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Andrew Como
Andrew Como was a candidate for District 2 representative on the Brentwood Union Free School District school board in New York. Como was defeated in the by-district general election on May 16, 2017.
Elections
2017
Three of the seven seats on the Brentwood Union Free School District school board in New York were up for by-district general election on May 16, 2017. No incumbents filed for re-election, leaving all three seats open to newcomers. In the race for District 1, newcomer Marie Gonzalez-Prescod defeated Bryan Greaves. Simone Holder-Daniel defeated fellow newcomers Andrew Como and Joseph Fritz in District 2. Newcomer Julia Burgos won the District 5 seat after defeating Robert Mickens and Joseph Walsh.[1][2] Greaves, Fritz, and Mickens ran as members of a slate called "Team SELFIE."[3]
Results
| Brentwood Union Free School District, District 2 General Election, 3-year term, 2017 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Simone Holder-Daniel |
54.39% | 805 |
| Joseph Fritz | 27.50% | 407 |
| Andrew Como | 18.11% | 268 |
| Total Votes | 1,480 | |
| Source: Brentwood Union Free School District, "Board of Education Business Meeting: May 18, 2017," accessed September 5, 2017 | ||
Funding
| 2017 Campaign Finance Deadlines in New York[4] | |
|---|---|
| Date | Deadline |
| April 17, 2017 | First report due (pre-general) |
| May 11, 2017 | Second report due (pre-general) |
| June 5, 2017 | Third report due (post-general) |
All school board candidates in New York who raise or spend more than $50 are required to file campaign finance reports. If candidates raise or spend less than $1,000 they are required to file with their city or county's board of elections. If they raise or spend over $1,000, they must file with the New York State Board of Elections. Candidates who raise or spend less than $50 (including their own personal funds) do not have to file any reports. If this occurs, candidates are required to file an exemption statement with the appropriate board of elections.[5]
What was at stake?
2017
Issues in the election
Team SELFIE slate
Three candidates in the 2017 Brentwood school board race ran as part of a candidate slate called "Team SELFIE:" Bryan Greaves, Joseph Fritz, and Robert Mickens. Each candidate ran to be elected to a separate district; one for each seat up for election in 2017. According to the slate, "SELFIE" stands for Safety, Education, Leadership, Funding, Integrity, and Empowerment.[3]
Issues in the district
Father of a murdered district student files for board
District 5 candidate Robert Mickens, whose 15-year-old daughter and her best friend were found beaten to death in October 2016, ran for the Brentwood school board. Authorities investigating the killings tied them to Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, a gang labeled as a "transnational criminal organization" by the U.S. government. Thirteen alleged gang members were arrested in March 2017, with a group of them charged with the murder of the two girls.[6][7][8]
"You hear from students and parents, they have concerns over about what is going down at the school," Mickens said. "Me being a father who lost his daughter, I think I could probably help other kids and make a difference."[7]
MS-13 began in Los Angeles in the 1980's by immigrants from El Salvador who were escaping the civil war. Authorities said the gang has been in Suffolk County, New York, since around 1998. During the 2016-2017 school year, the gang is said to have claimed 11 lives of students in the district.[7][8] The gang has caused parents to be fearful of sending their children to Brentwood high schools and students to be scared that any slight to the gang could cost them their lives. At a vigil held for the two murdered girls, some students gathered holding signs reading “Help Us!” “Stop the Violence!” "We’re the ones out here, dealing with it all," said a 16-year-old boy who would not give his name to the New York Times. "They think they can do something, but they’re just fooling. They can’t do nothing."[8]
MS-13 has become the subject of national attention since the bodies of 11 victims were found during the 2016-2017 school year in Brentwood. President Donald Trump spoke up about the gang in a tweet: "The weak illegal immigration policies of the Obama Admin. allowed bad MS 13 gangs to form in cities across U.S. We are removing them fast!" he said on April 18, 2017. Attorney General Jeff Sessions also spoke in Long Island, New York on April 28, 2017, to raise awareness of the gang, calling it "one of the gravest threats to American public safety."[9]
See also
- Brentwood Union Free School District, New York
- Brentwood Union Free School District elections (2017)
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Elisabeth Moore, "Email exchange with Kathleen Hoey, District clerk," April 25, 2017 and May 8, 2017
- ↑ Brentwood Union Free School District, "May 16, 2017, Budget and Candidate Vote," accessed May 17, 2017
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Facebook, "Bryan Greaves Mobile Uploads," accessed May 9, 2017
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedfinance - ↑ New York Board of Elections, "Campaign Finance Handbook," accessed May 8, 2017
- ↑ CBS News, "Feds: MS-13 gang members arrested in slayings of NY teen girls," March 2, 2017
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Pix 11, "Grieving dad of teen killed by MS-13 runs for school board in Brentwood," May 7, 2017
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 The New York Times, "‘They Keep Finding Bodies’: Gang Violence in Long Island Town Fuels Immigration Debate," October 2, 2016
- ↑ CNN, "MS-13 is Trump's public enemy No.1, but should it be?" April 29, 2017
| Brentwood Union Free School District elections in 2017 | |
| Suffolk County, New York | |
| Election date: | May 16, 2017 |
| Candidates: | District 1: Marie Gonzalez-Prescod • Bryan Greaves District 2: Andrew Como • Joseph Fritz • Simone Holder-Daniel |
| Important information: | What was at stake? |
