Don Cotton (Arizona)
Don Cotton was a candidate for at-large representative on the Tucson Unified School District Governing Board in Arizona. He ran for election and was defeated in the November 4, 2014, general election.
Cotton also ran unsuccessfully for the board in 2012. While the board is a nonpartisan political body, Cotton is a Democrat.[1]
Elections
2014
Incumbents Michael Hicks and Adelita Grijalva faced a wide field of challengers in the November 4, 2014, general election. Don Cotton, Jen Darland, Betts Putnam-Hidalgo, Debe Campos-Fleenor, Francis Saitta, Rene Bernal and Miguel Cuevas ran to unseat the at-large board members.[2]
Results
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan |  Adelita Grijalva Incumbent |
19.5% | 34,347 | |
| Nonpartisan | Michael Hicks Incumbent |
16.3% | 28,708 | |
| Nonpartisan | Jen Darland | 16% | 28,191 | |
| Nonpartisan | Don Cotton | 10.7% | 18,944 | |
| Nonpartisan | Debe Campos-Fleenor | 10% | 17,647 | |
| Nonpartisan | Betts Putnam-Hidalgo | 9.6% | 16,927 | |
| Nonpartisan | Rene Bernal | 8.7% | 15,424 | |
| Nonpartisan | Miguel Cuevas | 6.6% | 11,581 | |
| Nonpartisan | Francis Saitta | 2.2% | 3,952 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in votes | 0.3% | 585 | |
| Total Votes | 176,306 | |||
| Source: Pima County Elections, "Official Results," accessed December 30, 2014 | ||||
Funding
As of October 28, 2014, Cotton had not reported any contributions or expenditures according to the Pima County Elections Department.[3]
Endorsements
Cotton did not receive any official endorsements.
2012
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Kristel Ann Foster |
13% | 41,372 | |
| Nonpartisan | Mark Stegeman Incumbent |
12.4% | 39,538 | |
| Nonpartisan | Cam S. Juarez |
10.6% | 33,863 | |
| Nonpartisan | Miguel Cuevas Incumbent | 9.6% | 30,757 | |
| Nonpartisan | Debe Campos-Fleenor | 9% | 28,776 | |
| Nonpartisan | John A. Hunnicutt | 8.9% | 28,326 | |
| Nonpartisan | Betts Putnam-Hidalgo | 8.1% | 25,802 | |
| Nonpartisan | Don Cotton | 7.7% | 24,418 | |
| Nonpartisan | Ralph E. Ellinwood | 7% | 22,287 | |
| Nonpartisan | Alexandre Sugiyama | 6.5% | 20,609 | |
| Nonpartisan | Robert Medler | 4.7% | 14,874 | |
| Nonpartisan | Menelik Bakari | 2.2% | 6,993 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in votes | 0.4% | 1,406 | |
| Total Votes | 319,021 | |||
| Source: Pima County Elections Department, "General Election November 6, 2012, Results," accessed August 29, 2014 | ||||
Campaign themes
2014
Cotton provided the following statement in English and Spanish to the Pima County School Superintendent's office:
| “ | Por qué busco ser elegido para la junta de gobierno del TUSD. Y la simple respuesta es que el TUSD está roto y me gustaría arreglarlo. La actual junta de gobierno no está haciendo su trabajo para proporcionar la mejor educación a sus hijos. Soy candidato porque creo que los padres del TUSD necesitan a alguien que escuche sus sugerencias, a alguien que este dispuesto a comunicarse con ellos y a alguien que proporcione una voz representativa en la junta. El enfoque en mejorar la educación del estudiante es la razón de la existencia de la junta y ellos no han proporcionado eso en nuestras escuelas. El TUSD ha de usar un enfoque como de láser para reducir el alto índice de estudiantes que abandonan la escuela y motivar a los estudiantes al tiempo que apoya con solidez a sus maestros para que pueda volver a ganar la confianza de los padres que le confían la educación y futuro éxito de sus hijos y de nuestra comunidad. Mantener a los niños en las escuelas y aumentar los índices de graduación es un importante objetivo mío y si un niño deja la escuela eso ya es demasiado. Es inaceptable para mi y para los padres de estos niños que estén dejando las escuelas a un índice tan alarmante. Uno de mis objetivos es hacer que el TUSD reduzca el tamaño de las clases, mejorar a los estudiantes técnicamente competentes que pueden comunicarse y leer bien, que son socialmente y moralmente responsables y que tienen una mente constructivamente crítica. Creo que es importante que una junta escolar responda a las preocupaciones de los padres, estudiantes y maestros fomentando el diálogo abierto y dando consideración a todos los hechos antes de tomar cualquier decisión en nombre de la comunidad. Es también importante crear un comité asesor del presupuesto formado por miembros de la comunidad para obtener sus ideas sobre la financiación de las escuelas. Como un miembro de la junta escolar, buscaré y escucharé las ideas creativas de los padres y maestros que nos ayudan a mejorar nuestra educación para que todos nuestros estudiantes tengan éxito en sus escuelas. Si bien no se puede negar que el TUSD se enfrenta
