Basim Elkarra
Basim Elkarra is a member of the Twin Rivers Unified School District school board in California, representing Trustee Area 5. He assumed office in 2016. His current term ends on June 30, 2028.
Elkarra won re-election to the Twin Rivers Unified School District school board to represent Trustee Area 5 in California outright after the general election on March 5, 2024, was canceled.
Though Elkarra holds a nonpartisan position on the school board, he is affiliated with the Democratic Party.[1]
Biography
Elkarra was born in San Francisco. He earned his B.A. in political science from the University of California at Berkley in August 2003. He is the executive director of the Sacramento Valley Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-SV) and runs California's Muslim Youth Leadership Program. Elkarra also chairs the California Democratic Party's Arab American Caucus and Affirmative Action Committee.[1][2]
Elkarra is Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson's Liaison to the Muslim and Middle Eastern Community. Additionally, he works with the Los Rios College Bond Oversight Board, American Civil Liberties Union-Sacramento Chapter Board, New Leaders Council (NLC-Sacramento) Advisory Board, Sacramento Police Advisory Committee, Sacramento Public Library Multicultural Council and the Asian Pacific Islander American Public Affairs Association's (APAPA) Outreach Committee. He is a fellow with the American Leadership Forum (ALF).[2]
Elections
2024
See also: Twin Rivers Unified School District, California, elections (2024)
General election
The general election was canceled. Basim Elkarra (Nonpartisan) won without appearing on the ballot.
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Elkarra in this election.
2020
See also: Twin Rivers Unified School District, California, elections (2020)
General election
General election for Twin Rivers Unified School District school board Trustee Area 5
Incumbent Basim Elkarra defeated Sierra Neil in the general election for Twin Rivers Unified School District school board Trustee Area 5 on March 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Basim Elkarra (Nonpartisan)  | 58.9 | 2,860 |
| Sierra Neil (Nonpartisan) | 41.1 | 1,994 | ||
| Total votes: 4,854 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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2016
Four of the seven seats on the Twin Rivers Unified School District Board of Trustees were up for general election on June 7, 2016. The Trustee Area 1 election was canceled due to lack of opposition. Incumbent Michael Baker was unopposed in his bid for re-election, so he was automatically appointed to another term. In Trustee Area 3, incumbent Walter Garcia Kawamoto was defeated by challenger Ramona Landeros. Incumbent Sonja Cameron did not file to keep her Trustee Area 5 seat. Michelle Deleon and Basim Elkarra ran to fill that open seat. Elkarra, who unsuccessfully ran for the seat in a recall election in 2015, won the election. The Trustee Area 7 race featured incumbent Linda Fowler and challengers Francisco Garcia and Daniel Savala. Fowler won re-election.[3][4]
Results
| Twin Rivers Unified School District, Trustee Area 5 General Election, 4-Year Term, 2016 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Basim Elkarra |
55.76% | 2,566 |
| Michelle Deleon | 43.98% | 2,024 |
| Write-in votes | 0.26% | 12 |
| Total Votes | 4,602 | |
| Source: Sacramento County, "Official Results: Primary Election - June 7, 2016," accessed July 5, 2016 | ||
Funding
Elkarra began the race with an existing account balance of $15,124.95 from his previous campaign. He reported $39,268.58 in contributions and $37,794.81 in expenditures to Sacramento County Department of Voter Registration and Elections, which left his campaign with $16,598.72 on hand as of June 30, 2016.[5]
Endorsements
Elkarra received endorsements from the following organizations:[6][7][8][9][10][11]
- Sacramento County Democratic Party
- Sacramento County Young Democrats
- Sacramento Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO
- International Union of Operating Engineers - Local 3
- Sacramento Bee
- Evolve
2015
Cameron became a recall target after her appointment was accused of having been done illegally and without consulting the community. Del Paso Heights Community Association and the Democratic Party of Sacramento County lead the signature gather efforts to remove her from the board.[12][13]
The board had planned to make its final selection to fill the vacancy at a meeting on December 11, 2014. After interviewing 13 candidates on December 8, 2014, the board unanimously approved a motion to appoint Cameron. According to Area 7 Trustee Linda Fowler, Cameron had received the top score from a majority of the existing board members during the interviews. Recall supporters have said that this violates the state's open meeting laws because the appointment was not on the agenda for that meeting, the meeting did not include a period of public comment and the scores of the trustee's scores of the candidate interviews were kept secret.[13]
Basim Elkarra was the only candidate to file to run against Cameron in the recall election. Voters chose to retain Cameron.
