Francis Jackson
Francis Jackson was a candidate for the Place 5 seat on the Georgetown Board of Trustees in Texas. He lost election against fellow challenger Melanie Dunham in the general election on May 10, 2014.
Biography
Jackson served in the military before retiring to a career in education. He was a teacher for 17 years prior to his retirement.[1] Jackson ran unsuccessfully for the Place 6 seat on the board in 2012 and the Place 1 seat in 2013.[2]
Elections
2014
Francis Jackson ran for the Place 5 seat against Melanie Dunham in the general election on May 10, 2014.
Results
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan |  Melanie Dunham |
75.4% | 2,881 | |
| Nonpartisan | Francis Jackson | 24.6% | 940 | |
| Total Votes | 3,821 | |||
| Source: Williamson County Elections, "Final Unofficial Election Day Results Includes Early Voting ," May 10, 2014 | ||||
Funding
Jackson reported no contributions and $176.36 in expenditures to the district office, leaving his campaign with $176.36 in debt prior to the election.[3]
Endorsements
Jackson did not receive any official endorsements for his campaign.
2013
| Georgetown Independent School District, Place 1 General Election, 3-year term, May 11, 2013 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan | Scott Stribling |
73.9% | 1,137 | |
| Nonpartisan | Francis Jackson | 26.1% | 402 | |
| Total Votes | 1,539 | |||
| Source: Williamson County Elections, "Joint General and Special Election," May 16, 2013 | ||||
2012
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Greg Eady |
65.3% | 1,041 | |
| Nonpartisan | Francis Jackson | 34.7% | 554 | |
| Total Votes | 1,595 | |||
| Source: Williamson County Elections, "Joint General and Special Election," May 18, 2012 | ||||
Campaign themes
2012
Jackson explained his reasons for running during the 2012 election in an interview with Community Impact News:
| “ |
Q. What made you decide to run for board of trustees? A. I said to myself years ago, whenever I retired, I wanted to be on the school board. I couldn’t think of a better time to do it than now. I want to continue to serve, and I want to continue to be involved. I’m opposed to the cuts of all these teachers that they are making. I think that teachers and aides are the heart and soul of the district. They are the future-builders, and when you cut teachers, you degrade the quality of education. I don’t care what anybody says. I’ve read it in the newspaper. You don’t cut 60 or 80 [teachers] and not have a problem. The teachers are stretched. These people work hard. All my kids went through the school system here, and we came down here because of the schools. Q. What in your background makes you a strong candidate for school board? A. I taught for 17 years. I recently retired, so I know exactly what’s going on. I have a feel for the teachers and the aides and what’s going on in the district. This is a second career for me. I was in the military and retired from that. The military had a Troops to Teachers [program]. I’ve been involved in budgeting while in the military. I saw drastic cuts to the budget in the military that we had to go through and do big reductions. Everybody else is talking about the big picture, but to me, I’m thinking about people that it affects. When we are looking at the big picture, everything else gets kind of mired in that fog of battle. I’m not losing my focus of being opposed to the cuts of teachers. Q. What are the top issues in the school district? A. I’m opposed to cutting the teachers. There are a lot of positions—senior-level positions—that we need to take a hard look at and ask, ‘Do we really need these positions?’ They’re real nice to have when everything is going along well and there is plenty of money, but now that we are in an austere budget, I say we cut those positions that do not impact education. I’m not saying the other positions are not important, but teachers and aides are the top priority. I was looking, and there have been two people in the Place 7 position in 18 years; that’s too long. We need to get more people involved in the process. I think we need to have term limits. I also believe that the at-large positions in Georgetown need to be [single-member districts, so] if you represent Place 6 or 7 it is an actual area that you are required to live in and the people there vote for you. |
” |
| —Beth Wade, Community Impact News (2012) | ||
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Francis + Jackson + Georgetown + School + District"
See also
- Georgetown Independent School District, Texas
- Georgetown Independent School District elections (2014)
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Beth Wade, Community Impact News, "2012 Election Coverage — Georgetown ISD & Williamson County primary election," April 13, 2012
- ↑ Williamson County Elections, "Election Archives," accessed March 24, 2014
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through email from Carmen Domel on April 17, 2014.
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
| 2014 Georgetown Independent School District Elections | |
| Georgetown, Texas | |
| Election date: | May 10, 2014 |
| Candidates: | Place 4: • Fred Barhydt Place 5: • Melanie Dunham • Francis Jackson |
| Important information: | Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
