Ceres Unified School District elections (2013)

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2013 Ceres Unified School District Elections
General Election date:
November 5, 2013
Table of Contents
About the district Method of election Elections What was at stake? Key deadlines Additional elections External links
See also
California Ceres Unified School District Stanislaus County, California ballot measures Local ballot measures, California

Four seats on the school board for Ceres Unified School District were up for district wide elections that were scheduled to be held on November 5, 2013. The school district canceled the scheduled election due to a lack of opposition for the candidates who filed, which left Betty Davis, Mike Welsh, Valli Wigt and Lourdes Perez as the default winners of the one at-large seat and the three by district seats.

About the district

Ceres Unified School District is located in Stanislaus County, California in Ceres, California. According to the 2010 Census, it is home to 45,190 residents.

Racial Demographics, 2012
Race	Ceres (%)	California (%)
White	57.7	57.6
Black or African American	2.6	6.2
American Indian and Alaska Native	1.3	1.0
Asian	6.8	13.0
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander	0.8	0.4
Two or More Races	5.5	4.9
Hispanic or Latino	56.0	37.6

Party Affiliation, 2013
Party	Registered Voters	% of Total
Democratic	92,788	40.02
Republican	90,002	38.82
Green	698	0.30
Libertarian	1,144	0.49
American Independent	6,442	2.78
Peace and Freedom	682	0.29
Unaffiliated	37,663	16.24
Other	2,437	1.05

Demographics

Ceres underperformed the rest of California when measured on the basis of median household income, percentage of residents living below the poverty level, percentage of residents over the age of 25 with a high school diploma, and percentage of residents over the age of 25 with a bachelor's degree. The median household income in Ceres was $48,550 compared to $61,632 for the state of California. 9.2% of Ceres residents aged 25 years and older attained a bachelor's degree compared to 30.2% in California. The US Census also showed the poverty rate in Ceres was 18.6% compared to 14.4% for the entire state. The US Census also found that 67.4% of Ceres residents aged 25 years and older attained a high school degree compared to a 92.3% in California.

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.

Method of board member selection

Ceres Unified School District School Board consists of seven members, all of whom are elected to four year terms. Two board members represent the district at large, while the remaining five represent geographic districts. Board member terms are staggered so that at least two members, but no more than three are to be elected each odd numbered year on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November. There are no primary elections. Four seats were up for election on November 5, 2013. The three remaining seats were up for election on November 3, 2015.

Elections

2013

Candidates

At Large

• Betty Davis
  • Retired teacher and librarian
    • Fresno State University

District 2

• Mike Welsh
  • Owner, Ceres Pro Tow

District 3

• Valli Wigt
  • Retired teacher
    • Cal State University, Stanislaus

District 5

• Lourdes Perez
  • Program Coordinator, Ceres Partnership for Healthy Children

Funding

No contributions or expenditures were reported during the election according to the Stanislaus County Registrar/Recorder.

Election history

Ceres Unified School District Board of Education, At-large General Election, 2011, 2011
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Teresa Guerrero	55%	2,003
	Nonpartisan	Brian Kline	45%	1,641
Total Votes				3,644
Source: Smart Voter.org, "Governing Board Member; Ceres Unified School District Voter Information" accessed September 11, 2013

What was at stake?

Four seats were up for election on November 5, 2013, including the seats of the President and Board Clerk. Four incumbent members filed for re-election and ran unopposed. The four uncontested incumbent candidates were Mike Welsh, Betty Davis, Valli Wigt, and Lourdes Perez. The election was canceled.

Key deadlines

The following dates were key deadlines for the Ceres Unified School District election in 2013:

Deadline	Event
July 15, 2013	First day to file a petition of candidacy
August 9, 2013	Close of filing period for petition of candidacy
October 21, 2013	Last day to register to vote in school election
October 29, 2013	Final day to apply to vote by mail
November 5, 2013	Election Day

Additional elections on the ballot

The ballot for the November 5, 2013 election in Stanislaus County also featured elections for local and municipal positions, such as elections for City Council and Irrigation Districts.

See also

• California school board elections draw over 200 candidates
• School board elections review: Voters opt for experience over new blood in nation's largest school districts
• School board election wrap-up: Incumbents re-elected overwhelmingly in November 5 elections
• California
• Ceres Unified School District, California
• List of school board elections in 2013
• Stanislaus County, California ballot measures
• Local ballot measures, California

External links

Suggest a link

• District page
• Stanislaus County website