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Azusa Unified School District elections (2015)
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Two seats on the Azusa Unified School District Board of Education were up for general election on November 3, 2015.[1] Incumbent Yolanda Rodriguez-Peña faced challengers Jeri Bibles-Vogel, Russell Rentschler, Ralph Rodriguez and Thomas Sanchez.[2][3] Rodriguez-Peña won another term, and Bibles-Vogel won the open seat.[4]
See how this race compared to past school board elections in both the district and the state in the "Election trends" section. Incumbent Yolanda Rodriguez-Peña participated in Ballotpedia's 2015 survey of school board candidates. To read her responses, check out the "Ballotpedia survey responses" section.
About the district
Azusa Unified School District is located in Los Angeles County in southwestern California. The county seat is Los Angeles.[5] Los Angeles County was home to 10,116,705 residents in 2014, according to the United States Census Bureau.[6] During the 2012-2013 school year, Azusa Unified School District was the 172nd-largest school district by enrollment in California and served 9,755 students.[7]
Demographics
Los Angeles County underperformed compared to the rest of California in terms of higher education achievement in 2013. The United States Census Bureau found that 29.7 percent of county residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree, compared to 30.7 percent for California as a whole. The median household income for Los Angeles County was $55,909, compared to $61,094 for the entire state. The percentage of people below poverty level was 17.8 percent, compared to 15.9 percent statewide.[6]
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Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.
Voter and candidate information
The Azusa Unified Board of Education consists of five members elected at-large to four-year terms. Board members are up for election on a staggered basis every November of odd-numbered years. There are no primary elections. Two members were up for election on November 5, 2013, and three members were on the ballot on November 3, 2015.[1][2]
School board candidates had to be at least 18 years old, residents of the school district and qualified voters. They could not be employees of the school district while in office.[9] To get on the ballot, candidates had to file their declaration of candidacy with the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk by August 7, 2015.[10]
To vote in this election, residents of the district had to register by October 19, 2015. Voters could cast vote-by-mail ballots from October 24, 2015, through Election Day.[10] Photo identification was not required to vote in California.
Elections
2015
Candidates
At-large
Yolanda Rodriguez-Peña 
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Jeri Bibles-Vogel
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Russell Rentschler | |||
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| Ralph Rodriguez | Thomas Sanchez | ||
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Election results
| Azusa Unified School District, At-large, General Election, 2015 | ||
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Yolanda Rodriguez-Peña Incumbent |
31.9% | 1,056 |
| Jeri Bibles-Vogel |
26.9% | 890 |
| Russell Rentschler | 15.7% | 520 |
| Thomas Sanchez | 14.3% | 473 |
| Ralph Rodriguez | 11.2% | 372 |
| Total Votes | 3,311 | |
| Source: Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, "NOVEMBER 03, 2015 - LOCAL AND MUNICIPAL CONSOLIDATED ELECTIONS: Final Official Election Returns," accessed November 24, 2015 | ||
Endorsements
Incumbent Yolanda Rodriguez-Peña and challenger Jeri Bibles-Vogel received endorsements from the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO and the community organization Evolve.[11][12]
Bibles-Vogel was further endorsed by:[13][14]
- Los Angeles County Democratic Party
- Azusa Educators Association
- California School Employees Association Chapter #299
- State Assembly member Roger Hernandez (D)
- Azusa Unified School Board member Yolanda Rodriguez-Peña
- Azusa Unified School Board member Xilonin Cruz-Gonzalez
- Azusa Unified School Board member Helen Jaramillo
- Azusa Unified School Board member Paul Naccachian
- Azusa Unified School Board member Burke Hamilton
Campaign finance
Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk did not publish school board candidate campaign finance reports online. Ballotpedia staffers requested this information, but the only free method of viewing the files was at their office.
The Los Angeles Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk targeted the end of 2017 to make school board candidate campaign finance reports available online for free. From that point forward, Ballotpedia began including campaign finance data for Los Angeles County school board candidates.[15][16]
Campaign finance reporting requirements in California vary depending on how much money candidates spend or raise. For candidates planning to raise or spend less than $1,000, an Officeholder and Candidate Campaign Statement Short Form (Form 470) must be filed with their county or city elections office. If candidates plan to spend up to $1,000, including their own funds, they must also file a Candidate Intention Statement (Form 501). "If a candidate does not raise any money and personal funds are used only to pay filing or ballot statement fees, the candidate is not required to file the Form 501," according to the Fair Political Practices Commission. If candidates raise money outside of their own funds, a separate campaign bank account must be established.[17]
Candidates raising or spending more than $1,000, including their personal funds, must file a Candidate Intention Statement (Form 501), file a Statement of Organization (Form 410) and establish a separate bank account for campaign funds. They must then file Recipient Committee Campaign Statements (Form 460) to disclose their contributions and expenditures throughout their campaigns. If they receive more than $1,000 from a single source within 90 days of the election, they must file a 24-hour Contribution Report (Form 497).[17]
If you have any information regarding the campaign finance disclosures in this race, please contact the school board elections team at editor@ballotpedia.org.
