Chris Meek (North Carolina)
Chris Meek was a candidate for at-large representative on the New Hanover County Schools school board in North Carolina. Meek lost the primary election on March 15, 2016.
Meek also ran for an at-large seat on the New Hanover County Board of Education in 2014. He ran on the Elect Red4Ed slate with fellow Democratic candidates Tom Gale and Emma Saunders against as four Republican candidates in the general election on November 4, 2014. Meek and his fellow Democratic candidates were all defeated in the general election.
Biography
Meek earned a B.A. in political science and an M.A. in history from the University of Stony Brook. At the time of his candidacy, Meek was working on a Ph.D. in leadership in school administration from Capella University. Meek has been a teacher at district schools since 2001. He and his wife, Trish, have five children.[1][2]
Elections
2016
Three of the seven seats on the New Hanover County Schools school board were up for at-large general election on November 8, 2016. All seats saw Republican and Democratic primaries on March 15, 2016.
The seats of Tammy Covil, Lisa Estep, and Jeanette Nichols were up for election. Four Republicans, two of whom are incumbents, filed for the primary election: Nichols, Estep, Frank Meares and David Wortman. Five Democrats, all newcomers, also filed: James Jamison, Jr., Sandra Leigh, Chris Meek, Emma Saunders, and Kevin Spears. Three Republicans and three Democrats advanced to the general. Lisa Estep, David Wortman, and Jeanette Nichols composed the Republican winners, and Emma Saunders, Sandra Leigh, and Kevin Spears made up the Democratic victorious. All three Republicans won the general election: Estep, Wortman, and Nichols.[3][4]
Results
| New Hanover County Schools, At-Large Primary Democratic Election, 4-year terms, 2016 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democrat |  Emma Saunders |
26.31% | 13,487 | |
| Democrat | Sandra Leigh |
24.52% | 12,569 | |
| Democrat | Kevin Spears |
19.53% | 10,013 | |
| Democrat | James Jamison, Jr. | 14.96% | 7,666 | |
| Democrat | Chris Meek | 14.68% | 7,523 | |
| Total Votes (100) | 51,258 | |||
| Source: North Carolina State Board of Elections, "03/15/2016 Official Primary Election Results," accessed September 2, 2016 | ||||
Funding
School board candidates in North Carolina are required to file campaign finance reports to their county's board of elections unless the candidate:
(1) Does not receive more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) in contributions, and
(2) Does not receive more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) in loans, and
(3) Does not spend more than one thousand dollars ($1,000).[5]
The first quarter campaign finance deadline was on March 7, 2016.
2014
Chris Meek and fellow Democratic candidates Tom Gale and Emma Saunders sought election as a slate to the board in the general election on November 4, 2014. They faced Republican candidates Janice Cavenaugh, Don Hayes, Ed Higgins and Bruce Shell.
Results
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Janice Cavenaugh Incumbent |
16.1% | 34,666 | |
| Republican | Bruce Shell |
15.4% | 33,275 | |
| Republican | Don Hayes Incumbent |
14.6% | 31,540 | |
| Republican | Ed Higgins Incumbent |
14.2% | 30,700 | |
| Democratic | Emma Saunders | 13.9% | 30,101 | |
| Democratic | Tom Gale | 13% | 28,159 | |
| Democratic | Chris Meek | 12.7% | 27,524 | |
| Total Votes | 215,965 | |||
| Source: North Carolina Board of Elections, "2014 General Election Results," accessed December 30, 2014 | ||||
Funding
Meek had not reported any contributions or expenditures to the North Carolina State Board of Elections as of October 23, 2014.[6]
Endorsements
Meek had not received any official endorsements as of April 29, 2014.
Campaign themes
2014
Meek's campaign website listed his themes for the 2014 campaign:
| “ | My issues are simple. I believe our educational systems need to protect the rights of all students in public schools, recruit and retain excellent teachers and protect public schools from further dismantling by the corporate sponsored legislation that is being passed in the North Carolina Legislature.
Our children need and deserve the very best that Public Education has to offer. We have a responsibility and obligation to provide that for them. This is how I propose to do this: Protecting the Rights of All Students in our Classrooms
Recruiting and Retaining Excellent Teachers
Protecting Schools
|
” |
| —Chris Meek's campaign website, (2014) | ||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Chris Meek' 'New Hanover County Schools'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- New Hanover County Schools, North Carolina
- New Hanover County Schools elections (2016)
- New Hanover County Schools elections (2014)
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Elect Chris Meek, "About Chris," accessed April 29, 2014
- ↑ LinkedIn, "Chris Meek," accessed April 29, 2014
- ↑ New Hanover County Board of Elections, "Candidate List Grouped by Contest," accessed January 22, 2016
- ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Unofficial General Election Results-New Hanover," accessed November 8, 2016
- ↑ General Assembly of North Carolina, "Chapter 163: Elections And Election Laws, Article 22A - Regulating Contributions and Expenditures in Political Campaigns," accessed February 11, 2016
- ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "NC Campaign Report Search By Entity," accessed October 23, 2014
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Elect Chris Meek, "Issues," accessed April 29, 2014
| 2016 New Hanover County Schools Elections | |
| Election date: | Primary: March 15, 2016 General: November 8, 2016 |
| Candidates: | At-large: Incumbent, Lisa Estep (R) • Incumbent, Jeanette Nichols (R) • Frank Meares (R) • David Wortman (R) • James Jamison, Jr. (D) • Sandra Leigh (D) • Chris Meek (D) • Emma Saunders (D) • Kevin Spears (D) |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Additional elections on the ballot • Key deadlines |
