DeKalb County School District elections (2014)
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Seven seats on the DeKalb County School District Board of Education were up for general election on May 20, 2014. In Districts 3, 4 and 5, since no candidate received a simple majority of the vote in the general election, a runoff election for those seats was held between the top two vote recipients in each race on July 22, 2014. The elections in Districts 2, 4 and 6 were for full four-year terms, but the elections in Districts 1, 3, 5 and 7 were for two-year terms.[1]
The size of the school board shrunk from nine to seven seats as part of this election, so every seat on the board was up for election.[2] Newcomer Stan Jester in District 1 was the only candidate who ran unopposed. All other races on the ballot featured an incumbent running for re-election.[3] Marshall Orson defeated Don McChesney to retain his District 2 seat, and Melvin Johnson defeated Bridgeman Bolger to keep the District 6 seat. District 7 incumbent Joyce Morley overcame two challengers, Kim Ault and Lee V. Dukes. In District 3, incumbent Michael A. Erwin defeated Atticus LeBlanc in a runoff election after eliminating three other challengers in the general election. The District 4 race featuring two incumbents, Jim McMahan and Karen Carter, resulted in McMahan triumphing in a runoff election. Incumbent Thad Mayfield lost to newcomer Vickie B. Turner in a runoff election for the District 5 seat.
In February 2013, Georgia Governor Nathan Deal followed the recommendation of the state board of education and removed six members of the DeKalb Board of Education from office. The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, an organization charged with handling K-12 accreditation by the state government, had previously placed the district under "accredited probation" status following an audit that revealed issues with board governance, unethical practices and fiscal mismanagement.[4] On March 13, 2013, Governor Deal announced the appointment of six new members to fill the vacant seats. He appointed John Coleman to District 1, Michael A. Erwin to District 3, David Campbell to District 5, Joyce Morley to District 7, Karen Carter to District 8 and Thad Mayfield to District 9.[5] On January 21, 2014, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools announced that the district was no longer under probation and had been moved up to "accreditation warned" status.[6]
Of the appointees, only John Coleman and David Campbell decided not to run for re-election to stay on the board. Erwin and Morley ran to retain their seats, and Carter and Mayfield ran for different seats on the board since their original seats were eliminated as part of the election. Carter ran in District 4 against incumbent Jim McMahan, and Mayfield ran in District 5 for the seat vacated by Campbell. Neither Carter nor Mayfield were successful in their new districts. Therefore, the only appointees to remain on the board following the 2014 election were Michael A. Erwin and Joyce Morley. Jesse Cunningham was the only board member removed by the governor who campaigned to return to the board, but he narrowly lost in the general election and did not proceed to the runoff election in District 5.[3]
About the district
- See also: DeKalb County School District, Georgia
DeKalb County School District is located in DeKalb County, Georgia. The county seat of DeKalb County is Decatur, Georgia. DeKalb County is home to 713,340 residents, according to the United States Census Bureau.[7] DeKalb County School District was the third-largest school district in Georgia, serving 98,088 students during the 2011-2012 school year.[8]
Demographics
DeKalb County outperformed the rest of Georgia in terms of higher education achievement in 2012. The United States Census Bureau found that 39.2 percent of DeKalb County residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree compared to 27.8 percent for Georgia as a whole. The median household income in DeKalb County was $51,252 compared to $49,604 for the state of Georgia. The poverty rate in DeKalb County was 18.6 percent compared to 17.4 percent for the entire state.[7]
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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.
