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Bess Bronson
Bess Bronson was a candidate for an at-large seat on the Oceanside Unified School District school board in California. Bronson was defeated in the at-large general election on November 8, 2016.[1]
Bronson participated in Ballotpedia's 2016 school board candidate survey. Click here to read her responses.
Bronson previously ran for a seat on the board. She was defeated in the general election on November 4, 2014.
Elections
2016
Two of the five seats on the Oceanside Unified School District Board of Education were up for at-large general election on November 8, 2016. In their bids for re-election, incumbents Mike Blessing and Adrianne Hakes faced challengers Bess Bronson, Blair Daniels, and Eleanor Juanita Evans.[1] Blessing won re-election, and Evans won the other seat on the ballot.[2]
Results
| Oceanside Unified School District, At-large General Election, 4-year terms, 2016 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Eleanor Juanita Evans |
24.26% | 15,281 |
| Mike Blessing Incumbent |
23.33% | 14,701 |
| Adrianne Hakes Incumbent | 21.09% | 13,287 |
| Blair Daniels | 16.68% | 10,511 |
| Bess Bronson | 14.64% | 9,221 |
| Total Votes | 63,001 | |
| Source: San Diego County Registrar of Voters, "Presidential General Election - Tuesday, November 8, 2016," accessed December 9, 2016 | ||
Funding
Bronson reported $3,139.00 in contributions and $3,139.00 in expenditures to the San Diego County Registrar of Voters, which left her campaign with a $0.00 balance in the election.[3]
Endorsements
Bronson was endorsed by the San Diego County Democratic Party and the community organization Evolve.[4][5]
2014
The election in Oceanside Unified featured three seats up for general election on November 4, 2014. There was no primary election.
Emily Wichmann was the only incumbent running for re-election. Wichmann, Ann Corwin and Robert "Camo" Gleisberg won the three available seats by defeating Angel D. Jimenez, Garry L. Dillard, Bess Bronson, Arleen L. Hammerschmidt and Myrna K. Valdez.
Results
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Emily Wichmann Incumbent |
19% | 9,025 | |
| Nonpartisan | Robert "Camo" Gleisberg |
15.9% | 7,578 | |
| Nonpartisan | Ann Corwin |
15.6% | 7,418 | |
| Nonpartisan | Arleen L. Hammerschmidt | 11.8% | 5,585 | |
| Nonpartisan | Bess Bronson | 11.8% | 5,630 | |
| Nonpartisan | Angel D. Jimenez | 11% | 5,221 | |
| Nonpartisan | Garry L. Dillard | 9% | 4,290 | |
| Nonpartisan | Myrna K. Valdez | 5.8% | 2,772 | |
| Total Votes | 47,519 | |||
| Source: San Diego County Registrar of Voters, "Gubernatorial General Election," accessed December 23, 2014 | ||||
Funding
Bronson reported $1,429.00 in contributions and $1,322.82 in expenditures to the San Diego County Registrar of Voters, leaving her with a cash balance of $106.18 as of September 30, 2014.[6]
Endorsements
Bronson was endorsed by the Democratic Party of San Diego County.[7]
Campaign themes
2016
Ballotpedia survey responses
Bess Bronson participated in Ballotpedia's 2016 survey of school board candidates. In response to the question "What do you hope to achieve if elected to the school board?" the candidate stated on October 29, 2016:
| “ | I hope to help improve the quality of education and safety in my district. Kids first always.[8][9] | ” |
Ranking the issues
The candidate was asked to rank the following issues based on how they should be prioritized by the school board, with 1 being the most important and 7 being the least important. Each ranking could only be used once.
| Education policy |
|---|
 |
Click here to learn more about education policy in California. |
| Education on the ballot |
| Issue importance ranking | |
|---|---|
| Candidate's ranking | Issue |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
| Improving post-secondary readiness | |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| Improving relations with teachers | |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Expanding school choice options | |
| “ | are important equally but I ranked them by what we should work on first.[9] | ” |
| —Bess Bronson (October 29, 2016) | ||
Positions on the issues
The candidate was asked to answer nine questions from Ballotpedia regarding significant issues in education and the school district. The questions are highlighted in blue and followed by the candidate's responses. Some questions provided multiple choices, which are noted after those questions. The candidate was also provided space to elaborate on their answers to the multiple choice questions.
| Should new charter schools be approved in your district? (Not all school boards are empowered to approve charter schools. In those cases, the candidate was directed to answer the question as if the school board were able to do so.) |
|---|
| No. |
| Which statement best describes the ideal relationship between the state government and the school board? The state should always defer to school board decisions, defer to school board decisions in most cases, be involved in the district routinely or only intervene in severe cases of misconduct or mismanagement. |
| The state should only intervene in severe cases of misconduct or mismanagement. |
| Are standardized tests an accurate metric of student achievement? |
| Yes. But they are not the only measure we should use to assess student achievement. |
| What is your stance on the Common Core State Standards Initiative? |
| Common Core is important and will provide students with |
| How should the district handle underperforming teachers? Terminate their contract before any damage is done to students, offer additional training options, put them on a probationary period while they seek to improve or set up a mentorship program for the underperforming teacher with a more experienced teacher in the district? |
| Set up a mentorship program for the underperforming teacher with a more experienced teacher in the district. |
| Should teachers receive merit pay? |
| No. We do not want to pit teachers against each other. They should all be paid and trained well. !! |
| Should the state give money to private schools through a voucher system or scholarship program? |
| No. |
| How should expulsion be used in the district? |
| Expelled students should be privy to training and support so they may come back with new insights on how to work within the system. |
| What's the most important factor for success in the classroom: student-teacher ratio, the curriculum, teachers, parent involvement or school administration? |
| The curriculum |
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Bess Bronson' 'Oceanside Unified School District'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Oceanside Unified School District, California
- Oceanside Unified School District elections (2016)
- Oceanside Unified School District elections (2014)
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 San Diego County Registrar of Voters, "Candidate list: 2016 General Election," accessed August 17, 2016
- ↑ County of San Diego, "Presidential General Election," accessed November 9, 2016
- ↑ San Diego County Registrar of Voters, "CampaignDocs eRetrieval: Search by Candidate's Last Name," accessed March 7, 2017
- ↑ San Diego County Democratic Party, "Democratic Candidates 2016," accessed October 13, 2016
- ↑ Evolve, "Endorsements: November 8, 2016 General Election," accessed October 13, 2016
- ↑ San Diego County Registrar of Voters, "COMMITTEE TO ELECT BESS BRONSON SCHOOL BOARD 2014-460 Recipient Committee Campaign Statement," October 2, 2014
- ↑ San Diego Democrats, "Endorsed Democratic Candidates," accessed October 21, 2014
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2016, "Bess Bronson's responses," October 29, 2016
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
| 2016 Oceanside Unified School District Elections | |
| San Diego County, California | |
| Election date: | November 8, 2016 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Incumbent, Mike Blessing • Incumbent, Adrianne Hakes • Bess Bronson • Blair Daniels • Eleanor Juanita Evans |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Additional elections on the ballot • Key deadlines |
| 2014 Oceanside Unified School District Elections | |
| San Diego County, California | |
| Election date: | November 4, 2014 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Incumbent, Emily Wichmann • Angel D. Jimenez • Garry L. Dillard • Bess Bronson • Ann Corwin • Robert "Camo" Gleisberg • Arleen L. Hammerschimdt • Myrna K. Valdez |
| Important information: | Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
