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Diane Raulston recall, Prince William County Public Schools, Virginia (2016)
| Prince William County Public Schools Board recall |
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| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2016 Recalls in Virginia Virginia recall laws School board recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall Diane Raulston from her position as representative of the Neabsco District on the Prince William County Public Schools school board was started in August 2016, but it did not move forward. A group called the Prince William County Democratic Campaign Committee started the recall due to charges that Raulston had ignored her constituents and had "threatened" teachers who spoke against board decisions. Raulston said she had publicly apologized for the remarks she made to teachers and said it was a "misunderstanding." She also denied the allegation that she had ignored her constituents.[1]
Raulston was first elected to a four-year term on the board on November 3, 2015. She won the open Neabsco District seat, defeating one fellow candidate by taking more than 70 percent of the vote.[2]
Raulston's fellow board member Ryan Sawyers was also targeted for recall in 2016. His recall effort stemmed from a disagreement with his position on expanding the district's nondiscrimination policy. He was also accused of misusing his office and discriminating against district staff.[3]
Recall supporters
A group called the Prince William County Democratic Campaign Committee led the recall effort. Nate Salzman, a Democratic political strategist, was the group's executive director.[1] Salzman did not reveal the other members of the recall group.[4]
Salzman released the following statement following the announcement of the recall effort.[1]
| “ | Our committee supports progressive values and representative leadership in Prince William County. Unfortunately, Diane Raulston has chosen to ignore her constituents and threaten teachers from her position on the school board. ... This behavior is not acceptable from either political party. It is clear that [Raulston] does not share our community's values. It is time for new leadership in Prince William County.[5] | ” |
| —Nate Salzman (August 31, 2016)[1] | ||
Members of the recall committee said Raulston "violated the public trust" by threatening teachers who opposed the school board's decision to rename a district middle school. The school changed from Godwin Middle to George M. Hampton Middle, in honor of a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel in the community.[1]
Supporters of the recall effort also said Raulston had "pledged to fill a vacant board seat with a Republican," rather than a Democratically-endorsed candidate. The temporary vacancy on the board was created when Republican board member Gilbert Trenum was deployed to Africa.[1] The board unanimously appointed Shawn L. Brann, one of Trenum's recommended replacements and a Republican-endorsed candidate.[6]
Recall opponents
Raulston and two of her fellow board members, Loree Williams and Justin Wilk, expressed surprise at the news of the recall effort. All three members were Democrats, and none were involved with the recall effort. School Board Chairman Ryan Sawyers, another Democrat on the board, also said he was not involved in the recall effort, though Salzman ran his campaign in 2015.[1]
Chairman of the Prince William County Democratic Committee Harry Wiggins also said he was not involved with the recall. "These people have nothing to do with the Democratic committee," said Wiggins. "They're a band of lunatics as far as I'm concerned."[1]
Raulston denied the allegation that she had ignored her constituents. She also said she had publicly apologized for the remarks she made to teachers related to the renaming of the middle school.[1]
In answer to the allegation that she had pledged to pick a Republican instead of a Democratically-endorsed candidate for Trenum's vacant seat, Raulston said she could not say who she would support. She also said that she was not the only Democratic board member who was considering supporting one of Trenum's Republican recommendations. Sawyers had also said he would consider them.[1]
“I’m honoring [Trenum’s] service to this country and yes, there was a weight on that for one of his people,” said Raulston. “But I have not firmly made a decision.”[4]
The board unanimously appointed Shawn L. Brann, one of Trenum's Republican recommendations, to the board in September 2016.[6]
Williams said she expected the recall effort to fail as there was "no cause" to recall Raulston. Wilk said the recall would not help relations on the board. "We just have so many fights to deal with right now. I think we need to remain focused," said Wilk. “It's about the students, and I don't think this bodes well going into the school year."[1]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Virginia
To move the recall forward, recall supporters would have had to submit a petition "signed by at least 10 percent of the people who voted in the last election for the office being recalled," according to the Prince William Times. Since around 7,000 people voted in the Neabsco District in 2015, approximately 700 signatures would have had to be collected. Once enough signatures were gathered, the petition would have had to be submitted to the circuit court to determine whether or not there was sufficient reason to put the recall on the ballot. The Prince William Times said sufficient reason included "neglect of duty, misuse of office, incompetence in performance and conviction of a misdemeanor relating to drugs or involving a hate crime."[1]
About the district
The Prince William County school district is located in northeast Virginia in Prince William County. The county seat is Manassas. The county was home to 451,721 residents in 2015, according to estimates by the United States Census Bureau.[7] In the 2013-2014 school year, Prince William County Public Schools was the second-largest school district in Virginia and served 85,451 students.[8]
Demographics
Prince William County outperformed Virginia as a whole in terms of higher education achievement from 2010 to 2014. The United States Census Bureau found that 38.1 percent of county residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree, compared to 35.8 percent of state residents. The median household income in Prince William County was $98,514, compared to $64,792 for the entire state. The poverty rate in the county was 7.2 percent, while it was 11.8 percent statewide.[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.
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Diane Raulston' 'Prince William County Public Schools' recall. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Prince William County Public Schools, Virginia
- Prince William County Public Schools elections (2015)
- Recall campaigns in Virginia
- Political recall efforts, 2016
- School board recalls
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 Prince William Times, "Mysterious recall effort targets school board member," September 3, 2016
- ↑ Virginia Department of Elections, "2015 November General," accessed November 4, 2015
- ↑ Prince William Times, "Effort underway to recall Prince William School Board chairman," November 22, 2016
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Prince William Times, "Declared Democrat withdraws name from school board fill-in list," September 6, 2016
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 The Washington Post, "Pr. William School Board chooses Brann as stand-in for Trenum," September 25, 2016
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 United States Census Bureau, "Prince William County, Virginia," accessed September 7, 2016
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "ELSI Table Generator," accessed November 16, 2015
- ↑ Virginia Department of Elections, "Election Results," accessed September 17, 2013
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