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Faith Harrison-Villegas
Faith Harrison-Villegas was a candidate for at-large representative on the Bridgeport Board of Education in Connecticut. She was nominated by her party for the general election on November 3, 2015. However, two Democratic candidates successfully petitioned to force a primary election within their party, which was held on September 16, 2015. Harrison-Villegas placed forth in the primary following a recount, preventing her from advancing to the general election.
Elections
2015
Opposition
Four seats on the Bridgeport Public Schools Board of Education were up for general election on November 3, 2015. A Democratic primary election was held September 16, 2015. Four at-large incumbents' seats were up for election in 2015: Jacquelline Kelleher (D), Hernan Illingworth (D), Kadisha Coates (WFP) and Kenneth Moales Jr. (D). Kelleher, however, resigned from the board on July 31, 2015, to move to New Hampshire.[1] Mary "Kate" Rivera was appointed to fill the vacancy on August 24, 2015. Rivera made it clear at the time that she had no intention to run for a full term in the election.[2] Ultimately, none of the incumbents retained their seats.
Incumbents Illingworth and Coates received the Democratic nominations along with candidate Faith Harrison-Villegas. Their nominations, however, were challenged by primary petitioners Dennis Bradley, Ben Walker and Maria Pereira. The Republican Party nominated John Weldon and Kevin McSpirit. The Connecticut Working Families Party nominated Karen Jackson, as well as Democratic candidate Bradley.
Cross-nominated candidate Bradley, fellow Democratic petitioning challenger Walker and former board member Pereira advanced to the general election.[3][4] The three primary winners also took the top three spots in the general election. McSpirit placed fourth, securing one seat for the Republicans.[5]
Results
Democratic primary
| Bridgeport Public Schools, At-Large, Democratic Primary, 2015 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Dennis Bradley |
17.5% | 5,811 |
| Ben Walker |
17.0% | 5,648 |
| Maria Pereira |
16.9% | 5,625 |
| Faith Harrison-Villegas | 16.8% | 5,597 |
| Kadisha Coates Incumbent | 16.3% | 5,425 |
| Hernan Illingworth Incumbent | 15.6% | 5,188 |
| Total Votes | 33,294 | |
| Source: CT Post, "Bridgeport primary election returns," September 16, 2015 and CT Post, "Recounts settle some, not all races," September 24, 2015 These election results are not official and will be updated when certified results are available. You can submit certified results by contacting us. |
||
Funding
The Bridgeport Town Clerk's office does not publish and freely disclose school board candidate campaign finance reports. If you have any information regarding the campaign finance disclosures in this race, please contact the school board elections team at editor@ballotpedia.org.
Campaign themes
2015
Harrison-Villegas was interviewed by Linda Conner Lambeck of the Connecticut News Blogs. Below are the questions and her responses.
| “ | 1. Tell me a little bit about yourself and why you would make a good school board member.
I am a mother of 2 children in the Bridgeport Public Schools as well as an alum of the Bridgeport Public Schools of Newfield, Dunbar and Warren Harding High. I attended SCSU and obtained a Bachelor’s of Science degree in social work in 2000 with the intentions of working with “at-risk” youth in my community. I’ve worked in youth and adult offender reform programs in Bridgeport for 7 years prior to my current role as a Program Coordinator of a college access and success program that operates in 4 of the Bridgeport Public High Schools. Given my personal and professional experiences I will bring the voice of the collective who are impacted by policy but rarely engaged in the policy-making process to the table and really address the needs of our most vulnerable citizens—the youth. 2. What would you seek to change in the next year in the Bridgeport Public School system. What is your first priority. I would seek to change alumni relations. There are so many successful students that have graduated from the Bridgeport Public Schools, completed college and/or career trainings whom are doing well for themselves but the public rarely hears their story. Too many of these students have been disconnected from their community and made to believe that they are failures based on someone else’s definition of success. The constant message of overall failure and the “pipeline to prison” label on the Bridgeport Public Schools needs to be challenged and many of our alumni can definitely dispel the notion that our schools are failure factories. 3. Name something you think the school system is doing right. What is positive that should be built upon. The schools are currently putting an emphasis on a public health issue that has been ignored for too long by implementing the RULER program to help identify and address the social and emotional needs of the students. Students, parents and school faculty are being presented with an opportunity to engage in a meaningful way that can impact the entire school climate thus improving student achievement and hopefully graduation rates. 4. Anything else you want the public to know about you. I also volunteer and engage with several organizations in numerous capacities in the Greater Bridgeport community that include the following: School Governance Council member, Recording Secretary of the Executive Board of the Parent Advisory Council (PAC), Bridgeport Higher Education Alliance, College Access and Alliance of Bridgeport (CAAB) Chairperson, Leadership of Greater Bridgeport, the Mentoring Institute of Coastal Fairfield County, The Governor’s Prevention Partnership, Bear Hugs Childcare Center, the Bridgeport Raiders and North End Little League.[6] |
” |
| —Faith Harrison-Villegas, (September 2015)[7] | ||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Faith Harrison-Villegas' 'Bridgeport Public Schools'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ ctpost.com, "Bridgeport BOE loses a member," August 3, 2015
- ↑ Education Bridgeport!, "BOE Appoints Bridgeport Parent Kate Rivera As Newest Member," August 25, 2015
- ↑ CT Post, "Bridgeport primary election returns," September 16, 2015
- ↑ CT Post, "Recounts settle some, not all races," September 24, 2015
- ↑ CT Post, "Bridgeport primary election returns," September 16, 2015
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Connecticut News Blogs, "So you want to be a Bridgeport school board member?" September 15, 2015
| 2015 Bridgeport Public Schools Elections | |
| Fairfield County, Connecticut | |
| Election date: | Primary election - September 16, 2015 General election - November 3, 2015 |
| Candidates: | Candidates: • Incumbent, Hernan Illingworth (D) • Dennis Bradley (WFP) • Incumbent, Kadisha Coates (D) • Faith Harrison-Villegas (D) • Karen Jackson (WFP) • Kevin McSpirit (R) • Maria Pereira (D) • Ben Walker (D) • John Weldon (R) |
| Important information: | Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