Voter and candidate information
The DeKalb County School District Board of Education consisted of nine members, but the number of members shrunk to seven as part of the 2014 election. All members are elected to four-year terms. In this election, however, the winners in Districts 2, 4 and 6 received full four-year terms, but the winners in Districts 1, 3, 5 and 7 received two-year terms.[1] Board members are elected separately by distinct geographical districts.[10] There was no primary election, and the general election was held on May 20, 2014. If no candidate received a simple majority of the vote in a given race, the top two vote recipients proceeded to a runoff election on July 22, 2014. Seven seats were up for election in 2014.[11]
Candidates began to file affidavits of candidacy on March 3, 2014. The filing deadline for school board candidates to get on the ballot in the general election was March 7, 2014.[11] The qualifying fee to get on the ballot was $540.[12]
Elections
2014
Candidates
District 1
- Stan Jester
- Graduate, the University of Texas
- Software developer
District 2
- Marshall Orson
- Incumbent
- Graduate, Duke University and Duke University School of Law
- Attorney, Melbourne Partners, LLC
District 3
- Michael A. Erwin
- Incumbent
- Runoff candidate
- Graduate, North Carolina Central University and the University of South Carolina
- Assistant professor, the School of Science and Technology at Georgia Gwinnett College
- Veteran, United States Navy
- Atticus LeBlanc
- Runoff candidate
- Graduate, Yale University
- Real estate investor
District 4
- Jim McMahan
- Incumbent
- Runoff candidate
- Residential loan officer, Amstar Mortgage Network
- Karen Carter
- Incumbent
- Runoff candidate
- Graduate, Denison University and The Ohio State University
- Department chair, Georgia Perimeter College at Clarkston
District 5
- Thad Mayfield
- Incumbent
- Runoff candidate
- Graduate, Tougaloo College and Mercer University
- Senior partner, FOCOM, Inc.
- Vickie B. Turner
- Runoff candidate
- Graduate, Bowling Green State University and Troy State University
- Headmaster, The Augustine Preparatory Academy
District 6
- Melvin Johnson
- Incumbent
- Graduate, Fort Valley State University and Clark Atlanta University
- Retired educator
District 7
- Joyce Morley
- Incumbent
- Graduate, SUNY Geneseo, SUNY Brockport and the University of Rochester
- Counselor and business owner, Morley & Associates
Election results
Runoff election
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Michael A. Erwin Incumbent |
58.8% | 4,164 | |
| Nonpartisan | Atticus LeBlanc | 41.2% | 2,916 | |
| Total Votes | 7,080 | |||
| Source: Georgia Secretary of State, "General Primary/General Nonpartisan/Special Election - July 22, 2014," accessed February 23, 2015 | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Jim McMahan Incumbent |
57.5% | 4,624 | |
| Nonpartisan | Karen Carter Incumbent | 42.5% | 3,411 | |
| Total Votes | 8,035 | |||
| Source: Georgia Secretary of State, "General Primary/General Nonpartisan/Special Election - July 22, 2014," accessed February 23, 2015 | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Vickie B. Turner |
59.7% | 5,194 | |
| Nonpartisan | Thad Mayfield Incumbent | 40.3% | 3,500 | |
| Total Votes | 8,694 | |||
| Source: Georgia Secretary of State, "General Primary/General Nonpartisan/Special Election - July 22, 2014," accessed February 23, 2015 | ||||
General election
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Stan Jester |
100% | 6,225 | |
| Total Votes | 6,225 | |||
| Source: Georgia Secretary of State, "General Primary/General Nonpartisan/Special Election - May 20, 2014," accessed July 10, 2014 | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Marshall Orson Incumbent |
61.1% | 4,259 | |
| Nonpartisan | Don McChesney | 38.9% | 2,712 | |
| Total Votes | 6,971 | |||
| Source: Georgia Secretary of State, "General Primary/General Nonpartisan/Special Election - May 20, 2014," accessed July 10, 2014 | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Michael A. Erwin Incumbent |
37.2% | 3,603 | |
| Nonpartisan | Atticus LeBlanc |
20.9% | 2,025 | |
| Nonpartisan | Willie R. Mosley, Jr. | 16.8% | 1,627 | |
| Nonpartisan | Jarrod Jordan | 16.7% | 1,612 | |
| Nonpartisan | Jerrie D. Bason | 8.4% | 810 | |
