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Danbury Public Schools elections (2017)
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Six of 11 seats on the Danbury Public Schools Board of Education in Connecticut were up for at-large election on November 7, 2017. One of the seats was up for special election. Incumbent Kathleen Molinaro (Democratic Party) defeated fellow incumbent Eileen Alberts (Republican Party) for the two-year seat. Two incumbents filed for the four-year seats. Incumbent Richard Jannelli (D) and newcomers Jeanne Grandieri (D), Farley Santos (D), Amy Spallino (R), and Rachel Chaleski (R) defeated incumbent Ralph Pietrafesa (R) and newcomers Emanuela Palmares (R) and Robert Pote (R) for the seats.[1][2]
All six Republican candidates also filed as Connecticut Independent Party (CIP) candidates.[3]
Elections
Voter and candidate information
The Danbury Public Schools Board of Education is composed of 11 partisan members who are elected at large to four-year terms in odd-numbered years. Six seats, including one seat up for special election, were up for election on November 7, 2017.
As of the 2017 election, state law required a minimum of one-third of the board's seats to be held by minority parties following each election.[4] Danbury's city charter stated that a maximum of seven seats on the Danbury Public Schools Board of Education could be held by members of the same political party.[5]
To cast a ballot in this election, citizens had to register to vote by October 31, 2017.[6] For information on the voter identification requirements in Connecticut, please click here.
Candidates and results
At-large (4-year)
Results
These election results are unofficial and will be updated after official vote totals are made available.
| Danbury Public Schools, At-Large General Election, 4-year terms, 2017 |
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| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican/CIP |  Amy Spallino |
14.70% | 6,880 | |
| Republican/CIP | Rachel Chaleski |
13.74% | 6,431 | |
| Democratic | Farley Santos |
12.58% | 5,887 | |
| Democratic | Jeanne Grandieri |
12.31% | 5,763 | |
| Democratic | Richard Jannelli Incumbent |
12.28% | 5,747 | |
| Republican/CIP | Emanuela Palmares | 11.75% | 5,499 | |
| Republican/CIP | Ralph Pietrafesa Incumbent | 11.38% | 5,327 | |
| Republican/CIP | Robert Pote | 11.27% | 5,278 | |
| Total Votes | 46,812 | |||
| Source: Danbury, Connecticut, "Election Results," accessed November 10, 2017 | ||||
Candidates
 Richard Jannelli 
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Jeanne Grandieri
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Farley Santos
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 Ralph Pietrafesa
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| Rachel Chaleski
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Emanuela Palmares
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Robert Pote
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Amy Spallino
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At-large (2-year)
Results
These election results are unofficial and will be updated after official vote totals are made available.
| Danbury Public Schools, At-Large General Election, 2-year term, 2017 |
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| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Kathleen Molinaro Incumbent |
52.50% | 5,419 | |
| Republican/CIP | Eileen Alberts Incumbent | 47.50% | 4,903 | |
| Total Votes | 10,322 | |||
| Source: Danbury, Connecticut, "Election Results," accessed November 10, 2017 | ||||
Candidates
| Kathleen Molinaro
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Eileen Alberts
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Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: Connecticut elections, 2017
The Danbury Public Schools Board of Education was scheduled to share the ballot with the Danbury mayor, town clerk, city council, treasurer, constables, and zoning commision.[5]
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for this Connecticut school board election in 2017:[6]
Endorsements
Do you know of an official or organization that endorsed a candidate in this race? Let Ballotpedia know by email at editor@ballotpedia.org.
Campaign finance
All candidates had to register with the town clerk in charge of their election within 10 days of becoming a candidate. At that time, candidates had to declare their campaign funding source. They could choose to be funded by one of three types of committees: a single candidate committee, a political slate committee, or a town committee.[7]
Single candidate committees are formed to fund the candidate's campaign in only one election. The Connecticut State Elections Enforcement Commission states that this is the most common type of committee formed. Political slate committees are formed for a particular election and must be the source of funding for two or more candidates. An exception to the multiple-candidate rule is when only one candidate on the slate advances past the primary election, leaving a single candidate in the slate. Town committees are established by political parties to fund multiple candidates over multiple election cycles. Like political slate committees, town committees must fund two or more candidates, unless only one candidate makes it past the primary election.[7][8]
Candidates may be exempt from registering under a committee if they plan to only use personal funds to finance their campaign, do not expect to spend or receive more than $1,000, or do not expect to spend or receive any funds. If any of these conditions change, candidates had three days to update their registration.[7][8]
Candidates who participated in the general election had different filing deadlines than candidates who participated in the primary election.[9]
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Past elections
- See also: Past elections in Danbury Public Schools
To see results from past elections in Danbury Public Schools, click here.
