Cody Whitaker

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Cody Whitaker

Independent

Elections and appointments

Last election

March 20, 2021

Cody Whitaker (independent) ran in a special election to the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to represent District 4. Whitaker lost in the special primary on March 20, 2021.

Biography

Cody Whitaker was born in Natchitoches, Louisiana and grew up in Winnfield. He earned a bachelor of social work degree from Northwestern State University in 2015 and an M.A. in higher education administration from Louisiana State University in 2018. Whitaker’s career experience includes working as a 4th grade ELA and Social Studies teacher.

Elections

2021

See also: Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education election, 2021

Louisiana elections use the majority-vote system. All candidates compete in the same primary, and a candidate can win the election outright by receiving more than 50 percent of the vote. If no candidate does, the top two vote recipients from the primary advance to the general election, regardless of their partisan affiliation.

General election

Special general election for Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education District 4

Michael Melerine defeated Cassie Williams in the special general election for Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education District 4 on April 24, 2021.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Michael Melerine (R)	61.8	23,541
		Cassie Williams (D)	38.2	14,546

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 38,087
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Nonpartisan primary election

Special nonpartisan primary for Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education District 4

Cassie Williams and Michael Melerine defeated Shelly McFarland, John Milkovich, and Cody Whitaker in the special primary for Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education District 4 on March 20, 2021.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Cassie Williams (D)	29.3	10,768
✔		Michael Melerine (R)	28.2	10,361
		Shelly McFarland (R)	22.4	8,251
		John Milkovich (Independent)	15.9	5,844
		Cody Whitaker (Independent)	4.2	1,555

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 36,779
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Emma Shepard (D)

Campaign themes

2021

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Cody Whitaker did not complete Ballotpedia's 2021 Candidate Connection survey.

Campaign website

Whitaker’s campaign website stated the following:

“	For Students: A Focus on Literacy- Literacy is the bedrock of education. We must put an emphasis on access to early childhood programs that will foster literacy and the foundations of reading. By implementing and taking advantage of these programs, we can begin to better aid the 3-4 year old preparedness for kindergarten. Workforce Readiness - Making sure that high school students are ready for the workforce is one of the top priorities for secondary teachers and staff. Allowing students the opportunity to see "first hand" experiences of work outside of school is something that is very important. This can range from technical skill sets to collegiate program field training. They key is for students to be exposed to both technical and college level work. For Teachers: Teacher Recruitment and Retention- As the education field begins to see numbers of new teachers entering the field decreasing year by year, we must have solutions to this growing problem. Colleges and universities cannot bare all of the responsibility of recruitment within education. We must implement recruiting programs and tactics to entice newcomers to the wonderful field of education. Once we obtain these teachers, the goal then shifts to retaining them. Creating new and exciting programs around retention could aid in the swift increase of teachers leaving school districts. Teacher Incentives- We all know that teachers are underpaid for the work that they do. Simply increasing teacher salaries is something that has been tossed around for years. As an educator myself, I completely agree with the notion for teacher pay increase, especially within District 4 and within the state. As a BESE member, I will propose an increase in yearly employment raises, and suggest the idea of student loan repayment assistance and alternative certification cost assistance. We must keep Louisiana teachers in the classroom! For Community: COVID-19 Response- As the coronavirus pandemic increases day by day, students, teachers, support staff and administration are all on the front lines. It is imperative that students are both in-class and virtually ready to learn each and everyday. As your BESE member, I will work with both federal and state agencies to ensure that each child in our state has access to 1:1 technology available to them. How can students learn if they don't have the right tools? There must be priority placed upon student and staff health and safety. Producing Productive Citizens in Every Community- The goal for any community is to have involvement and collaboration, especially with the residents that help create it. We must foster different learning varieties for our youth including access to trade schools, programs and certifications, and college level programs within the community. Encouraging a desire for community involvement can turn a place of residence into a growing and loving community that supports its students.	”
—Cody Whitaker’s campaign website (2021)

See also

2021 Elections

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