Damarcus Offord
Damarcus Offord was a candidate for District 9 representative on the Dallas ISD Board of Trustees in Texas. He ran for the seat in the general election on May 9, 2015. He lost the election.[1]
Offord faced incumbent Bernadette Nutall for a second consecutive election. He was also unsuccessful in his attempt to unseat her in 2012. When asked why voters should choose him over Nutall in 2015, Offord replied:
| “ | District 9 needs a trustee who can represent the needs of our community with the administration in a collaborative way. Without that, our students and staff miss out on resources they might otherwise get, and schools that should be open remain closed. Even for those that would question my youth, it’s clear that a trustee who can collaborate with other trustees and with staff will actually be able to deliver results for District 9 students, staff, and residents, and this is not happening now.[2] | ” |
| —Damarcus Offord (2015)[3] | ||
Biography
Offord works as a consultant. He serves on the South Dallas Trust Fund Board of Directors. He previously served as a congressional intern.[3]
Elections
2015
Opposition
Three of the nine seats on the Dallas ISD Board of Trustees were up for election on May 9, 2015. The seats were elected by designated geographic areas in the district with only registered voters in each area eligible to vote for that area's assigned seat.
District 1 incumbent Elizabeth Jones did not file to seek re-election. Edwin Flores and Kyle Renard ran for the open seat, and Flores was elected to the board. District 3 incumbent Dan Micciche faced challenger David Lewis, while District 9 incumbent Bernadette Nutall contended with challenger Damarcus Offord. Both incumbents won re-election.
Results
| Dallas Independent School District, District 9 General Election, 3-year term, 2015 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan |  Bernadette Nutall Incumbent |
53.7% | 2,106 | |
| Nonpartisan | Damarcus Offord | 46.3% | 1,816 | |
| Total Votes | 3,922 | |||
| Source: Dallas Independent School District, "Meeting Minutes," accessed June 15, 2015 | ||||
Funding
Offord reported $77,655.20 in contributions and $44,000.00 in expenditures to the Dallas Independent School District, which left his campaign with $33,655.20 as of April 30, 2015.[4]
Note: In-kind donations as well as cash donations are included in the contributions.
Endorsements
Offord received endorsements from the following organizations:[5][6][7]
- Dallas Morning News
- Dallas Kids First
- Educate Dallas
- Dallas City Council District 7 member Carolyn Davis
- Dallas City Council District 4 member Dwaine Caraway
2012
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Bernadette Nutall Incumbent |
63.1% | 1,269 | |
| Nonpartisan | Damarcus Offord | 36.9% | 742 | |
| Total Votes | 2,011 | |||
| Source: Dallas County Elections, "2012 Joint Election," May 17, 2012 | ||||
Campaign themes
2015
Offord provided the following statements on his campaign website:
| “ | As your District 9 trustee, Damarcus will focus on the following:
Early Childhood Expansion Since the mid 1990s, the state of Texas has provided half day funding for 3 and 4 year olds to participate in PreK. DISD has never served 3 year olds, and thousands of 4 year olds remain unserved. This means the district has been leaving $60M PER YEAR in funding on the table, unspent on our kids. There are many reasons cited for this glaring weakness. But the key reason is leadership. Board members must be focused on solving problems, not causing them. As your board member, I will remain focused on this issue until it is fully addressed for our youngest children. Bilingual Educators More than 1 in 4 of DISD’s Latino students come from households that don’t speak English, and DISD’s student body is 70% Latino. There is a pressing need for more bilingual educators to help these students learn English and their other subjects that much better. But our African American and Anglo students also benefit from more bilingual teachers, as those students can be immersed in classes where they learn Spanish as well as English, giving them an edge in the job market and the lifetime benefits that come from being bilingual. District 9 needs more two way dual language classes so that kids in our community get those kinds of benefits. I am committed to expanding dual language classrooms to benefit our community. The Discipline Gap African American students in DISD are disproportionately suspended from school. In fact, 25% of our African American students have been suspended. It’s hard to learn when you’re not in class. As an African American former DISD student, I saw this treatment up close and personal. We have to support our teachers to maintain discipline, but we also have to train teachers to de-escalate disruptive situations from students at the earliest age, so students aren’t trained that school is just a pipeline to prison. This means that we’ve got to be real about racial problems in our schools, but that requires honesty and compassion, not accusations and hostility. I am committed to leading by example, focusing supportive attention on this issue to bring the improvements our students need.[2] |
” |
| —Damarcus Offord's campaign website (2015)[8] | ||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Damarcus Offord Dallas ISD. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Dallas Independent School District, Texas
- Dallas Independent School District elections (2015)
- Decreased success for school board incumbents in Texas; 1/3 defeated in largest districts (May 11, 2015)
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Dallas County Elections, "Joint Election - May 9, 2015," accessed May 9, 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 The Dallas Morning News, "Voter Guide," accessed May 6, 2015
- ↑ Dallas Independent School District, "Campaign Finance Reports," accessed May 6, 2015
- ↑ Dallas Morning News, "A roundup of Dallas Morning News recommendations in the May 9 elections," April 22, 2015
- ↑ Dallas Morning News, "Endorsements rolling in for Dallas ISD school board races," April 1, 2015
- ↑ Damarcus Offord for DISD District 9, "Home," accessed May 6, 2015
- ↑ Damarcus Offord for DISD District 9, "About," accessed May 6, 2015
| 2015 Dallas Independent School District Elections | |
| Dallas County, Texas | |
| Election date: | May 9, 2015 |
| Candidates: | District 1: • Edwin Flores • Kyle Renard District 3: • Incumbent, Dan Micciche • David Lewis District 9: • Incumbent, Bernadette Nutall • Damarcus Offord |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
