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Benjamin Lang

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Benjamin Lang
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Benjamin Lang was a candidate for the District 3 seat on the Oakland Unified School District school board in California. Lang was defeated in the by-district general election on November 8, 2016.

Lang previously ran for a seat on the board. He was defeated in the general election on November 6, 2012.

Biography

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Lang has lived in Oakland for more than 40 years. He served more than 10 years as a public school teacher and more than 10 years as a public school administrator. Lang earned a bachelor's degree in political science, an M.A. in political theory, and as M.S. in educational technology. He also earned California teacher and administrative credentials.[1]

Elections

2016

See also: Oakland Unified School District elections (2016)

Four of the seven seats on the Oakland Unified School District Board of Education were up for by-district general election on November 8, 2016. In her bid for re-election to District 1, incumbent Jody London defeated challenger Don Macleay. District 3 incumbent Jumoke Hinton Hodge also won re-election, defeating challengers Benjamin Lang, Lucky Narain, and Kharyshi Wiginton. The District 5 race featured incumbent Roseann Torres and challengers Mike Hassid, Mike Hutchinson, and Huber Trenado, and Torres won re-election to the seat. In District 7, incumbent James Harris defeated challenger Chris Jackson to win another term on the board.[2][3]

Ranked-choice voting was used to determine the final election results for the District 3 and 5 races. To learn more about this process, click here.[4][5]

Results

Ranked-choice voting was used to determine the winner of this race. That method was triggered when no candidate received a majority of the votes cast. The initial results of the election before ranked-choice voting was implemented can be found below.

This is the final round of voting. To view previous rounds, click the [show] button next to that round.

Oakland Unified School District,
District 3 General Election, 4-year term, 2016, Final Round
Candidate Vote % Votes Transfer
Jumoke Hinton Hodge - Most votes 52.4% 10,796 0
Kharyshi Wiginton - Eliminated 47.6% 9,810 0
Benjamin Lang 0% 0 0
Lucky Narain 0% 0 0
Misty Cross (write-in candidate) 0% 0 0
Write-in votes 0% 0 0
Exhausted 1,727 0
Total Votes 22,333 0
Note: Negative numbers in the transfer total are due to exhaustion by overvotes.


Legend:     Eliminated in current round     Most votes     Lost






This is the first round of voting. To view subsequent rounds, click the [show] button next to that round.


Oakland Unified School District,
District 3 General Election, 4-year term, 2016
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.png Jumoke Hinton Hodge Incumbent 39.71% 8,810
Kharyshi Wiginton 33.00% 7,322
Benjamin Lang 19.45% 4,315
Lucky Narain 7.02% 1,557
Write-in votes 0.82% 183
Total Votes 22,187
Source: Alameda County Registrar of Voters, "General Election (Certified Results) - November 08, 2016," accessed November 30, 2016

Funding

See also: Campaign finance in the Oakland Unified School District election

Lang reported no contributions or expenditures to the Oakland City Clerk in the election.[6]

Endorsements

Lang was endorsed by the following organizations and elected officials:[7][8]

2012

Oakland Unified School District,
District 3 General Election, 4-year term, 2012
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Nonpartisan Green check mark transparent.pngJumoke Hinton Hodge Incumbent 46.8% 9,658
     Nonpartisan Benjamin Lang 25.6% 5,282
     Nonpartisan Richard Fuentes 26.8% 5,521
     Nonpartisan Write-in votes 0.8% 174
Total Votes 20,635
Source: Alameda County Registrar of Voters, "Certified Final Results: General Election November 6, 2012," accessed July 29, 2014

Campaign themes

2016

Lang highlighted the following issues on his campaign website:

“
  • For more than a decade, the Oakland Board of Education has attempted to improve school quality by closing community "district" schools and opening privately operated charter schools. Currently, 27% of Oakland's schools are charters. The Alameda County Grand Jury's investigation found that charter schools are not improving school quality in Oakland. I will call for an immediate stop to issuing any new charters in Oakland and insist on transparency and accountability for our current charter schools. There are charter schools in Oakland that are exemplary in serving the needs of their community. Consistent with the original intent of charters, let's share their best practices with all schools in Oakland. This is not a competition; it's a cooperation to better serve the needs of our children.
  • During the 2015-2016 school year, the OUSD began a poorly planned overhaul of Special Education. This has resulted in SPED students and staff being unexpectedly moved to new schools and long standing programs cut or consolidated without notice. I will work cooperatively with the new school board in directing the Superintendent to perform a community based and thorough needs analsys of SPED.
  • Our class sizes are way too large. Ask any OUSD teacher or student - class size matters! Our current board has created new administrative positions and given large raises to top administrators; I will work to cut back on administration and invest in lowering class size and increasing teacher salaries.
  • I'm interested in returning to a somewhat old-fashioned concept of teaching the "€œwhole child."€ Standardized testing has become very important to everything from teacher, principal, superintendent, and school evaluations to real estate prices. California's adoption of Common Core appears to have escalated this importance. Academic achievement is important, but a child's social and emotional development is also important. Schools are not factories and teachers are not technicians. I see our schools as an extension of the community it serves and our teachers as extensions to every student's family.
  • I am accepting no monetary contributions for my campaign. "Great Oakland Public Schools" (GO) through their PAC, "Families and Educators for Public Education" has pumped hundreds of thousands of dollars into electing the majority of our current Board of Education members. I believe it is inherently undemocratic that GO is selecting our school board members. If GO is genuinely interesting in improving the condition of our children in Oakland, they should donate their money to lowering class size and improving teacher salaries.
  • I'm knocking on doors in Oakland's District Three every day. I am delighted at the warmth of my reception and the genuine concern for Oakland's children among my neighbors. I always attach my campaign card to your door if I come at a time when you're not home. If so, please call or email me if you have any questions. And, please know that I personally left the card.[9]
 ”
—Benjamin Lang (2016)[10]

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Benjamin Lang Oakland Unified School District. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Benjamin Lang - Google News

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Benjamin Lang Oakland School Board 2016 District Three, "Home," accessed October 5, 2016
  2. ↑ East Bay Citizen, "2016 East Bay Candidates List (Official for November)," August 19, 2016
  3. ↑ Alameda County Registrar of Voters, "General Election (Certified Results) - November 08, 2016," accessed November 30, 2016
  4. ↑ Alameda County Registrar of Voters, "Ranked-Choice Voting Accumulated Results - School Director, District 5 - Oakland," accessed January 11, 2017
  5. ↑ Alameda County Registrar of Voters, "Ranked-Choice Voting Accumulated Results - School Director, District 3 - Oakland," accessed January 11, 2017
  6. ↑ Oakland City Clerk, "City of Oakland Public Portal for Campaign Finance Disclosure," accessed March 7, 2017
  7. ↑ Benjamin Lang Oakland School Board 2016 District Three, "Endorsements," accessed September 29, 2016
  8. ↑ Evolve, "Endorsements: November 8, 2016 General Election," accessed October 11, 2016
  9. ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  10. ↑ Benjamin Lang Oakland School Board 2016 District Three, "Information," accessed October 4, 2016
2016 Oakland Unified School District Elections
Alameda County, California
Election date:November 8, 2016
Candidates:District 1: • Incumbent, Jody London • Don Macleay
District 3: • Incumbent, Jumoke Hinton Hodge • Benjamin Lang • Lucky Narain • Kharyshi Wiginton
District 5: • Incumbent, Roseann Torres • Mike Hassid • Mike Hutchinson • Huber Trenado
District 7: • Incumbent, James Harris • Chris Jackson
Important information:What was at stake? • Additional elections on the ballot • Key deadlines
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