Antonio Martinez

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Antonio Martinez

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Nonpartisan

San Ysidro School District school board At-large

Tenure

Present officeholder

Term ends

2028

Report an officeholder change

Elections and appointments

Last elected

November 5, 2024

Education

Bachelor's

University of Pennsylvania

Personal

Birthplace

San Diego, Calif.

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Antonio Martinez is an at-large member of the San Ysidro School District school board in California. His current term ends on December 8, 2028.

Martinez ran for re-election for an at-large seat of the San Ysidro School District school board in California. He won in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Martinez completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Antonio Martinez was born in San Diego, California. He earned a bachelor's degree in politics, philosophy, and economics from the University of Pennsylvania. His career experience includes working as director for the Imperial Beach Community Clinic and as a congressional representative for Congressman Juan Vargas.

Elections

2024

See also: San Ysidro School District, California, elections (2024)

General election

General election for San Ysidro School District school board At-large (2 seats)

The following candidates ran in the general election for San Ysidro School District school board At-large on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Antonio Martinez (Nonpartisan)	37.9	6,444
✔		Kenia Peraza (Nonpartisan)	20.9	3,555
	Submit photo	Jose Manuel Dircio (Nonpartisan)	13.7	2,319
	Submit photo	Yvette Olea (Nonpartisan)	10.8	1,834
		Martin Arias (Nonpartisan)	9.7	1,646
	Submit photo	Rosaleah Pallasigue (Nonpartisan)	7.0	1,183

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 16,981
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Endorsements

Martinez received the following endorsements.

• San Diego County Democratic Party

2022

See also: City elections in San Diego, California (2022)

General election

General election for San Diego City Council District 8

Incumbent Vivian Moreno defeated Antonio Martinez in the general election for San Diego City Council District 8 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Vivian Moreno (Nonpartisan)	63.3	13,194
	Submit photo	Antonio Martinez (Nonpartisan)	36.7	7,651

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 20,845
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for San Diego City Council District 8

Incumbent Vivian Moreno and Antonio Martinez advanced from the primary for San Diego City Council District 8 on June 7, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Vivian Moreno (Nonpartisan)	63.4	8,432
✔	Submit photo	Antonio Martinez (Nonpartisan)	36.6	4,873

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 13,305
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2020

See also: San Ysidro School District, California, elections (2020)

General election

The general election was canceled. Antonio Martinez (Nonpartisan) and Rosaleah Pallasigue (Nonpartisan) won without appearing on the ballot.

2018

See also: Municipal elections in San Diego, California (2018)

General election

General election for San Diego City Council District 8

Vivian Moreno defeated Antonio Martinez in the general election for San Diego City Council District 8 on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Vivian Moreno (Nonpartisan)	50.9	14,950
	Submit photo	Antonio Martinez (Nonpartisan)	49.1	14,401

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 29,351
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for San Diego City Council District 8

Vivian Moreno and Antonio Martinez defeated Christian Ramirez and Zachary Lazarus in the primary for San Diego City Council District 8 on June 5, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Vivian Moreno (Nonpartisan)	35.8	5,327
✔	Submit photo	Antonio Martinez (Nonpartisan)	27.5	4,087
	Submit photo	Christian Ramirez (Nonpartisan)	27.5	4,084
	Submit photo	Zachary Lazarus (Nonpartisan)	9.2	1,365

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 14,863
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

This was one of the 10 closest elections in the first half of 2018. Click here for the full list »

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Antonio Martinez completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Martinez's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am proud to be running for re-election. As a life-long resident of my community, I was the first in my family to graduate from a university, and I want to ensure that every student in our district has the same opportunity to succeed and reach their fullest potential.

I am honored to be endorsed by our classroom teachers, and I have a proven record of strengthening our schools. I have fought for more funding to reduce class sizes, improve after-school programs, and expand the school lunch program so every child has access to healthy food. I helped pass bond measures, which have been used to renovate playgrounds and will be used to modernize and rebuild crumbling schools.

