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Esther Wells
Esther Wells ran for election to the Montgomery County Board of Education to represent District 1 in Maryland. She lost in the general election on November 8, 2022.
Wells completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Esther Wells was born in Arima, Trinidad. She earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Maryland, College Park in 2009 and a graduate degree from Northeastern University in 2015.[1]
Elections
2022
See also: Montgomery County Public Schools, Maryland, elections (2022)
General election
General election for Montgomery County Board of Education District 1
Grace Rivera-Oven defeated Esther Wells in the general election for Montgomery County Board of Education District 1 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Grace Rivera-Oven (Nonpartisan) | 59.4 | 147,977 |
 | Esther Wells (Nonpartisan)  | 39.9 | 99,468 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.7 | 1,737 | ||
| Total votes: 249,182 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for Montgomery County Board of Education District 1
Grace Rivera-Oven and Esther Wells defeated Jay Guan and Alexander Fahmy in the primary for Montgomery County Board of Education District 1 on July 19, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Grace Rivera-Oven (Nonpartisan) | 46.0 | 62,490 |
| ✔ | | Esther Wells (Nonpartisan) | 27.7 | 37,553 |
| Jay Guan (Nonpartisan) | 14.9 | 20,195 | ||
| Alexander Fahmy (Nonpartisan) | 11.4 | 15,504 | ||
| Total votes: 135,742 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Campaign themes
2022
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Esther Wells completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Wells' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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- I am running to provide needed accountability to the $3B budget, ensure oversight of spending is in the best interest of the community, and return MCPS to excellence and a system where all students feel welcome. As your next board member, I would prioritize ensuring that we address learning loss and the mental health crisis. Ignoring or glossing over these important issues is a disservice to our entire community and I commit to supporting our community through holding the system accountable for positive outcomes.
- I am a servant leader & a role model for students in MCPS. I am the only candidate with professional financial statement experience & can provide adequate financial oversight of MCPS’ operating budget & financial statement audits. I will provide needed financial oversight of MCPS’ $3B budget & communicate about the finances of MCPS school system clearly with the community.
- I am the only candidate in my race with any teaching experience. I’ve taught Junior Achievement in MCPS, tutored college students in advance level math courses & Accounting courses at the University of MD. I will elevate the voice of the most vulnerable populations as a black, immigrant, female, mother of a disabled son.
I would work towards ensuring that our system is fiscally healthy to provide needed programs & expand services such as universal pre-K, tutoring & other programs to help close the academic achievement gap. None of these priorities will succeed without ensuring that we have a fiscally healthy system when federal pandemic relief dollars expire. Allow teachers more time to teach & reduce the level of testing that we currently offer our students.
Brown v. Board of Education laid the foundation for educating people of color & ensuring access to a quality public education. This same framework was used for the creation of Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, ensuring that students with disabilities receive a free & appropriate public education.
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
2022 Elections
External links
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Candidate Montgomery County Board of Education District 1 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on October 8, 2022
