Jen Darland
Jen Darland was a candidate for at-large representative on the Tucson Unified School District Governing Board in Arizona. She ran for election and lost in the general election on November 4, 2014.
While the board is a nonpartisan political body, Darland is a Democrat.[1]
Elections
2014
Incumbents Michael Hicks and Adelita Grijalva faced a wide field of challengers in the November 4, 2014, general election. Don Cotton, Jen Darland, Betts Putnam-Hidalgo, Debe Campos-Fleenor, Francis Saitta, Rene Bernal and Miguel Cuevas ran to unseat the at-large board members.[2]
Results
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan |  Adelita Grijalva Incumbent |
19.5% | 34,347 | |
| Nonpartisan | Michael Hicks Incumbent |
16.3% | 28,708 | |
| Nonpartisan | Jen Darland | 16% | 28,191 | |
| Nonpartisan | Don Cotton | 10.7% | 18,944 | |
| Nonpartisan | Debe Campos-Fleenor | 10% | 17,647 | |
| Nonpartisan | Betts Putnam-Hidalgo | 9.6% | 16,927 | |
| Nonpartisan | Rene Bernal | 8.7% | 15,424 | |
| Nonpartisan | Miguel Cuevas | 6.6% | 11,581 | |
| Nonpartisan | Francis Saitta | 2.2% | 3,952 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in votes | 0.3% | 585 | |
| Total Votes | 176,306 | |||
| Source: Pima County Elections, "Official Results," accessed December 30, 2014 | ||||
Funding
As of October 28, 2014, Darland had reported $22,207.22 in contributions and $18,189.32 in expenditures according to the Pima County Elections Department, which left her campaign with $4,017.90 on hand.[3]
Endorsements
Darland was endorsed by the following:[4][5][6]
- Arizona Daily Star
- Tucson Weekly
- The Arizona List
- Tucson Metro Chamber
- Pima Area Labor Federation
- AFSCME
- Laura Almquist, former TUSD board member
- Mary Belle McCorkle, former TUSD board member
- Bruce Burke, former TUSD board member
- Sylvia Lee, Pima County College Governing Board member
- Johnathan Rothschild, mayor of Tucson
- Bob Walkup, former mayor of Tucson
- Sen. Steve Farley (D-9)
- Rep. Bruce Wheeler (D-10)
- Former Sen. Paula Aboud (D-28)
- Daniel Hernandez Jr., Sunnyside Unifed School District Governing Board member
- Ann-Eve Pedersen, President of the Arizona Education Network
Campaign themes
2014
Darland provided the following statement on her campaign website:
| “ | I’m a highly qualified public education advocate, engaged community member and parent of two children in TUSD, who will work to ensure that the TUSD Governing Board restores trust, embraces transparency and demonstrates the team-building necessary to effectively and efficiently provide the best education to our community’s children. I am committed to rebuilding bridges burned by distrust and instability. I am committed to reconnecting the district to the community it serves. I’m encouraged to see that work under way, but we have a long way to go and must work quickly as our children’s and community’s future is at stake. The success of our students and the vitality of our city depends upon a true community effort with dedicated partners and leaders throughout Tucson.
I’m not one to sit on the sidelines and wait for things to get better. I have a history of working well with others and building coalitions to support students and educators. For the past five years as a public education advocate, I’ve delved deeply into issues surrounding public education, working on efforts locally and statewide to improve not only funding for our public schools, but also promote the kind of community awareness and engagement that are desperately needed. I have witnessed our state legislature slash funding for public education year after year, and I have watched families leave our neighborhood schools because they believe they can’t provide equitable educational opportunities and resources for their children. The destabilization caused by the depth of the state cuts and the resulting abandonment are intricately linked. As a co-founder of the Arizona Education Network and Southern Arizona coordinator for the Prop 204 campaign, I have fought for efforts to restore funding for our public schools, and am committed to restore our community’s faith in our schools. I will continue to do so as a member of the TUSD Governing Board, advocating for the funding our children deserve and ensuring that every dollar spent is effectively used to provide the best education we can for our children. I believe the district is turning a crucial corner and embarking upon a positive new chapter. There is collective energy and a burgeoning sense of engagement among parents, educators, community members and business leaders. The success of our students and district as a whole depends upon a true community effort, with dedicated partners and leadership from the TUSD Governing Board. I am committed to restoring trust by prioritizing the voice of all TUSD stakeholders and truly listen to and engage our community as we rebuild relationships. As a Governing Board member I will maintain a student-centered focus and approach to board governance; policies based on the vision set forth by our community’s strategic plan for TUSD. I am committed to full transparency with the fiscal management of the district, and calling for a readily available and regularly updated financial accounting. As a Governing Board member, I will protect due process and procedures to rebuild faith in every level of our organization. I am committed to building the team that our students and their educators need, a team that remains focused on the work at hand, and not on personal and political agendas. As a Governing Board member, I will collaborate with my colleagues and community stakeholders to ensure that we’re focused on a strategic vision for our students, teachers and school communities.[7] |
” |
| —Jen Darland's campaign website (2014)[8] | ||
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Jen + Darland + Tucson + Unified + School + District"
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Blog for Arizona, "5 of 7 Democratic TUSD board candidates to speak at DGT," September 13, 2014
- ↑ Pima County School Superintendent's Office, "Official list of 2014 governing board candidates," accessed August 18, 2014
- ↑ Pima County Elections Department, "Welcome to Campaign Finance Web," accessed October 28, 2014
- ↑ Arizona Daily Star, "Star 2014 general election endorsements," October 23, 2014
- ↑ Tucson Weekly, "Our 2014 Endorsements," October 9, 2014
- ↑ Jen Darland for TUSD, "Endorsements," accessed October 28, 2014
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Jen Darland for TUSD, "Why I'm Running," accessed September 30, 2014
| 2014 Tucson Unified School District Elections | |
| Pima County, Arizona | |
| Election date: | November 4, 2014 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Incumbent, Michael Hicks • Incumbent, Adelita Grijalva • Don Cotton • Jen Darland • Betts Putnam-Hidalgo • Debe Campos-Fleenor • Francis Saitta • Rene Bernal • Miguel Cuevas |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