What was at stake?
Issues in the election
General election winner not able to serve on the board
Less than a week after the November general election, winning Democratic candidate Jeanne Grandieri found out she would not be able to serve as a board member due to her employment status. Disagreement between the Democratic Town Committee and the Republican Town Committee over who would be chosen to replace her on the board of education came after Grandieri confirmed she planned to remain employed by Danbury Public Schools. The election on November 7, 2017, changed the partisan majority of the board from six Republican and five Democratic school board members to six Democratic and five Republican school board members.[10]
In October 2017, Grandieri accepted a position with Danbury Public Schools as a behavioral therapist, which made her ineligible to serve on the Danbury Board of Education. The News-Times reported that Grandieri said she was unaware that holding a position with the school district made it so that she could not serve on the school board. Democratic leaders said Grandieri had not informed the Democratic Town Committee that she had become employed by the district.[10]
Members of the Democratic Party said that the Democratic Town Committee should choose Grandieri's replacement, as Grandieri was elected but chose not to keep the seat.[10]
Members of the Republic Party disagreed. They said that her election was not valid because she was ineligible to hold the position when she was elected. Republican Mayor Mark Boughton told The News-Times that the Republican Town Committee was looking into challenging the election.[10]
As of November 16, 2017, no one had been appointed to take Grandieri's place on the board.[10]
Report a story for this election
Ballotpedia researches issues in school board elections across the United States, but information availability is a challenge for us in many school districts. Please contact us about the issues that impact your local school district. Note that not all submissions may meet Ballotpedia's coverage requirements for inclusion.
Candidate survey
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About the district
- See also: Danbury Public Schools, Connecticut
Danbury Public Schools is located in southwestern Connecticut in Fairfield County. The county does not have a county seat. The county was home to an estimated 944,177 residents from 2010 to 2016, according to the United States Census Bureau.[11] The district was the seventh-largest school district in the state in the 2014-2015 school year and served 10,920 students.[12]
Demographics
Fairfield County overperformed in comparison to the rest of Connecticut in terms of higher education achievement from 2010 to 2016. The United States Census Bureau found that 45.8 percent of county residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree, compared to 37.6 percent of state residents. The median household income in Fairfield County was $84,233, while it was $70,331 for Connecticut. The county poverty rate was 9.0 percent, compared to the state's 9.8 percent.[11]
| Racial Demographics, 2010-2016[11] | ||
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| Race | Fairfield County (%) | Connecticut (%) |
| White | 79.2 | 80.6 |
| Black or African American | 12.5 | 11.8 |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Asian | 5.7 | 4.7 |
| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Two or More Races | 2.1 | 2.3 |
| Hispanic or Latino | 19.4 | 15.7 |
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.
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Danbury Public Schools Connecticut election. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Danbury Public Schools | Connecticut | School Boards |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Marielle Bricker "Email communication with Danbury Town Clerk," August 21, 2017
- ↑ Danbury, Connecticut, "Election Results," accessed November 10, 2017
- ↑ Connecticut Secretary of State, "Danbury Sample Ballot," accessed October 20, 2017
- ↑ Connecticut General Assembly, "Chapter 146: Sec. 9-167a. Minority representation," accessed September 18, 2017
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Danbury, Connecticut, "Danbury City Charter," accessed September 25, 2017
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Office of the Secretary of the State, "November 7, 2017 Municipal Election Calendar," accessed August 10, 2017
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Connecticut State Elections Enforcement Commission, "Understanding the Connecticut Campaign Finance Laws: A Guide for Municipal Candidates," accessed August 10, 2017
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Connecticut State Elections Enforcement Commission, "2017 Municipal Election Campaign Overview," accessed August 10, 2017
- ↑ Connecticut State Elections Enforcement Commission, "2017 Filing Calendar," accessed August 10, 2017
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 NewsTimes, "Argument erupts over school board election in Danbury," November 13, 2017
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 United States Census Bureau, "Fairfield County, Connecticut," accessed September 21, 2017
- ↑ U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, "Common Core of Data, file ccd_lea_052_1414_w_0216161a, 2014-2015," accessed November 16, 2016
