Donna Independent School District elections (2014)
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Four seats on the Donna Independent School District Board of Trustees were up for general election on November 4, 2014. The election was for Places 5, 6 and 7, in addition to a special election in Place 3 for an unexpired term.
Only one of the three incumbents running in the election won re-election. The Place 3 race saw Tammy Ramos defeat Rodolfo Perez. Place 5 incumbent Reynaldo Alegria lost to challenger Eloy Infante. Incumbent Angeles Magallanes lost the Place 6 seat to challenger Elpidio Yanez Jr. In the Place 7 race, incumbent Efren Ceniceros retained his seat by defeating Juan Francisco de los Rios.
About the district
- See also: Donna Independent School District, Texas
Donna Independent School District is located in Hidalgo County, Texas. The county seat is Edinburg. Hidalgo County was home to 818,942 residents in 2013, according to the United States Census Bureau.[1] In the 2012-2013 school year, Donna Independent School District was the 73rd-largest school district in Texas and served 15,276 students.[2]
Demographics
Hidalgo County underperformed in comparison to the rest of Texas in terms of higher education achievement in 2013. The United States Census Bureau found that 15.9 percent of Hidalgo County residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree compared to 26.7 percent for Texas as a whole. The median household income in Hidalgo County was $34,146 compared to $51,900 for the state of Texas. The poverty rate in Hidalgo County was 34.8 percent compared to 17.6 percent for the entire state.[1]
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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 Donna ISD Board of Trustees consists of seven members elected to four-year terms, and serve the district at-large. There
was
no primary election, and the general election
was
held on November 4, 2014. Four seats, including the unexpired term in Place 3,
were
up for election in 2014.[4]
Candidates began filing nominating petitions on July 19, 2014. The filing deadline for school board candidates to get on the ballot in the general election was August 18, 2014.[5]
Elections
2014
Place 3
Place 5
- Reynaldo Alegria
- Incumbent
- Eloy Infante
Place 6
- Angeles Magallanes
- Incumbent
- Elpidio Yanez Jr.
Place 7
- Efren Ceniceros
- Incumbent
- Juan Francisco de los Rios
Election results
Place 3
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Tammy Ramos |
59.2% | 3,212 | |
| Nonpartisan | Rodolfo Perez | 40.8% | 2,218 | |
| Total Votes | 5,430 | |||
| Source: Hidalgo County Clerk, "Official Results," accessed December 29, 2014 | ||||
Place 5
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Eloy Infante |
60.9% | 3,314 | |
| Nonpartisan | Reynaldo Alegria Incumbent | 39.1% | 2,130 | |
| Total Votes | 5,444 | |||
| Source: Hidalgo County Clerk, "Official Results," accessed December 29, 2014 | ||||
Place 6
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Elpidio Yanez Jr. |
56.6% | 3,063 | |
| Nonpartisan | Angeles Magallanes Incumbent | 43.4% | 2,352 | |
| Total Votes | 5,415 | |||
| Source: Hidalgo County Clerk, "Official Results," accessed December 29, 2014 | ||||
Place 7
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Efren Ceniceros Incumbent |
50.1% | 2,728 | |
| Nonpartisan | Juan Francisco de los Rios | 49.9% | 2,713 | |
| Total Votes | 5,441 | |||
| Source: Hidalgo County Clerk, "Official Results," accessed December 29, 2014 | ||||
Endorsements
No candidate publicly received an endorsement in this election.
Campaign finance
Candidates must file reports with the Texas Ethics Commission or the appropriate county clerk. They must disclose the amount of each contribution (or the value and nature of any in-kind contribution), the name and address of the individual or political committee making the contribution and the date of the contribution. Filers must also report all expenditures, including the date of an expenditure, the name and address of the person to whom the expenditure is made and the purpose of the expenditure.[6]
Past elections
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What was at stake?
