. This is why… And they’re weaponizing that in culture. You see legislators up there speaking against the civil law, and they’re doing it even by making law. So I think that has a huge part. So yeah, I think our faith is intertwined with government here in the United States. I don’t know about any other country, but here in the States, definitely our constitution has core biblical principles within it. It’s enshrined in there and And that’s really what they really hate, you know, because they just want to control each individual for their own power and gain.
SPEAKER 02 :
That’s so beautiful and a great reminder. So Tig, as the man of the house, and I look at you guys and you’re a beautiful couple, what advice do you have for other families out there? And what is something that you and Pricilla do to keep your marriage strong and your family strong?
SPEAKER 03 :
I think it’s just talking with each other, being honest with each other. You know, honestly, we still have our moments, just like everybody else out there. I mean, that’s just life. We just get through. We go to church. You know, we just try to stay as grounded as we possibly can. You know, just talk to each other. Keep God central, and that’s pretty much it.
SPEAKER 02 :
Amen to that. Well, we need, again, more legislators who know where their source of strength comes from and where to turn when things get tough because they will get tough. So anything else you guys want to add before we end our interview?
SPEAKER 04 :
As for me, I just want to let everybody know just to stay engaged, whether it’s in education that you’re interested, whether it’s in business, government, just stay engaged. You have to stay informed. We need people to start standing up because if we don’t do that now, our future generations are at stake. So we need everybody to start participating. helping out other candidates to move forward to gain the seats that we needed so that we can start passing moral and constitutional legislation because that’s what’s going to affect our generations to come. So I just encourage everybody to get involved, get involved with your county, either GOP, any community, conservative activist group that you might be interested in. Attend your school boards, your city councils, commissioners, whatever you’re interested in, but just stay engaged, stay informed. homeschool your kids right now as much as you can if you can if you can homeschool and yeah and and keep your face inside the good book because that is key
SPEAKER 03 :
Before we go, so there was one video I shared with her. I think I actually shared it on my Instagram. Anyways, it’s a fourth grader at our city council. She’s speaking for herself. She’s a homeschool kid, but she’s trying to make a state sport. In Idaho, it doesn’t have a state sport. So that’s what she’s lobbying for. for a state sport to be hunting. And she’s explaining it, why, she’s talking about the logo. I mean, this little girl did her research. I mean, she probably had her parents probably help her a little bit, stuff, but still, I’m sitting looking at this girl like, my kid’s probably, they’re 14, they probably can’t even do that. Yeah, I mean, it’s not really their fault, it’s on me too, but I’m just like, that’s what homeschooling does. You know, that’s just parents being involved. Again, it’s not really public, it’s the parents being involved also. I mean, so it can’t, I don’t know. I mean, you were a principal. I think if you had parents involved in a lot of the kids, you could probably see. So, but as for me, kind of the same thing, get involved, see, you know, pay attention to what’s actually what’s going on. Trump got elected. And I think a lot of people just, they wipe their hands when we get a strong president and they walk away. that’s when we lose that’s when we start seeing the the country actually crumbs i think one man can do it he can’t you know our founders our founders told pretty much left this country for us to be involved in in politics to be civically involved they actually say be civically involved so i we kind of lost that through our parents and grandparents and stuff like so is i think we need to start pushing out i try to tell my kids i try to get them to be involved a little bit more but So it’s just trying to push that idea back onto your kids to actually be, tell them now, don’t wait anymore. Start teaching them things. You know, they might find it boring, but you need to start educating. The school’s not going to do it. So again, get involved, stay involved, see what the city council’s doing, because that’s where a lot of stuff, especially in Colorado Springs, because obviously I’m down here, but that’s where a lot of things actually get done. For donations, for me, I would say, if you wanna help donate to our campaigns, donate for her. My election’s not till next year, April of 2027. So the biggest donation is gonna be for her. She does have a Democrat. Scott won by 7,000 votes last time. So it was a tight race if you think about it. So she is going to need funds to help her really push. But I think she’s going to, you know, it’s the same guy that ran last time. So I think that’s going to be the biggest thing for help she’s going to need is some funds going into her. So not really for me.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, that’s a great husband looking out for you, Priscilla. Thank you, Tig and Priscilla. Tig for Mayor, Priscilla for House District 15. Thank you so much for your time. God bless you both. And to my listeners, thanks for tuning in and catch me next time. And remember, educating the mind without the heart is no education. So seek wisdom, cultivate virtue and speak truth.
SPEAKER 01 :
Thanks for tuning in to Restoring Education in America with Priscilla Ron. Visit PriscillaRon.com to connect or learn how you can sponsor future episodes to keep this message of faith, freedom, and education on the air.
