Cristina Puraci

This page was current at the end of the official's last term in office covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Cristina Puraci

Nonpartisan

Prior offices

Redlands Unified Board of Education Area 4

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Report an officeholder change

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 3, 2020

Education

Graduate

National University, 2006

Personal

Religion

Christian

Profession

Teacher

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Personal Facebook

Personal LinkedIn

Cristina Puraci was a member of the Redlands Unified Board of Education in California, representing Area 4. She assumed office in 2016. She left office on December 11, 2020.

Puraci (Republican Party) ran for election to the California State Senate to represent District 23. She lost in the primary on March 3, 2020.

Puraci also ran for re-election to the Redlands Unified Board of Education to represent Area 4 in California. She lost in the general election on November 3, 2020.

Puraci completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.

Beginning with the 2018 general election, the Redlands Unified Board of Education transitioned from at-large seats to by-trustee areas.

Biography

Puraci's professional experience includes working as a teacher at Colton Unified School District. She earned her B.A. in liberal studies and her master's in education.

Puraci has been affiliated with the Colton-Redlands-Yucaipa Regional Occupational Program, San Bernardino County Drug and Gang Task Force, and the Redlands Cultural Arts Council.

Elections

2020

School board election

See also: Redlands Unified School District, California, elections (2020)

General election

General election for Redlands Unified Board of Education Area 4

Incumbent Alex Vara defeated incumbent Cristina Puraci in the general election for Redlands Unified Board of Education Area 4 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Alex Vara (Nonpartisan)	55.5	6,530
		Cristina Puraci (Nonpartisan)	44.5	5,226

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 11,756
= 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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State legislative election

See also: California State Senate elections, 2020

General election

General election for California State Senate District 23

Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh defeated Abigail Rosales-Medina in the general election for California State Senate District 23 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh (R)	52.5	224,945
		Abigail Rosales-Medina (D)	47.5	203,403

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 428,348
= 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.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for California State Senate District 23

Abigail Rosales-Medina and Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh defeated Lloyd White, Kris Goodfellow, and Cristina Puraci in the primary for California State Senate District 23 on March 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Abigail Rosales-Medina (D)	28.1	59,881
✔		Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh (R)	24.8	52,820
		Lloyd White (R)	21.7	46,267
		Kris Goodfellow (D)	17.4	37,153
		Cristina Puraci (R)	8.0	17,028

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 213,149
= 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.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2016

See also: Redlands Unified School District elections (2016)

Three of the five seats on the Redlands Unified School District Board of Education were up for at-large general election on November 8, 2016. Incumbents Ronald McPeck and Richard Haller filed for re-election and faced six opponents: Cristina Puraci, James O'Neill, Ensen Mason, Alex Vara, Shaheen Emmanuel Lakhan, and Mario Saucedo. Vara, O'Neill, and Puraci won election to the board.

Results

Redlands Unified School District, At-large General Election, 4-year terms, 2016
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Alex Vara	19.02%	18,860
James O'Neill	18.24%	18,090
Cristina Puraci	13.99%	13,871
Ensen Mason	11.32%	11,222
Richard Haller Incumbent	10.35%	10,265
Ronald McPeck Incumbent	10.05%	9,964
Mario Saucedo	9.16%	9,084
Shaheen Emmanuel Lakhan	7.86%	7,796
Total Votes		99,152
Source: San Bernadino County Elections Office of the Registrar of Voters, "Final Certified Election Results," accessed December 7, 2016

Funding

See also: Campaign finance in the Redlands Unified School District election

Puraci filed an exemption form detailing she would not spend or receive more than $2,000 for this campaign. Because of this, she did not have to file additional campaign finance reports.

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Cristina Puraci did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Cristina Puraci completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Puraci's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

School Board Member Cristina Puraci was first elected to the Redlands Unified School District Board of Trustees in 2016. Puraci's extensive background in education, her experience, and her compelling life story make Cristina the ideal candidate to represent the diverse constituency in California's 23rd Senate District. Cristina was raised in the impoverished Socialist Republic of Romania, where her family faced extreme prejudice for their Christian faith. As a child, Cristina was adversely affected by the Chernobyl disaster in bordering Russia. Cristina and her husband moved to the Inland Empire in 1992. Cristina began her teaching career at Colton Joint Unified School District in 2004. As a teacher, Cristina witnessed first-hand the issues that plague California's education system. She decided to take action by joining her association's leadership team. Cristina's involvement as President of the Association of Colton Educators opened her eyes to the massive Sacramento bureaucracy that causes gridlock at the local level in California. Cristina is an active member of numerous committees throughout the Inland Empire. She serves on the Board of Trustees for the Colton-Yucaipa-Redlands ROP as well as the San Bernardino County Drug and Gang Task Force and the Redlands Cultural Arts Council and she is Director for Highland Chamber of Commerce. Cristina lives in Highland with her husband, Adrian, who is also a teacher. Together they have one son, Sebastian.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Fighting for first class education for all students
• Protect First and Second Amendments
• Repeal sanctuary state

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Prop 47 and 57

What qualities does this office possess that makes it a unique and important part of the state government and legal system?

The California State Senate is part of the Legislative body, that passes laws and determines the allocation of funds for the entire state.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

Ronald Reagan. It was during his presidency that the Iron Curtain, and liberated the Communist Bloc.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

Facts Don't Care About Your Feelings by Ben Shapiro

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

To work for the best interests of the constituents, not for a personal agenda.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

Integrity under pressure

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Proposing and passing legislature.

What legacy would you like to leave?

Repeal Sanctuary State, prevent California from adopting socialist ideology

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

Chernobyl Accident 1986. I was 12 years old, and the Communists tried to cover-up the severity of the fallout. In fact, our region was kept in the dark for many days after the explosion, and we received the Iodine treatment too late.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

I worked as a clerk/cashier at Walmart soon after learning English in 1994. I held that job until 1997.

What is your favorite book? Why?

The Culture Code, Daniel Coyle

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

Elastigirl

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

Sweet Child o' Mine, from Guns N' Roses

What responsibilities of this office do you personally consider the most important?

The opportunity to bring legislators together to propose and implement changes.

Are there any little-known powers or responsibilities held by this office that you believe more people should be aware of?

They determine education policies, which affects nearly every single family in the state.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for holders of this office to have previous experience in government or politics?

Having a basic understanding of government is important, however the understanding of actions and their consequences are more important. For examples, legislators can be short-sighted when they propose laws that end up having effects beyond their intended reach.

What kind of skills or expertise do you believe would be the most helpful for the holders of this office to possess?

Common sense, and an understanding that policy can have consequences beyond the intended target.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

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