| Total Votes | 9,677 | |||
| Source: Georgia Secretary of State, "General Primary/General Nonpartisan/Special Election - May 20, 2014," accessed July 10, 2014 | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Karen Carter Incumbent |
35.4% | 3,407 | |
| Nonpartisan | Jim McMahan Incumbent |
29.6% | 2,848 | |
| Nonpartisan | John Oselette | 18.1% | 1,747 | |
| Nonpartisan | Ella Smith | 16.9% | 1,629 | |
| Total Votes | 9,631 | |||
| Source: Georgia Secretary of State, "General Primary/General Nonpartisan/Special Election - May 20, 2014," accessed July 10, 2014 | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Thad Mayfield Incumbent |
36.1% | 4,407 | |
| Nonpartisan | Vickie B. Turner |
28.1% | 3,436 | |
| Nonpartisan | Jesse Cunningham | 27.6% | 3,372 | |
| Nonpartisan | R. Alexander Fitzhugh | 4.5% | 549 | |
| Nonpartisan | Pia Bhatti | 3.8% | 460 | |
| Total Votes | 12,224 | |||
| Source: Georgia Secretary of State, "General Primary/General Nonpartisan/Special Election - May 20, 2014," accessed July 10, 2014 | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Melvin Johnson Incumbent |
78.3% | 7,000 | |
| Nonpartisan | Bridgeman Bolger | 21.7% | 1,944 | |
| Total Votes | 8,944 | |||
| Source: Georgia Secretary of State, "General Primary/General Nonpartisan/Special Election - May 20, 2014," accessed July 10, 2014 | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Joyce Morley Incumbent |
61.6% | 4,692 | |
| Nonpartisan | Kim Ault | 20.9% | 1,590 | |
| Nonpartisan | Lee V. Dukes | 17.6% | 1,341 | |
| Total Votes | 7,623 | |||
| Source: Georgia Secretary of State, "General Primary/General Nonpartisan/Special Election - May 20, 2014," accessed July 10, 2014 | ||||
Endorsements
District 2 incumbent Marshall Orson received endorsements from the DeKalb, the Georgia and the National Association of Realtors.[13]
District 3 candidate Atticus LeBlanc received an endorsement from Avondale Estates Mayor Ed Rieker before the general election.[14] Following their defeat in the District 3 general election on May 20, 2014, Jerrie D. Bason, Jarrod Jordan and Willie R. Mosley, Jr. all endorsed LeBlanc instead of incumbent Michael A. Erwin for the District 3 seat.[15]
District 4 incumbent Jim McMahan received endorsements from the DeKalb, the Georgia and the National Association of Realtors. He was also endorsed by former DeKalb County sheriff and congressional candidate Thomas Brown, who lost in the Democratic primary on May 20, 2014.[16]
District 7 incumbent Joyce Morley received endorsements from the Georgia Federation of Teachers and the Georgia Association of Realtors. She was also endorsed by DeKalb County District 5 Commissioner Lee May, pastor Kerwin B. Lee, STC Audio & Video, LLC and Monarch Consulting, LLC.[17]
Campaign finance
Candidates received a total of $42,448.83 and spent a total of $10,115.89 prior to the election, according to the DeKalb County Department of Voter Registration and Elections.[18]
In the District 1 race, no contributions or expenditures were reported during the election.
In the District 2 race, Marshall Orson raised a total of $16,202.64 and spent a total of $623.85.
| Candidate | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marshall Orson | $16,202.64 | $623.85 | $15,578.79 |
| Don McChesney | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
In the District 3 race, candidates raised a total of $13,601.52 and spent a total of $4,280.57.
| Candidate | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michael A. Erwin | $500.00 | $0.00 | $500.00 |
| Jerrie D. Bason | $1,150.00 | $2,858.48 | -$1,708.48 |
| Jarrod Jordan | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Atticus LeBlanc | $11,951.52 | $1,422.09 | $10,529.43 |
| Willie R. Mosley, Jr. | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
In the District 4 race, candidates raised a total of $525.00 but made no expenditures.
| Candidate | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jim McMahan | $525.00 | $0.00 | -$3,265.00 |
| Karen Carter | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| John Oselette | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Ella Smith | $0.00 | $0.00 | -$270.09 |
In the District 5 race, candidates raised a total of $3,598.00 and spent a total of $1,639.92.
