Few surprises in Louisiana school board general elections

December 8, 2014

Seventeen seats on nine school boards among Louisiana's largest school districts by enrollment were determined in the general election on December 6, 2014. Nine incumbents faced general election races. The four who were able to retain their seats were also the top vote recipients in their primary election races. Only one candidate won their race without being the top vote recipient in their primary election race.

Louisiana does not conduct typical primary elections. Instead, all candidates running for a local, state, or federal office appear on the same ballot in either October (in odd-numbered years) or November (in even-numbered years), regardless of their partisan affiliations. If a candidate wins a simple majority of all votes cast for the office (i.e., 50 percent, plus one vote), he or she wins the election outright. If no candidate meets that threshold, the top two finishers advance to a second election in either November (in odd-numbered years) or December (in even-numbered years), regardless of their partisan affiliations. In that election, the candidate who receives the greatest number of votes wins. Ballotpedia refers to Louisiana's electoral system as the Louisiana majority-vote system. It is also commonly referred to as a jungle primary. Because it is possible for a candidate to win election in the first round of voting, Louisiana's nominating contest is not a traditional primary.

Note: Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry (R) signed HB17 into law by on Jan. 22, 2024, creating closed partisan primaries and primary runoffs for Congress, the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, the Louisiana Public Service Commission and Louisiana Supreme Court beginning in 2026.

Just six of the races saw opponents of differing partisan affiliations; six of the seats saw only Democratic competitors and four saw only Republican competitors. Democratic candidates came out slightly ahead with nine wins while Republican candidates won the other eight general elections. While there were two independent candidates, neither won their respective general election.

Three different seats went to a general election in three of the nine districts. For the Caddo Parish School Board, District 2 incumbent Jasmine R. Green (D) defeated challenger Barbara Johnson Simpson (D). Meanwhile, District 8 incumbent Bonita Crawford (R) and District 11 incumbent Ginger Armstrong (R) were defeated by challengers Denee Locke (R) and Kacee Hargrave Kirschvink (R), respectively.

Louisiana 2014 general election outcomes
	Won	Lost
Incumbents	4	5
Republicans	8	6
Democrats	9	9
Independents	0	2

Voters chose between pairs of newcomers for the three open seats on the Calcasieu Parish School Board. Edwina Medearis (D) lost to Glenda Gay (D) for District 3, Teddie Atterbery Jr. (I) lost to Dean Roberts (R) for District 6 and Becky B. Grove (D) lost to Alvin Dale Smith (R) for District 10. Smith was the only candidate to win a general election who was not also the top vote recipient of the primary election race.

Two districts held general elections for two seats each. For the Jefferson Parish School Board, Rickeem Jackson (D) lost to Ricky Johnson (D) in the District 2 contest while incumbent Mark Jacobs (R) lost to the District 7 seat to Melinda Doucet (R).

District 1 incumbent Roosevelt "Rosey" Thomas (D) and District 9 incumbent Hayes J. Badeaux (D) on the Terrebonne Parish School Board faced challengers Joe Thompson (D) and Vicki Bonvillain (R), respectively. While Thomas retained his seat, Badeaux was defeated by Bonvillain.

The remaining four districts with general elections only featured one seat up for election each. District 1 on the Lafayette Parish School Board will be filled by Mary Morrison (D), who defeated "Coach Don" Gagnard (I). Robyn Penn Delaney (D) defeated Jevella Williamson (D) to fill the open District 1 seat on the Ascension Parish School Board.

District 12 voters chose Albert "Al" Hayes Jr. (D) over Roland Miller (R) for the St. Landry Parish School Board. The District A seat on the Tangipahoa Parish School Board will be filled by Walter Daniels (D), who overcame Eric Brumfield (D).

Spotlight: East Baton Rouge Parish School System

Due to a redistricting process that shrank the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board from 11 to nine members, District 5 incumbent Evelyn Ware-Jackson (D) faced District 9 incumbent Jerry Arbour (R) to retain her seat. Ware-Jackson won the general election. Arbour's seat will be filled by current District 1 incumbent David Tatman (R), who won the seat without opposition at the close of the candidate filing period in August.

While several current board members ran for different seats during this election, only one lost outright in the primary election: Mary Lynch (I), the District 11 incumbent who ran for the new District 1 seat. That seat, instead, will be filled by Mark Bellue (R), who defeated fellow newcomer Jennifer Andrews (D) in the general election. District 8 also saw a general election where incumbent Connie Bernard (R) retained her seat against Christopher Bailey (R).