Issues in the district
2012 vote-buying scandal
Following the 2012 school board election in Donna ISD, it was discovered that several individuals were offering voters cash, cocaine, alcohol and cigarettes in exchange for votes. By October 2014, four suspects had been convicted of conspiracy and voter fraud charges. Despite the election being local, federal law enforcement may conduct an investigation if federal candidates were also on the ballot. Francisco "Frankie" Garcia, Rebecca Gonzalez and Diana Castañeda, all of Donna, and Guadalupe Escamilla, of Weslaco, were arrested in connection with the scheme. According to authorities, Garcia offered voters either cocaine or $10 per vote; Castañeda, Gonzalez and Escamilla bought votes with cash, beer and cigarettes. The four individuals were allegedly all employed by the same slate of candidates, though Assistant U.S. Attorney James Leo, who is serving prosecutor, declined to name the suspected candidates.[7][8]
The FBI also arrested two other women in August 2014, Veronica Saldivar and Belinda Solis, on suspicion that the two had traded cash and cocaine in the 2012 Democratic primary for Hidalgo County Precinct 1 commissioner and the 2012 Donna school board race.[7]
Castañeda and Garcia were sentenced to 8 and 18 months in federal prison, respectively, in February 2015. The judge described it as a “whole corruption" of the election process.[9] Likewise in May 2015, Gonzalez was sentenced to four months in federal prison, while Saldivar was sentenced to eight months and two years supervision.[10]
Board president suicide
Amid an FBI investigation regarding vote-buying in the 2012 election, Donna school board President Alfredo Lugo committed suicide on January 1, 2014. Though it isn't clear whether the investigation prompted the act, Lugo and the three incumbents he ran with as a slate were re-elected in 2012. The criminal complaints against those charged with conspiracy and voter fraud do not name Lugo or any other Donna school board member.[11]
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for the Donna Independent School District election in 2014:[5]
| Deadline | Event |
|---|---|
| July 19, 2014 | First day to file for place on general election ballot |
| August 18, 2014 | Last day to file for place on general election ballot |
| October 6, 2014 | Voter registration deadline |
| October 20, 2014 | Early voting begins |
| October 31, 2014 | Last day of early voting |
| November 4, 2014 | Election day |
Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: Texas elections, 2014
This election shared the ballot with general elections for U.S. House seats, Texas state executive offices and one seat in the U.S. House Senate. It also shared the ballot with other county and municipal elections. There was one statewide measure on the ballot regarding the diversion of oil and gasoline tax revenues from the state's "Rainy Day Fund" into transportation funding.[5]
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Donna + Independent + School + District + Texas"
See also
- Texas
- Donna Independent School District, Texas
- Texas school board elections, 2014
- List of school board elections in 2014
- School board elections, 2014
- Hidalgo County, Texas ballot measures
- Local ballot measures, Texas
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 United States Census Bureau, "Hidalgo County, Texas," accessed July 31, 2014
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "ELSI Table Generator," accessed April 16, 2015
- ↑ Hidalgo County Clerk, "General Election Results," accessed December 30, 2014
- ↑ Donna Independent School District, "Board of Trustees," accessed July 31, 2014
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Texas Secretary of State, "Important 2014 Election Dates," accessed July 31, 2014
- ↑ Texas Ethics Commission, "Campaign Finance Guide for Candidates and Officeholders Who File With Local Filing Authorities," September 1, 2013
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 The Monitor, "Another Donna school board election worker charged in coke-for-votes scheme," September 22, 2014
- ↑ Breitbart, "Another Texas Dope-the-Vote Ring Member Admits Voter Fraud," May 7, 2014
- ↑ KRGV, "Campaign Workers Sentenced for Voter Fraud," February 24, 2015
- ↑ Valley Central, "Two ‘politiqueras’ sentenced to less than a year in vote-buying scheme," May 16, 2015
- ↑ The Monitor, "Board president’s suicide comes amid FBI accusations of vote-buying in Donna election," January 3, 2014
| 2014 Donna Independent School District Elections | |
| Hidalgo County, Texas | |
| Election date: | November 4, 2014 |
| Candidates: | Place 3: • Tammy Ramos • Rodolfo Perez Place 5: • Incumbent, Reynaldo Alegria • Eloy Infante |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