I have been actively involved in my community for over a decade, having served as a member of the San Ysidro Planning Group and the President of the San Ysidro Recreation Council.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• A Proven Record Strengthening Our Schools
• A Plan To Help Every Child Succeed
• Maintaining District Transparency

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

75% of our district's student population are economically disadvantaged, and 24% are unhoused. This is the most important issue our district has faced, and our goal has been to close the achievement gap for these students and families. The key to doing so has been ensuring that our district provides as many resources and social services as possible. This is beyond the educational services we offer to every student on a daily basis. As such, we have partnered with many non-profit organizations, such as Hearts and Hands Working Together, Feeding San Diego, and Casa Familiar to provide our families food and housing opportunities.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

I have been on the San Ysidro School Board since 2012, and I have dedicated my life to helping families in need. I was the first in my family to graduate from a university. I attended the University of Pennsylvania, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts, Summa Cum Laude, and with Distinction in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics.


After college, I returned to San Ysidro to give back to my community and help those in need. I served as a Director for the Imperial Beach Community Clinic for over 10 years, connecting families to affordable, quality healthcare. Currently, I represent South Bay communities as a congressional representative for the Office of Congressmember Juan Vargas.

What is the primary job of a school board member in your view?

As a current board member, I have already taken significant steps to improve student academic achievement, as well as addressing gaps within students' education by providing various learning opportunities outside the traditional classroom. This is more than analyzing data from annual standardized testing, but also working with teachers and administrators on a student’s work on a day-to-day basis. I have also been able to improve and expand our after-school programs and extracurricular activities. This includes expanding our award-winning Sci-Phy Program, which provides STEM and physical education to students. Furthermore, I absolutely support our district’s dual-immersion program. In fact, my district has already implemented a dual-immersion program at half of our schools. We have had this program for over a decade and will continue to expand it. Students will have an advantage in life when they have mastered more than one language.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

- San Ysidro Education Association

- San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council
- San Diego County Democratic Party
- Congressmember Juan Vargas
- San Ysidro School Board President Irene Lopez
- San Ysidro School Board Vice President Zenaida Rosario
- Western States Regional Council of Carpenters Local 619
- Communications Workers of America Local 9509
- San Diego County Board of Education President Alicia Munoz
- San Diego County Board of Education Vice President Dr. Gregg Robinson
- City of Imperial Beach Councilmember Matthew Leyba-Gonzalez
- City of Chula Vista Councilmember Alonso Gonzalez

- City of National City Councilmember Jose Rodriguez

How do you feel like your school district handled the coronavirus pandemic? What, if anything, would you do differently in the future?

The zip codes in our district (92173 and 92154) were two of the most impacted by the pandemic. Hundreds of parents, grandparents, and community members were hospitalized and lost their lives because of COVID-19. As such, one of the leading causes of student absenteeism in our district hitherto has been because of the aftermath of this catastrophic event, as parents would rather keep their child home for safety reasons.
Despite this, our district has had significant success in reducing chronic absenteeism, working with students and parents directly on attendance success plans. One of the strategies that we have used has been to provide incentives for students to want to attend school. For example, Friday is our minimum day and comprehensively the day out of week that students miss the most. Accordingly, our staff consistently organizes award ceremonies and fun school events (dressing up in your pajamas day, etc.) on Fridays.

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

Since being elected, I have always maintained that open communication between staff, administrators, and our community, regarding any form of budget concerns, is the key to success. Furthermore, my approach has always been the same: hire and support quality teachers and staff and always direct more funding to our classrooms. In 2014, I was proud to oppose harmful budget cuts, standing with teachers and parents during the San Ysidro Teachers' Strike. The strike was caused by poor management of the administration team. Accordingly, I have made a commitment to only hire administrators that have financial experience and, more importantly, the wherewithal to acknowledge the importance of staff collaboration. Despite previous challenges, and the current State budget deficit, our district is in a relatively financially stable position.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

2022

Antonio Martinez did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Antonio Martinez did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

See also

2024 Elections

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Candidate

San Ysidro School District school board At-large

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