Erica Halpern

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Erica Halpern

Nonpartisan

Prior offices

Del Mar Union School District Board of Trustees At-large

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Education

Bachelor's

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 1995

Graduate

Columbia University - Columbia Business School, 2001

Contact

Campaign website

Erica Halpern was a member of the Del Mar Union School District Board of Trustees At-large in California. She assumed office in 2016. She left office on December 13, 2024.

Halpern ran for re-election to the Del Mar Union School District Board of Trustees At-large in California. She won in the general election on November 3, 2020.

Halpern completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Erica Halpern earned a bachelor's degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1995 and a master's degree from Columbia Business School in 2001.

Elections

2020

See also: Del Mar Union School District, California, elections (2020)

General election

General election for Del Mar Union School District Board of Trustees At-large (2 seats)

Incumbent Erica Halpern and incumbent Gee Wah Mok defeated Marianne Grosner and Kymberley Van Der Linden in the general election for Del Mar Union School District Board of Trustees At-large on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Erica Halpern (Nonpartisan)	36.9	14,139
✔	Submit photo	Gee Wah Mok (Nonpartisan)	33.2	12,730
		Marianne Grosner (Nonpartisan)	15.5	5,963
	Submit photo	Kymberley Van Der Linden (Nonpartisan)	14.4	5,525

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 38,357
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Justin Cox (Nonpartisan)

Endorsements

To view Halpern's endorsements in the 2020 election, please click here.

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Erica Halpern completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Halpern's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Erica is serving in her second year as President of the Board of Trustees. She was selected for the Board in 2015 after serving as PTA president and advocating for our schools. Her three children attended DMUSD since Kindergarten, and two have graduated. She has volunteered in the classroom for the past nine years.

Her professional background is in business and finance at Goldman Sachs in New York advising major corporations on strategic transactions. She began her career in an under-served middle school in San Francisco and now works in nonprofit management at San Diego Social Venture Partners. Her career includes positions in education reform and public affairs.

Erica holds an MBA in Real Estate Finance from Columbia Business School and a BA in Journalism from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She has a Masters in Governance from the California School Board Association.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Protect our EXCEPTIONAL EDUCATION with test scores in the top 1% in the state, low class sizes and highly trained teachers.
• Continue FISCAL DISCIPLINE and balanced budgets to make sure taxpayers get the full value of their investment in our kids' future. This maintains property values for all.
• Keep our schools OPEN SAFELY. Parents have a choice unique in San Diego. We have all of our schools open in-person and full-time with extensive safety measures, as well as a top-notch remote learning option.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Our elementary schools deliver the best in public education. Continuing to do so requires the highest standards of excellence and relentless fiscal discipline. My experience in finance, business and nonprofit management makes me a voice for sound decisions. As the mother of three children who attend or graduated from DMUSD, quality education is at the heart of every vote.

In Del Mar and Carmel Valley, our top-notch schools form the core of the community and support strong property values. As Board President, my focus is responsible budgeting and strategic resource allocation to ensure low class sizes, the best teachers and a rigorous curriculum that reaches every child.

Please help me continue to put educational excellence first and ensure we as taxpayers get the full value of our investment.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

See also

2020 Elections

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Candidate

Del Mar Union School District Board of Trustees At-large

Website