Past elections
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What was at stake?
2015
Election trends
With two seats on the ballot on November 3, 2015, nearly half of the Azusa Unified Board of Education had the potential to change hands. One of the two incumbents up for election filed to retain her seat, guaranteeing that at least one newcomer would join the board. The incumbents won re-election, and a newcomer was elected to the open seat. An average of 2.5 candidates ran per seat in the 2015 race, which was higher than the average 1.91 candidates who ran in California's largest school districts in 2014.
Three candidates ran per seat in the 2013 school board election. One of the three incumbents up for election ran to retain his seat. He kept his seat, and two newcomers joined the board.
Ballotpedia survey responses
One of the five candidates in this race participated in Ballotpedia's 2015 survey of school board candidates. The following sections display the responses to the survey questions from incumbent Yolanda Rodriguez-Peña.
Top priorities
When asked what her top priorities would be if elected, Rodriguez-Peña stated:
| “ | I am seeking for Re-Election I will continue to be a voice for parents,student, and employee. |
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| —Yolanda Rodriguez-Peña (2015)[19] | ||
Ranking the issues
Rodriguez-Peña was asked to rank the following issues by importance in the school district, with 1 being the most important and 7 being the least important. This table displays her rankings:
| Issue importance ranking | ||
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| Issue | Rodriguez-Peña's ranking | |
| Expanding arts education | ||
| Expanding career-technical education | ||
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | ||
| Improving college readiness | ||
| Closing the achievement gap | ||
| Improving education for special needs students | ||
| Expanding school choice options | ||
Positions on the issues
Rodriguez-Peña was asked to answer 10 multiple choice and short answer questions from Ballotpedia regarding significant issues in education and the school district. A link to her responses can be found below.
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for the Azusa Unified School District election in 2015:[10][20]
| Deadline | Event |
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| June 8, 2015 - August 7, 2015 | Candidate filing period |
| July 31, 2015 | Semi-annual campaign finance report due |
| August 5, 2015 - November 2, 2015 | 24-hour campaign contribution reporting period |
| September 7, 2015 - October 20, 2015 | Write-in candidate filing period |
| September 24, 2015 | Pre-election campaign finance report due |
| October 19, 2015 | Voter registration deadline |
| October 22, 2015 | Pre-election campaign finance report due |
| October 24, 2015 | First day voters can cast vote-by-mail ballots |
| November 3, 2015 | Election Day |
| February 1, 2016 | Semi-annual campaign finance report due |
Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: California elections, 2015
No elections shared the ballot with the Azusa Unified School District. A number of other school districts in Los Angeles County, however, also held school board elections on November 3, 2015.[21]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Azusa Unified School District California. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Azusa Unified School District | California | School Boards |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, “2015 Scheduled Elections,” accessed January 27, 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Azusa Unified School District, "Board of Education," accessed January 27, 2015
- ↑ Los Angeles, California, "Candidate List," accessed August 10, 2015
- ↑ Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, "NOVEMBER 03, 2015 - LOCAL AND MUNICIPAL CONSOLIDATED ELECTIONS: Semi-Final Official Election Returns," accessed November 4, 2015
- ↑ Geology.com, "California County Map with County Seat Cities," accessed July 1, 2014
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 United States Census Bureau, "Los Angeles County, California," accessed August 6, 2015
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "ELSI Table Generator," accessed April 29, 2015
- ↑ Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, "Past Election Results," accessed July 1, 2014
- ↑ Azusa Unified School District, "BB 9220 Board Bylaws: Governing Board Elections," accessed August 5, 2015
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, "Calendar of Events," accessed July 29, 2015
- ↑ Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, "Endorsements," accessed October 26, 2015
- ↑ Evolve, "2015 Endorsements: November 03, 2015 Election," accessed October 26, 2015
- ↑ Los Angeles County Democratic Party, "Endorsements," accessed October 26, 2015
- ↑ Jeri Bibles-Vogel, "Endorsements," accessed October 27, 2015
- ↑ Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, "Campaign Finance Reports," accessed July 2, 2014
- ↑ Daniel Anderson, “Email communication with Brenda Duran, Los Angeles County Public Information Officer," October 7, 2016
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Fair Political Practices Commission, "Local Candidates, Superior Court Judges, Their Controlled Committees, and Primarily Formed Committees for Local Candidates: Campaign Disclosure Manual 2," accessed August 5, 2015
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2015, "Yolanda Rodriguez-Peña responses," September 15, 2015
- ↑ Fair Political Practices Commission, "Filing Schedule for Candidates and Controlled Committees for Local Office Being Voted on November 3, 2015," accessed August 5, 2015
- ↑ Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, "Local And Municipal Consolidated Elections - 11/3/2015," accessed July 29, 2015
| 2015 Azusa Unified School District Elections | |
| Los Angeles County, California | |
| Election date: | November 3, 2015 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Incumbent, Yolanda Rodriguez-Peña • Jeri Bibles-Vogel • Russell Rentschler • Ralph Rodriguez • Thomas Sanchez |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