Results
| Twin Rivers Unified School District, Area 5 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
 Sonja Cameron | 1087 | 52.21% | ||
 Basim Elkarra | 985 | 47.31% | ||
| Write-in votes | 10 | 0.48% | ||
| Election results via: Sacramento County Election Results, "Summary Report 2015 Twin Rivers USD Final," May 18, 2015 | ||||
Endorsements
Elkarra was endorsed by the following:[14]
Elected officials
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Former elected officials
Organizations
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Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Basim Elkarra did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
2020
Basim Elkarra completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Elkarra's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
| Collapse all
Basim lives in Regency Park, with his wife and children.
Since being elected in 2016 - he helped transform Regency Park Elementary from a K-5 to a K-8 campus addressing the concerns of neighborhood parents.
He also helped approve a new K-8 School in the new Northlake Development.
He worked with Mayor Pro Tem Ashby to stop the railroad maintenance yard in our neighborhood.
He also voted against school closures.
He's championed anti-bullying and school safety measures.
Because of his budgeting experience and priorities for our schools, Basim Elkarra has been endorsed by Mayor Pro Tem Ashby, educational leaders and parents throughout Sacramento.- Transform Regency Park Elementary from a K-5 to a K-8 Campus - Goal Complete
- Approve a new K-8 School to be built in the Northlake Development - Goal Complete
- Successfully stop the Railroad maintenance yard in our neighborhood - Goal Complete
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.
2015
Elkarra provided the following statement on his campaign website:
| “ | Improving Student Performance
Too many of our students are falling behind, with some of the lowest test scores and high school graduation rates of any district in the area. We need to provide our kids with a 21st Century education and prepare them for the world, and that means improving student performance. I will:
Schools that are Safe for Teachers, Students and Staff Our first job is providing a safe place for students to learn and teachers to teach. We need to work closely with our district’s police officers, school resource officers, teachers, and administrators to ensure that every student goes to school in a safe, positive environment. We also need to stay ahead of the challenges today’s students face with bullying and cyberbullying. Regain Taxpayers’ Faith in District Management As the Executive Director of a nonprofit and a member of the Los Rios Community College Board Oversight Committee, I know that opening up district financial and contracting practices to public scrutiny is the fastest way to earn back taxpayers’ trust. We need to budget smarter, reduce administrative waste and and put more of our resources in the classroom, where they belong. Through better planning, we can better weather short-term changes in our economy, and avoid the boom and bust cycles we have seen in the past. One of my top priorities will be ensuring our schools never have to face the sharp cuts or deficit spending we have endured in the past. Promoting Neighborhood Schools I am strongly committed to increasing the number of schools in Twin Rivers Unified School District, especially those in Area 5, which currently has only one elementary and one middle school - fewer than any other Trustee Area. Existing facilities are overcrowded, and we need a new elementary, middle school and high school in our Area. I will support the construction of new facilities in area 5 and the completion of the long-stalled East Natomas Educational Complex (ENEC).[15] |
” |
| —Basim Elkarra (2015)[16] | ||
See also
2024 Elections
External links
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Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on February 17, 2020
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 American Muslim Civic Leadership Institute, "Basim Elkarra," accessed February 17, 2015
- ↑ Sacramento County Department of Voter Registration and Elections, "Contest/Candidate Proof List: 2016 Presidential Primary Election," accessed March 14, 2016
- ↑ Sacramento County, "Unofficial Results: Primary Election - June 7, 2016," accessed June 8, 2016
- ↑ Sacramento County Department of Voter Registration and Elections, "County of Sacramento Public Portal for Campaign Finance Disclosure," accessed August 10, 2016
- ↑ Democratic Party of Sacramento County, "DPSC Endorsements for June 7, 2016 Primary Election," accessed April 1, 2016
- ↑ Sacramento Bee, "Elkarra, Savala, Kawamoto for Twin Rivers board," May 12, 2016
- ↑ Evolve, "Endorsements: June 7, 2016 Election," accessed May 31, 2016
- ↑ International Union of Operating Engineers, "Local 3 Primary Election recommendations – California," accessed May 31, 2016
- ↑ California Labor Federation, "June 2016 Endorsements: Sacramento Central Labor Council," accessed May 31, 2016
- ↑ Sacramento County Young Democrats, "Election 2016 HQ," accessed May 31, 2016
- ↑ The Sacramento Bee, "Twin Rivers taps charter school leader Sonja Cameron to fill board vacancy," December 9, 2014
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 The Sacramento Bee, "Democratic Party joins recall fight in Twin Rivers school district," January 2, 2015
- ↑ Elkarra for School Board 2015, "Endorsements," accessed March 17, 2015
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Bakim Elkarra for School Board 2015, "Issues," accessed March 17, 2015
