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Fairfield Public Schools elections (2017)
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Five of nine seats on the Fairfield Public Schools Board of Education in Connecticut were up for at-large election on November 7, 2017. One of the seats was up for special election due to a resignation on the board.[1] Newcomer Christine Vitale (D) defeated newcomer Sally Connolly (R) for the two-year seat. Two incumbents filed for re-election. Incumbent Nick Aysseh (R) and newcomers Jennifer Jacobsen (D), Jennifer Leeper (D), and Jeff Peterson (R) won the four-year seats. John Convertito (D) and incumbent Marc Patten (D), though they received the third- and fifth-highest vote total, respectively, were not elected due to a state minority election law that prevents one political party from controlling more than two-thirds of the board's seats.[2]
Republican candidates Chris McCoy and Joe Palmer withdrew their candidacy and did not appear on the ballot.[3][4]
Elections
Voter and candidate information
The Fairfield Public Schools Board of Education is composed of nine partisan members who are elected at large to four-year terms. Five seats were up for election on November 7, 2017.
As of the 2017 election, state law required a minimum of one-third of the board's seats to be held by minority parties following each election.[5] As a maximum of six seats on the Fairfield Public Schools Board of Education could be held by members of the same political party, Fairfield's town charter stated that parties could nominate as many candidates as there were seats up for election, but only a bare majority of candidates from the same party might be elected. In years in which five seats were up for election, if more than three candidates from the same party were the top vote-getters, only three of those candidates would be declared winners. Candidates from other parties who received the next-highest number of votes would be elected.[6]
To cast a ballot in this election, citizens had to register to vote by October 31, 2017.[7] For information on the voter identification requirements in Connecticut, please click here.
Candidates and results
At-large (4-year)
Results
These election results are unofficial and will be updated after official vote totals are made available.
| Fairfield Public Schools, At-Large General Election, 4-year terms, 2017 |
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| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Jennifer Jacobsen |
19.86% | 7,627 | |
| Democratic | Jennifer Leeper |
19.18% | 7,366 | |
| Democratic | John Convertito | 17.18% | 6,595 | |
| Republican | Jeff Peterson |
15.12% | 5,806 | |
| Democratic | Marc Patten Incumbent | 14.85% | 5,701 | |
| Republican | Nick Aysseh Incumbent |
13.80% | 5,300 | |
| Total Votes | 38,395 | |||
| Source: Fairfield, Connecticut, "Town of Fairfield - 11/07/2017 Election, Unofficial Results," accessed November 10, 2017 | ||||
Candidates
 Marc Patten
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John Convertito
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Jennifer Jacobsen 
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Jennifer Leeper
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 Nick Aysseh
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Jeff Peterson
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Joe Palmer
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Chris McCoy
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At-large (2-year)
Results
These election results are unofficial and will be updated after official vote totals are made available.
| Fairfield Public Schools, At-Large General Election, 2-year term, 2017 |
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| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Christine Vitale |
55.04% | 6,380 | |
| Republican | Sally Connolly | 44.96% | 5,212 | |
| Total Votes | 11,592 | |||
| Source: Fairfield, Connecticut, "Town of Fairfield - 11/07/2017 Election, Unofficial Results," accessed November 10, 2017 | ||||
Candidates
| Christine Vitale
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Sally Connolly
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Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: Connecticut elections, 2017
The Fairfield Public Schools Board of Education was scheduled to share the ballot with the board of finance, town plan and zoning commission, zoning board of appeals, and the representative town meeting for District 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10.[8]
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for this Connecticut school board election in 2017:[7]
Endorsements
Do you know of an official or organization that endorsed a candidate in this race? Let Ballotpedia know by email at editor@ballotpedia.org.
