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April Gillespie
April Gillespie was a candidate for Berkeley District representative on the Spotsylvania County Public Schools school board in Virginia. Gillespie was defeated in the by-district general election on November 7, 2017.
Biography
Gillespie graduated from Spotsylvania High School. The 2017 election was her first time running for office. She described herself as an "Independent with Conservative values."[1]
Elections
2017
Three of the seven seats on the Spotsylvania County Public Schools school board in Virginia were up for by-district general election on November 7, 2017. In his bid for re-election to the Battlefield District seat, incumbent Baron Braswell ran unopposed and won another term. Incumbent Erin Grampp defeated challenger April Gillespie for the Berkeley District seat. In the race for the Lee Hill District seat, Lisa Phelps defeated Kathryn “Kassie” Palmer, who was appointed to the formerly vacant seat on July 10, 2017.[2][3]
Results
| Spotsylvania County Public Schools, Berkeley District General Election, 4-year term, 2017 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Erin Grampp Incumbent |
52.19% | 2,468 |
| April Gillespie | 47.22% | 2,233 |
| Write-in votes | 0.59% | 28 |
| Total Votes | 4,729 | |
| Source: Virginia Department of Elections, "2017 November General," accessed November 21, 2017 | ||
Funding
Gillespie reported $6,333.67 in contributions and $6,207.24 in expenditures to the Virginia Department of Elections, which left her campaign with $126.43 on hand in the election.[4]
Endorsements
Gillespie was endorsed by the Spotsylvania Republican Committee and the Fredericksburg Virginia Patriots.[5]
Campaign themes
2017
Candidate website
Gillespie highlighted the following issues on her campaign website:
| “ | Control over spending
Spotsylvania County continues to sink itself in debt, with the largest contributer being the public schools. I intend to closely monitor and work with other school board members to effectively lower the schools' budget. Advocate for parents and their students Advocating for parents and their students is an absolute necessity for all school officials. I will serve as the bridge between school and home. I will serve as a voice for the families that feel they have lost theirs. Advocate for staff Due to budget constraints, Spotsylvania County School employees have felt the pressures of being able to have security in not only their salaries, but their benefits. I will be addressing these issues as all school employees are deserving. Connect the community with our schools By getting the community more involved with our schools and making a stronger link between the two, Spotsylvania County as a whole will be more successful in personal, educational, and professional levels.[6] |
” |
| —April Gillespie (2017)[7] | ||
Political philosophy
In a Ballotpedia questionnaire, Gillespie said the following was her political philosophy.
| “ | I hope to restore our schools, and strengthen our community by controlling overspending within the schools and serving as a voice for students, parents, staff, and members of the community.[6] | ” |
| —April Gillespie (2017)[1] | ||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms April Gillespie Spotsylvania County Public Schools school board. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Information submitted on Ballotpedia's biographical information submission form on June 26, 2017
- ↑ News Talk 1230, "Spotsy School Board Selects Palmer," accessed July 11, 2017
- ↑ Abbey Smith, “Email communication with Christina Johnson, Spotsylvania County Chief Deputy Registrar," June 14, 2017
- ↑ Virginia Department of Elections, "Campaign Finance Reports: Search Committees," accessed January 17, 2018
- ↑ Fredricksburg.com, "Tension among Spotsylvania Republicans highlights local races," June 22, 2017
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Vote Gillespie School Board Berkeley, "Our community needs change," accessed October 19, 2017