a difíciles tiempos económicos, también está claro que la administración del TUSD no ha estado a la altura del desafío de administrar su presupuesto en una forma fiscalmente responsable. Administraciones del TUSD pasadas y presente han fallado consistentemente para reducir suficientemente los gastos fijos, y a pesar de ello continúa gastando alocadamente dinero del distrito adicional. Serán necesarias decisiones difíciles de la Junta de Gobierno y yo estoy preparado para tomar esas difíciles decisiones al tiempo que espero que la administración del TUSD sea responsable de cada centavo que gasta. Es el momento para que el sentido común prevalezca. Comprender los retos del Distrito, así como ayudar a delinear estrategias de éxito para cubrir esos retos.[4] |
” |
| —Don Cotton (2014)[5] | ||
| “ | Why I’m seeking to get elected to TUSD governing board. And the simple answer is that TUSD is broken and I would like to fix it. The present governing board is not doing their job in providing the best education for your child. I am a candidate because I believe that the parents of TUSD need someone to listen to their input, someone willing to communicate with them and someone to provide a representative voice on the board. The focus on improving student’s education is the reason for the boards' existence and they have not provided that in our schools. TUSD must use laser-like focus to reduce its high dropout rate and motivate students while strongly supporting its teachers so it can regain the trust of the parents who entrust it with the education and future success of their children and our community. Keeping kids in school and increasing the graduation rates is an important goal of mine, and if one child drops out that is one child to many. It is unacceptable to me and the parents of these kids to be leaving school at such an alarming rate. One of my goal is to have TUSD reduce class room size, improve technically competent knowledgeable students who can communicate and read well, who are socially and morally responsible, and who have a constructively critical mindset. I believe it’s important for a school governing board to be responsible to parents, students and teachers concerns by encouraging open dialog and give consideration to all the facts before making any decisions on behave of the community. It is also important to create a budget advisory committee made up of members of the community to get their impute on funding for the schools. As a school board member I will seek out and listen to the creative ideas from parents and teachers that will help us improve our education for all our students to succeed in their schools. While it is undeniable that TUSD is facing tough economic times, it is also clear that the TUSD administration has not been up to the challenge of managing its budget in a fiscally responsible manner. Past and present TUSD administrations have consistently failed to sufficiently reduce overhead, yet continue to spend additional district money foolishly. Tough choices will be required of the Governing Board, and I am prepared to make those tough choices while expecting the TUSD administration to be accountable for every penny it spends. It is time for common sense to prevail. understand the District’s challenges, as
well as helping to map out successful strategies to meet those challenges.[4] |
” |
| —Don Cotton (2014)[5] | ||
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Don + Cotton + Tucson + Unified + School + District"
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedBFA - ↑ Pima County School Superintendent's Office, "Official list of 2014 governing board candidates," accessed August 18, 2014
- ↑ Pima County Elections Department, "Welcome to Campaign Finance Web," accessed October 28, 2014
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Pima County School Superintendent, "GOVERNING BOARD CANDIDATE STATEMENT TUCSON UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 1: DON COTTON," accessed September 30, 2014
| 2014 Tucson Unified School District Elections | |
| Pima County, Arizona | |
| Election date: | November 4, 2014 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Incumbent, Michael Hicks • Incumbent, Adelita Grijalva • Don Cotton • Jen Darland • Betts Putnam-Hidalgo • Debe Campos-Fleenor • Francis Saitta • Rene Bernal • Miguel Cuevas |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
