Daniel Vazquez
Daniel Vazquez was a candidate for Zone 6 representative on the Beaverton School Board in Oregon. He lost in the general election on May 19, 2015.
Compared to the last two election cycles in the district, Vazquez faced a more competitive election field. An average of 2.33 candidates filed for each seat up for election. The Zone 6 seat race was the most competitive with three candidates filing for the seat, including Vazquez.
Over five years after the first proposal was made, it appeared a land swap between Beaverton School District and neighboring Hillsboro School District might finally move forward in 2015. While there was vocal debate in Hillsboro, which was the point of instigation for the proposed district changes, Beaverton had not responded to calls to meet and discuss the change as of late April 2015.
Biography
Vazquez immigrated to Oregon from the state of Jalisco in Mexico when he was 10 years old. He graduate from Hood River Valley High School. He also studied abroad in Thailand during his junior year of high school. He went on to earn a B.A. in political science from the University of Oregon. He is employed as a consultant and small business owner.[1]
Elections
2015
Three of the seven seats on the Beaverton School Board were up for election on May 19, 2015. Zone 3 incumbent Mary VanderWeele, Zone 6 incumbent Jeff Hicks and Zone 7 incumbent Linda Degman were up for election. VanderWeel and Hicks did not file to seek re-election. Melissa Potter and Eric Simpson ran for the open Zone 3 seat, with Simpson defeating Potter. Becky Tymchuk defeated John Somoza and Daniel Vazquez to take the open Zone 6 seat. Degman defeated challenger Andrew Beach in her re-election bid.
Results
| Beaverton School District, Zone 6 General Election, 4-year term, 2015 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan |  Becky Tymchuk |
52.2% | 10,923 | |
| Nonpartisan | John Somoza | 27.9% | 5,851 | |
| Nonpartisan | Daniel Vazquez | 19.6% | 4,105 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in votes | 0.3% | 57 | |
| Total Votes | 20,936 | |||
| Source: Washington County, Oregon, "Official Summary Report Special District Election: May 19, 2015," June 4, 2015 and Multnomah County, Oregon, "Official Summary Report Special District Election: May 19, 2015," June 3, 2015 | ||||
Funding
Vazquez reported $7,464.43 in contributions and $6,878.68 in expenditures to the Oregon Secretary of State, which left his campaign with $585.75 on hand in this election.[2]
Endorsements
Vazquez was endorsed by the following:[3]
- Democratic Party of Washington County
- Washington County Commissioner Dick Schouten
- Washington County Commissioner Greg Malinowski
- State Rep. Jeff Barker (D-28)
- State Rep. Susan McLain (D-29)
- State Rep. Joe Gallegos (D-30)
- State Rep. Margaret Doherty (D-35)
- Former Beaverton City Councilor Ian King
- Former State Rep. Chris Harker (D-34)
Campaign themes
2015
Vazquez provided the following statement on his campaign Facebook page:
| “ | As a former educator, I know the classroom. I bring expertise and leadership to advance Beaverton’s schools to the next level. I have experience working with students’ challenges and teachers’ concerns. I understand the need to support teachers and staff to ensure they have the resources and tools necessary to educate students successfully. I will listen and commit to advocating, representing, and serving the students, teachers, and parents. The board needs a former teacher’s perspective.
EDUCATOR – FRIEND – NEIGHBOR Educators have the power to transform public education. We can find solutions to classroom overcrowding and avoid reductions to vocational, physical education, arts, and language programs. I will work diligently for long-term solutions and will maximize the use of current resources to ensure that every student has access to the education they need. EXCELLENCE – EQUITY – STRONG LEADERSHIP I have proven leadership, an effective personal approach to resolving issues, and the ability to negotiate, advocate, and deliver on actions to enhance and protect our educational assets. I speak Spanish, English, Thai, Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, and Korean.
I am a young, passionate, public servant, professional of color who happens to be Mexican. It is important that government look like the people it serves and that opportunities exist for everyone. Beaverton is becoming more ethnically diverse and government must mirror and represent that. I believe that every student should have the opportunity to attain an excellent education. I immigrated to Oregon from Mexico when I was ten years old. I did not speak English and there was no English as a Second Language Program in my school. I taught myself English and graduated from Hood River Valley High School. I was also a high school exchange student in Thailand with the American Field Service (AFS) Intercultural Exchange Program my junior year in high school. I earned a full merit scholarship to attend college, and graduated from the University of Oregon. After graduating I went to teach English in East Asia and then returned home to Oregon to teach in public schools. Through my teaching I saw the impact that a teacher could have on students and their life and this changed my life significantly. It became apparent to me that we must help our students to learn English and other languages, math and science, arts and technology, and other subjects necessary for students to be successful. I am an active member of the community, I am always looking for ways to put my experience and skills to work. As a former classroom teacher with experience both overseas and in Oregon, I’ve enjoyed volunteering in a variety of capacities. I’ve had the opportunity to be involved with the Washington County 4-H Tech Wizards program making presentations to high school students, encouraging them to study hard and go to college. I have a deep-seated passion for equitable access to a high quality public education. I strongly believe our students should be well prepared for success. I will listen and commit to advocating, representing, and serving the students, teachers, and parents. When I worked for the Mayor’s office in City of Beaverton, I started the Cultural Inclusion Program, Diversity Advisory Board, and Emerging Leaders Training Program. The City of Beaverton received a national award from the National League of Cities for the work I did. I serve on the TriMet Transit Equity Advisory Committee where I help to make transit more accessible to all users. I serve on the Metro Equity Strategy Advisory Committee where I help to bring equity to the Metro region. I serve on the Washington County Fairgrounds Advisory Committee where I work to make the fairgrounds more accessible to all. I serve as a board member on the Washington County Citizen Action Network working to improve the quality of life in Washington County. I also serve on the Board of Directors for Centro Cultural de Washington County where I help the Hispanic/Latino community to prosper.[4] |
” |
| —Daniel Vazquez's campaign Facebook page (2015)[1] | ||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Daniel Vazquez Beaverton School District. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Beaverton School District, Oregon
- Beaverton School District elections (2015)
- Embroiled incumbents see differing outcomes in May 19 school board elections across five states (May 21, 2015)
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Facebook, "Daniel Vázquez for Beaverton School Board: About," accessed May 18, 2015
- ↑ Oregon Secretary of State, "Committee/Filer Search by Name," accessed June 5, 2015
- ↑ Daniel Vázquez, "Endorsements," accessed May 18, 2015
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
| 2015 Beaverton School District Elections | |
| Washington County, Oregon | |
| Election date: | May 19, 2015 |
| Candidates: | Zone 3: Melissa Potter • Eric Simpson Zone 6: John Somoza • Becky Tymchuk • Daniel Vazquez |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