| Candidate | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thad Mayfield | $1,173.00 | $798.56 | $374.44 |
| Pia Bhatti | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Jesse Cunningham | $1,975.00 | $841.36 | $1,133.64 |
| R. Alexander Fitzhugh | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Vickie B. Turner | $450.00 | $0.00 | $450.00 |
In the District 6 race, candidates raised a total of $7,213.00 and spent a total of $2,382.40.
| Candidate | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Melvin Johnson | $6,700.00 | $1,932.40 | $4,767.60 |
| Bridgeman Bolger | $513.00 | $450.00 | $63.00 |
In the District 7 race, Lee V. Dukes raised a total of $1,308.67 and spent a total of $1,189.15.
| Candidate | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joyce Morley | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Kim Ault | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Lee V. Dukes | $1,308.67 | $1,189.15 | $119.52 |
Past elections
Information about earlier elections can be found by clicking [show] at the right. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for the DeKalb County School District election in 2014:[11]
| Deadline | Event |
|---|---|
| March 3, 2014 | First day to file nominating petitions |
| March 7, 2014 | Last day to file nominating petitions |
| April 21, 2014 | Last day to register to vote in the general election |
| April 28, 2014 | Advance voting begins |
| May 20, 2014 | Election day |
| July 22, 2014 | Runoff election (if needed) |
Additional elections on the ballot
This election shared the ballot with a special election for DeKalb County sheriff, three elections for positions on the Georgia Supreme Court, five elections for positions on the Georgia Court of Appeals, three elections for positions on the Superior Court of the Stone Mountain Judicial Circuit and two elections for positions on the State Court of DeKalb County. Clarkston residents voted to enact four local tax exemptions.[19]
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "DeKalb + County + School + District + Georgia"
See also
- Georgia
- DeKalb County School District, Georgia
- Georgia school board elections, 2014
- List of school board elections in 2014
- School board elections, 2014
- DeKalb County, Georgia ballot measures
- Local ballot measures, Georgia
- Newcomers win three-quarters of school board seats in Georgia runoff elections
External links
- DeKalb County School District
- DeKalb County Department of Voter Registration and Elections
- Georgia Secretary of State
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "Big slate of candidates for crucial school board election," March 7, 2014
- ↑ 90.1 WABE, "DeKalb School Board Races Draw Crowded Field," March 18, 2014
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 DeKalb County, "Judges, State Court & Board of Education; Sheriff Special Election; Soil & Water Commission; Nonpartisan Qualified Candidates," accessed May 8, 2014
- ↑ CBS Atlanta, "Governor Deal Suspends DeKalb School Board Members," February 25, 2013
- ↑ Governor Nathan Deal - Office of the Governor, "Deal names new members of DeKalb County school board," March 13, 2013
- ↑ The Augusta Chronicle, "Deal praises DeKalb County schools, no longer on probation," January 21, 2014
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 United States Census Bureau, "DeKalb County, Georgia," accessed May 8, 2014
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "ELSI Table Generator," accessed April 21, 2014
- ↑ Georgia Secretary of State, "Current and Past Election Results," accessed May 8, 2014
- ↑ DeKalb County School District, "Board of Education," accessed May 8, 2014
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Georgia Secretary of State, "2014 Elections and Voter Registration Calendar," accessed May 8, 2014
- ↑ DeKalb County, "Qualifying Information and Fees for 2014," accessed May 8, 2014
- ↑ Re-Elect Marshall Orson, "Home," accessed July 15, 2014
- ↑ Elect Atticus, "Avondale Estates Mayor Endorses Atticus LeBlanc," May 10, 2014
- ↑ Elect Atticus, "All 3 former School Board Candidates Endorse Atticus LeBlanc for District 3," July 11, 2014
- ↑ Vote Jim McMahan for School Board in DeKalb County, "Home," accessed July 15, 2014
- ↑ drjoycemorley4schoolboard, "Endorsements," accessed July 15, 2014
- ↑ DeKalb County, "Individual Campaign Contribution Disclosure Reports," accessed May 28, 2014
- ↑ DeKalb County, "DeKalb County Nonpartisan Sample Ballot," accessed May 8, 2014
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