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Gregory Sousa
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Gregory Sousa was a candidate seeking an at-large seat on the Burbank Unified School District Board of Education in California. He ran against one incumbent and four fellow candidates in the primary election on February 24, 2015. He received enough votes to advance to the general election with one other candidate on April 14, 2015.[1][2][3] Sousa was defeated by Armond Aghakhanian in the general election.[4]
Biography
Sousa worked for the Warner Bros. Entertainment Group for over a decade as an electrician and driver. He earned his associate degree from Allan Hancock College and his juris doctorate from the UWLA School of Law. He also studied political science and government at California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo and is currently seeking a master of laws (LLM) in taxation at the University of Alabama School of Law.[5]
Elections
2015
Three of the five seats on the Burbank Unified School District Board of Education were up for general election on April 14, 2015. A primary election was held on February 24, 2015.
Incumbents Dave Kemp and Ted Bunch did not file to run for re-election, leaving incumbent Roberta Grande Reynolds to run against the following five challengers in the primary election: Armond Aghakhanian, Steve Ferguson, Vahe Hovanessian, Gregory Sousa and Jesse Tangkhpanya.
Grande, Aghakhanian, Ferguson and Sousa received the most votes in the primary election. Grande and Ferguson won election to the board outright as they received more than 50 percent of the ballots cast in the primary. Aghakhanian and Sousa had to advance to the general election on April 14, 2015.
Aghakhanian defeated Sousa in the general election to gain a seat on the board.
Results
General election
| Burbank Unified School District, At-Large General Election, 4-year term, 2015 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan |  Armond Aghakhanian |
53.6% | 5,321 | |
| Nonpartisan | Gregory Sousa | 46.4% | 4,602 | |
| Total Votes | 9,923 | |||
| Source: Burbank City Clerk's Office, "General election cavass of returns," accessed April 28, 2015 | ||||
Primary election
| Burbank Unified School District, At-Large Primary Election, 4-year term, 2015 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan | Roberta Grande Reynolds Incumbent |
24.3% | 5,362 | |
| Nonpartisan | Steve Ferguson |
23.1% | 5,107 | |
| Nonpartisan | Armond Aghakhanian |
16.8% | 3,710 | |
| Nonpartisan | Gregory Sousa |
13.8% | 3,049 | |
| Nonpartisan | Vahe Hovanessian | 13.5% | 2,971 | |
| Nonpartisan | Jesse Tangkhpanya | 8.5% | 1,886 | |
| Total Votes | 22,085 | |||
| Source: Burbank City Clerk's Office, "Final Results are Tabulated for Burbank’s 2015 Primary Nominating Election," accessed March 9, 2015 | ||||
Funding
Sousa filed Form 470 with the Burbank City Clerk's Office to indicate he would not spend or receive more than $1,000 in this election. Because of that, he did not have to file any additional campaign finance reports.[6]
Endorsements
Sousa did not receive any official endorsements for this election.
Campaign themes
2015
Burbank Leader questionnaire
On December 22, 2014, the Burbank Leader published a candidate profile of Sousa. That profile contained the following questionnaire. The Burbank Leader's questions are bolded to provide clarification. The full candidate profile can be found here.[7]
| “ | Have you run for office previously?
No Why are you running? There is a leadership vacuum at the BUSD. The current superintendent is often unresponsive to the concerns of the community, and the board could do more to hold the superintendent to account. I am running because the board should represent the community with a strong voice--a voice that expects more from the district administration, keeps the public informed, and demands accountability. What is the most important issue facing BUSD? The selection of the next superintendent is the most important issue facing the BUSD in the near term. In the long term, the most important issue facing the district is academic proficiency. It is perhaps lost in all the noise that roughly 30% of the students in the district are rated as “not proficient” in math and English, according to state standards. Name a recent issue or policy the current BUSD board has decided that you agree with. Why? The implementation of the Measure S bond issue was the right thing to do. The maintenance and modernization of our facilities cannot be deferred indefinitely; at a certain point we must act, even if Sacramento does not. Name a recent issue or policy the current BUSD board has decided that you disagree with. Why? I strongly disagree with the decision to appeal the recent judgment in the Baez sexual harassment lawsuit against the district, in which the court awarded Ms. Baez 3.2 million dollars in attorney’s fees. The court awarded this amount because of questionable conduct by the school district’s attorney, Nancy Doumanian. Thus, the situation is made worse by having Ms. Doumanian handle the appeal as well. Because the trial judge stated a reasonable basis for the amount awarded, the appeal is likely to fail, and in the end, our schools will lose more than 3.2 million dollars that are badly needed elsewhere. What is the best thing about how BUSD is run? The district's hiring policies result in exceptional teachers and staff. The quality and talent of the people who deal with our kids on a daily basis is something to be proud of. What is the worst thing about how BUSD is run? Lack of transparency. Sometimes it seems that district staff has an adversarial attitude towards parents and the board. They seem to be less than forthcoming regarding particular issues. What programs or areas to you believe deserve priority or additional spending? Why? Programs in the arts, foreign language instruction, the GATE program, and increased opportunities for