Connie Bernard recall, East Baton Rouge Parish School System, Louisiana (2020)
| East Baton Rouge Parish School System recall |
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| Officeholders |
| Recall status |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2020 Recalls in Louisiana Louisiana recall laws School board recalls Recall reports |
A recall petition seeking to remove Connie Bernard (R) from her position as the District 8 representative on the East Baton Rouge Parish School System school board in Louisiana was filed on June 23, 2020. The recall effort did not go to a vote as recall supporters were unable to collect the required number of signatures (approximately 7,600) by the filing deadline on December 21, 2020.[1][2]
The effort started after four Democratic members of the school board—District 2 representative Dadrius Lanus, District 3 representative Tramelle Howard, District 4 representative Dawn Collins, and District 5 representative Evelyn Ware-Jackson—called for Bernard to resign following a local TV interview where she said she hoped that anyone offended by the name of the district's Lee Magnet High School "would learn a little bit more about General Lee, because General Lee inherited a large plantation and he was tasked with the job of doing something with those people who lived in bondage to that plantation, the slaves, and he freed them."[1][3]
The recall petition was filed after the deadline the four board members set had passed and Bernard did not resign. Bernard's TV interview was held on June 10, 2020, prior to the board's scheduled debate on changing the school's name. During the discussion on the name change on June 18, 2020, Bernard was accused of shopping online for dresses.[1]
Bernard apologized for her comments during the interview, calling the comments insensitive and saying she was deeply sorry. She also denied that she had been shopping during the board meeting on June 18, 2020, saying she had neglected to close a pop-up ad. Bernard said she planned to "continue to serve all students as elected by my district three times."[1]
Bernard was elected to her third term in 2018 after running unopposed. Her term was due to end on December 31, 2022, and due to term limits, she could not run again.[1]
Recall supporters
Marcie Frazier and Maya Guntz were the chair and vice-chair of the recall effort. Both were District 8 residents and had children in the East Baton Rouge Parish School System. Though four school board members called for Bernard's resignation, they could not be involved in the recall effort as they did not live in District 8.[1]
Frazier said Bernard's comments about Confederate General Robert E. Lee were what drove her to get involved in the recall effort. "That was a pearl-clutching moment for me,” Frazier said. "I was like, 'My god, what is this woman doing?'"[1]
Guntz said the pictures of Bernard shopping during the school board meeting were her final straw. "We deserve better than someone who can’t even pretend on their job to do their job," Guntz said.[1]
Recall opponents
In reaction to the call for her resignation, Bernard said that she regretted becoming a distraction for the district. She also said she planned to "continue to serve all students as elected by my district three times."[1]
Bernard apologized for her comments about Robert E. Lee and Lee Magnet High School during the interview, calling the comments insensitive and saying she was deeply sorry. She also denied that she had been shopping during the board meeting on June 18, 2020. She said she had neglected to close a pop-up ad.[1]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Louisiana
The recall petition was filed on June 23, 2020. To get the recall on the ballot, supporters would have had to collect signatures from 25% of registered voters in the school district's District 8, which was equal to approximately 7,600 signatures, in 180 days.[1][2]
If the recall petition had been submitted by the deadline and enough signatures had been validated, a recall election would have been scheduled. On the ballot, voters would have been asked to vote for or against recalling Bernard. If a majority of votes were cast in favor of recalling her, she would have been removed from office and a special election would have been held to elect her replacement.[4]
About the district
East Baton Rouge Parish School System is located in eastern Louisiana in East Baton Rouge. East Baton Rouge Parish was home to approximately 440,059 residents in 2019, according to the United States Census Bureau.[5]
Demographics
East Baton Rouge Parish outperformed the state of Louisiana as a whole in terms of educational achievement between 2014 and 2018. The United States Census Bureau found that 34.7 percent of parish residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree, compared to 31.5 percent of state residents. During the same time period, the median household income for the parish was $52,719, compared to $60,293 for the state of Louisiana. The percentage of persons in poverty for East Baton Rouge Parish was 16.7 percent, and it was 11.8 percent for the entire state.[5]
| Racial Demographics, 2010-2019[5] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race | East Baton Rouge Parish (%) | Louisiana (%) | |
| White | 47.6 | 76.3 | |
| Black or African American | 47.2 | 13.4 | |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.3 | 1.3 | |
| Asian | 3.4 | 5.9 | |
| Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander | 0.0 | 0.2 | |
| Two or more races | 1.6 | 2.8 | |
| Hispanic or Latino | 4.4 | 18.5 | |
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.
2020 recall efforts
- See also: School board recalls
Ballotpedia tracked 29 school board recall efforts against 64 board members in 2020. Four recall elections were held in 2020. The school board recall success rate was 7.8%.
The chart below details the status of 2020 recall efforts by individual school board member.
See also
- East Baton Rouge Parish School System, Louisiana
- East Baton Rouge Parish School System elections (2018)
- East Baton Rouge Parish School System special elections (2017)
- East Baton Rouge Parish School System elections (2016)
- Recall campaigns in Louisiana
- Political recall efforts, 2020
- School board recalls
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 The Advocate, "Connie Bernard's resignation deadline expires; here are the next steps after recall petition filed," June 23, 2020
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 The Advocate, "After profanity-laced encounter at teen party, School Board's Connie Bernard pleads guilty," December 23, 2020
- ↑ brproud.com, "EBR school board member on a mission to rename Lee High," June 10, 2020
- ↑ The Advocate, "Push to oust Connie Bernard from Baton Rouge school board launches Monday; will 8,000 sign?" June 25, 2020
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 United States Census Bureau, "Quickfacts: East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana," accessed July 8, 2020
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