Become part of the movement for unbiased, accessible election information. Donate today.
Arica Watkins-Smith
Ballotpedia provides comprehensive election coverage of the 100 largest cities in America by population as well as mayoral, city council, and district attorney election coverage in state capitals outside of the 100 largest cities. This board member is outside of that coverage scope and does not receive scheduled updates.
Arica Watkins-Smith is the District 7 representative on the Montgomery Board of Education in Alabama. Watkins-Smith ran for the seat in the primary election on March 1, 2016. Watkins-Smith and incumbent Roberta Collins (D) advanced to a runoff election on April 12, 2016, because no candidate in the primary received a majority of votes. Watkins-Smith defeated Collins and won without opposition in the general election on November 8, 2016.[1]
Biography
Watkins-Smith earned her B.A. in history from Stillman College. She has been a special education teacher at district schools since 2001. Watkins-Smith has also worked a teacher with Lighthouse Christian Academy. She and her husband, Robert Smith, have three children.[2]
Elections
2016
Two of the seven seats on the Montgomery Public Schools school board were up for general election on November 8, 2016. A primary election was held on March 1, 2016.
District 4 incumbent Mary Briers (D) filed for re-election, while District 7 incumbent Beverly Ross opted against seeking another term. Briers defeated Michael Cheatham (D) in the primary election on March 1, 2016. Incumbent Roberta Collins (D), Phyllis Harvey-Hall (D), and Arica Watkins-Smith (D) ran in the primary to replace Ross. Collins and Watkins-Smith advanced from the primary to a runoff election on April 12, 2016, because no candidate received a majority of the District 7 primary vote. Watkins-Smith defeated Collins in the runoff election and won without opposition in the general election. Briers defeated Loretta Grant (R) in the general election.[1]
Results
General
| Montgomery Public Schools, District 7 General Election, 6-Year Term, 2016 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Arica Watkins-Smith (unopposed) |
99.56% | 10,799 | |
| Write-in votes | 0.44% | 48 | ||
| Total Votes | 10,847 | |||
| Source: Madison County, Alabama, "Election Results," accessed December 14, 2016 | ||||
Primary runoff
| Montgomery Public Schools, District 7 Democratic Primary Runoff Election, 6-Year Term, 2016 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Arica Watkins-Smith |
58.48% | 469 |
| Roberta Collins Incumbent | 41.52% | 333 |
| Total Votes | 802 | |
| Source: WSFA, "April 12 Primary Runoff Election Results," accessed April 12, 2016 | ||
Primary
| Montgomery Public Schools, District 7 Democratic Primary Election, 6-Year Term, 2016 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Arica Watkins-Smith |
37.61% | 1,886 |
| Roberta Collins Incumbent |
36.74% | 1,842 |
| Phyllis Harvey-Hall | 25.65% | 1,286 |
| Total Votes | 5,014 | |
| Source: Madison County, Alabama, "Election Results," accessed December 14, 2016 | ||
Funding
Watkins-Smith reported no contributions or expenditures to the Alabama Secretary of State as of October 5, 2016.[3]
Campaign themes
2016
Watkins-Smith's campaign website listed the following themes for 2016:
| “ |
I believe that I have the experience, knowledge, skills and abilities to serve as an elected representative on the Montgomery County School Board. I want to use all of my experiences and talents to improve our educational system and move our children forward. Our students deserve a high quality education to achieve their dreams and goals. It is no longer acceptable to keep expectations low. We have to incorporate the curriculum that works. The components in magnet schools work, and every child should have access to those components with resources that support them academically and socially. When I’m elected to the Montgomery County School Board I will be the leadership that is focused on STUDENTS. S- Strengthen the curriculum so we are not losing the educational talent of students because of the lack of rigor. T– Technologically advanced instruction by including classes such as: computer science, computer programming, and computer coding. U– Uniformity and continuity to transition students from secondary education into post-secondary education or the workforce. D– Data-driven decisions that address weaknesses, thereby, turning them into strengths. E– Enriching the curriculum for early college entrance as an option. N– Nurturing educational environment to keep our students motivated to achieve. T– Transparency to build trust so that every stakeholder will be a part of the vision and the mission. S– Standards to ensure that MPS is proposing and passing policies that offer the same high quality educational standards to all students in the system. [4] |
” |
| —Arica Watkins-Smith (2016), [5] | ||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Arica Watkins-Smith' 'Montgomery Public Schools'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Montgomery County, Alabama, "Democratic Primary Sample Ballot," accessed January 14, 2016
- ↑ Arica Smith for School Board, "About," accessed February 17, 2016
- ↑ Alabama Votes, "Alabama Electronic Fair Campaign Practices Act (FCPA) Reporting System," accessed October 5, 2016
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Arica Smith for School Board, "Platform," accessed February 17, 2016
| 2016 Montgomery Public Schools Elections | |
| Montgomery County, Alabama | |
| Election date: | November 8, 2016 |
| Candidates: | District 4: Incumbent, Mary Briers (D) • Loretta Grant (R) • Michael Cheatham (defeated in primary) (D) District 7: Incumbent, Roberta Collins (defeated in primary runoff) (D) • Phyllis Harvey-Hall (defeated in primary) (D) • Arica Watkins-Smith (D) |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