vocational training for high school students, because these programs enhance the lives of our students and provide a well-rounded education. Life is more than just test scores. What qualities should BUSD's next superintendent have? We need a superintendent who will motivate and energize district staff, who is capable of inspiring confidence in the various stakeholders: teachers, staff, students, parents and the broader community; and who will implement the policies of the board. Open Response: Burbank has a well-deserved reputation for quality schools, but there is room for improvement. As a board member, my priorities will be to promote community involvement, strengthen programs in the arts, incorporate foreign language instruction, boost the GATE program, and increase opportunities for vocational training for high school students. Community involvement strengthens our schools, and in particular, parental involvement strengthens our neighborhoods by bringing parents together in the spirit of making things better for our kids. We need to make sure our schools are accessible to parents and to encourage community groups to become involved in our schools. Right now our music program is somewhat fragmented. A student who begins an instrument in the fourth grade may find that instrument is not taught at the middle school. We need a comprehensive plan for music instruction in the district especially since studies show that kids who receive musical training do better in math. We should also increase efforts to bring other arts back into the schools. This may not affect test scores, but life is not all about test scores. We need to give our kids an opportunity for artistic expression. We can do better in providing foreign language instruction. In a community as culturally diverse as ours, there's no reason why we can't provide opportunities for students to learn other languages. We also need a comprehensive plan for our GATE students. It is not enough to identify them and then not provide them with a structured program as they move into the upper grades. I support the mayor's proposed workforce training program. We need to provide opportunities for vocational training for students who aren't college-bound. The proposed workforce training program will create a partnership between the school district and local business and industry, providing such students a chance to gain real world experience with state of the art technology, improving their outlook for meaningful employment after high school. To accomplish these goals, we need a superintendent who will motivate and energize the district staff to meet these challenges, who is capable of inspiring confidence in the various stake holders: teachers, staff, students, parents and the broader community; and who will implement the policies of the board. We need a board which will provide strong oversight and direction. After all, the board is the community's voice in the district. If Burbank is to continue to enjoy its reputation for quality schools, we need to work at it. Working together we can get this done. If you agree, I appreciate your vote.[8] |
” |
Candidate website
Sousa highlighted the following issues on his campaign website:
| “ | The administration of the Burbank Unified School District does not want you to vote for me.
As a military veteran, I know the importance of governmental accountability. While the current administration may prefer to do things without considering input from the community, I prefer to ask a lot of tough questions. That’s why they do not want you to vote for me. For example, in a recent lawsuit, the school district retained an attorney whose tactics cost the district $3,000,000 in unnecessary fees (which were awarded to the opposing attorney), while losing the lawsuit. They now have the same attorney pursuing an appeal. Why are we throwing good money after bad? The role of the Board of Education is to provide oversight to prevent such waste, and to assure the hearing of community concerns. For this reason, we need board members who are independent of the district administration. I am not part of the district establishment. Accountability should not be optional. I will hold their feet to the fires of accountability. Education is too important to be left to the bureaucrats. I respectfully ask for your vote.[8] |
” |
| —Gregory Sousa's campaign website (2015)[9] | ||
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Gregory + Sousa + Burbank + Unified + School + District"
See also
- Burbank Unified School District, California
- Burbank Unified School District elections (2015)
- First openly gay official elected to Burbank school board, two candidates advance to April election
- April school board elections in California and South Dakota see increase in voter turnout (April 15, 2015)
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Burbank City Clerk's Office, "Candidates Information," accessed January 13, 2015
- ↑ Burbank City Clerk's Office, "2015 Election Results," accessed February 24, 2015
- ↑ Burbank Leader, "Reynolds, Ferguson elected to school board," February 25, 2015
- ↑ Burbank City Clerk's Office, "2015 Election Results," accessed April 14, 2015
- ↑ LinkedIn, "Greg Sousa," accessed January 15, 2015
- ↑ Burbank City Clerk's Office, "GREGORY SOUSA," accessed February 12, 2015
- ↑ Burbank Leader, "BUSD Candidate: Greg Sousa," December 22, 2014
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Burbank City Clerk's Office, "Greg Sousa Candidate Statement," accessed January 15, 2015
| 2015 Burbank Unified School District Elections | |
| Los Angeles County, California | |
| Election date: | Primary election - February 24, 2015 General election - April 14, 2015 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Incumbent, Roberta Grande Reynolds • Armond Aghakhanian • Steve Ferguson • Vahe Hovanessian • Gregory Sousa • Jesse Tangkhpanya |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