Campaign finance
All candidates had to register with the town clerk in charge of their election within 10 days of becoming a candidate. At that time, candidates had to declare their campaign funding source. They could choose to be funded by one of three types of committees: a single candidate committee, a political slate committee, or a town committee.[9]
Single candidate committees are formed to fund the candidate's campaign in only one election. The Connecticut State Elections Enforcement Commission states that this is the most common type of committee formed. Political slate committees are formed for a particular election and must be the source of funding for two or more candidates. An exception to the multiple-candidate rule is when only one candidate on the slate advances past the primary election, leaving a single candidate in the slate. Town committees are established by political parties to fund multiple candidates over multiple election cycles. Like political slate committees, town committees must fund two or more candidates, unless only one candidate makes it past the primary election.[9][10]
Candidates may be exempt from registering under a committee if they plan to only use personal funds to finance their campaign, do not expect to spend or receive more than $1,000, or do not expect to spend or receive any funds. If any of these conditions change, candidates had three days to update their registration.[9][10]
Candidates who participated in the general election had different filing deadlines than candidates who participated in the primary election.[11]
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Past elections
To see results from past elections in Fairfield Public Schools, click here.
What was at stake?
Report a story for this election
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Candidate survey
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About the district
- See also: Fairfield Public Schools, Connecticut
Fairfield Public Schools is located in southwestern Connecticut in Fairfield County. The county does not have a county seat. The county was home to an estimated 944,177 residents from 2010 to 2016, according to the United States Census Bureau.[12] The district was the ninth-largest school district in the state in the 2014-2015 school year and served 10,176 students.[13]
Demographics
Fairfield County overperformed in comparison to the rest of Connecticut in terms of higher education achievement from 2010 to 2016. The United States Census Bureau found that 45.8 percent of county residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree, compared to 37.6 percent of state residents. The median household income in Fairfield County was $84,233, while it was $70,331 for Connecticut. The county poverty rate was 9.0 percent, compared to the state's 9.8 percent.[12]
| Racial Demographics, 2010-2016[12] | ||
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| Race | Fairfield County (%) | Connecticut (%) |
| White | 79.2 | 80.6 |
| Black or African American | 12.5 | 11.8 |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Asian | 5.7 | 4.7 |
| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Two or More Races | 2.1 | 2.3 |
| Hispanic or Latino | 19.4 | 15.7 |
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 Fairfield Public Schools Connecticut election. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Fairfield Public Schools | Connecticut | School Boards |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Fairfield Citizen, "Republicans pick Nick Aysseh for vacated BOE seat," accessed July 24, 2017
- ↑ Danbury, Connecticut, "Election Results," accessed November 10, 2017
- ↑ Marielle Bricker, "Phone conversation with Town Clerk's office," October 24, 2017
- ↑ Connecticut Secretary of State, "Fairfield Sample Ballot," accessed October 24, 2017
- ↑ Connecticut General Assembly, "Chapter 146: Sec. 9-167a. Minority representation," accessed September 18, 2017
- ↑ Fairfield, Connecticut, "Fairfield Town Charter," accessed September 20, 2017
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Office of the Secretary of the State, "November 7, 2017 Municipal Election Calendar," accessed August 10, 2017
- ↑ Fairfield Citizen, "Democrats set a full slate for November election," July 27, 2017
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Connecticut State Elections Enforcement Commission, "Understanding the Connecticut Campaign Finance Laws: A Guide for Municipal Candidates," accessed August 10, 2017
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Connecticut State Elections Enforcement Commission, "2017 Municipal Election Campaign Overview," accessed August 10, 2017
- ↑ Connecticut State Elections Enforcement Commission, "2017 Filing Calendar," accessed August 10, 2017
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 United States Census Bureau, "Fairfield County, Connecticut," accessed September 21, 2017
- ↑ U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, "Common Core of Data, file ccd_lea_052_1414_w_0216161a, 2014-2015," accessed November 16, 2016
| Fairfield Public Schools elections in 2017 | |
| Fairfield County, Connecticut | |
| Election date: | November 7, 2017 |
| Candidates: | At-large (4-year): Incumbent, Marc Patten • Incumbent, Nick Aysseh • John Convertito • Jennifer Jacobsen • Jennifer Leeper Chris McCoy • Joe Palmer • Jeff Peterson At-large (2-year): Christine Vitale • Sally Connolly |
| Important information: | What was at stake? |
