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Jeremy Ruse (Olympia School District school board District 5, Washington, candidate 2025)
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Jeremy Ruse ran for election to the Olympia School District Board of Directors to represent District 5 in Washington. He was on the ballot in the primary on August 5, 2025.[source]
Ruse completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. Click here to read the survey answers.
[1]Biography
Jeremy Ruse provided the following biographical information via Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey on July 7, 2025:
- Birth date: June 5, 1972
- Birth place: Tracy, California
- High school: Manteca High
- Other: South Puget Sound Community College, 1993
- Gender: Male
- Religion: Christian
- Profession: Business Owner
- Incumbent officeholder: No
- Campaign slogan: "Vote for Common Sense"
- Campaign website
- Campaign Facebook
Elections
General election
General election for Olympia School District school board District 5
Gilbert Lamont and Emily Leddige are running in the general election for Olympia School District school board District 5 on November 4, 2025.
Candidate | ||
Gilbert Lamont (Nonpartisan)  | ||
 | Emily Leddige (Nonpartisan) | |
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| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for Olympia School District school board District 5
Gilbert Lamont, Emily Leddige, and Jeremy Ruse ran in the primary for Olympia School District school board District 5 on August 5, 2025.
Candidate | ||
| Gilbert Lamont (Nonpartisan) | ||
| Emily Leddige (Nonpartisan) | |
| Jeremy Ruse (Nonpartisan) | ||
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Election results
Endorsements
Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.
Campaign themes
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Jeremy Ruse completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Ruse's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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I've been a resident of Thurston County for thirty years, I met my wife, raised four kids (one still in school), built our business, and made my life here. My passion lies in youth programs and mentoring, I believe our children are our greatest opportunity, I believe I have the skills, perspective, and experience, to help guide their education. I'm not a politician, I won't advocate for ideological goals, nor will I use the opportunity to pursue personal agendas. I'm a problem solver, I'm resourceful, I'm a motivated individual who is accustomed to success. My goal is to focus on policy that prioritizes the fundamentals of education, in a safe environment. I want to grow the connection between students and the community, I want to explore programs that provide connections for students and employers, teach our youth the importance of their role as citizens. We're facing a significant shortfall in upcoming budgets, we need directors who can be both responsible and resourceful, individuals who recognize the importance of the position and act in our students best interest. I'm proud to call Olympia our home, I'm appreciative of our communities support, and hopeful for the opportunity to give back.
- We need to remove adult Ideologies and politics from the school board, our goal is to enable students to learn "How to think", not "What to think"
- The District has to prioritize school safety, both internally and externally. I will advocate for SRO's, with staff and community input, we can find a reasonable solution.
- We need responsible citizens, who are fiscally responsible, in charge of our budget. I want to work with staff to identify priorities, listen to our teachers and administrators, include them in the process. We need to explore new methods, pursue new opportunities, be resourceful.
Public schools are responsible for educating our children, I believe that should be our number one goal and focus. We have seen a significant increase by adults, at the local and state levels, who are focused on Ideologies, this is unacceptable. We have thirteen years to provide the tools and skills needed for a lifetime, we have to be consistent and focused. We have to give our children the opportunity to shape their own futures, it's not our right to take that from them.
My grandfather's were great men, they instilled my values of hard work, respect, and the importance of family. I wouldn't be the man that I am without their influence, my actions are largely based on whether they would approve.
Im a fan of Noam Chomsky
Honesty, Integrity, and maintaining open lines of communication with constituents.
I'm a problem solver by nature, I'm driven to be successful, I recognize the importance of the position and am prepared to commit my time, resources and personal experiences to achieve success. I understand the importance of culture, I will work to build a district that students, teachers and community are proud to be a part of.
To act responsibly and professionally, the focus should always default to our ability to provide the best education possible. The board has to operate with transparency, there should be strong lines of communication with parents and the community.
Fiscal responsibility and community pride
The Challenger explosion, I was thirteen at the time
I was a paperboy at the age of twelve, packaged and distributed ice at the age of 14 and became a restaurant chef at the age of 16. I continued in food service until I graduated from High school
Anything related to finance, I believe I can take something from anything that I read, this has greatly improved my investment portfolio.
"Spin the Black Circle"-Pearl Jam
I have a high expectation of myself, being willing to relinquish control and trust those around me is difficult, I believe this is a trait a lot of business owners carry. I'm constantly working toward improving, My goal for the organizations that I'm involved with is to maintain an equal or better level of success when I leave.
Guide policy, manage the budget, work in the best interest of the community
Individuals who want a return to Academic focused scholastics
Provide consistency in leadership and policy, use the tools we have available to support those with additional needs, establish a path that encourages success.
As a business owner, I want to work with local industry to establish partnerships, give our students opportunities to explore future career fields
When students are engaged, it's critical. Giving teachers flexibility to establish and implement/manage their lesson plan is important, there should be core goals for classes/individuals, teachers understand better than most what is in the best interest of their students. As a School, we need to celebrate success, not for the purpose of prioritizing one, but to show what we're capable of. Establishing and embracing a culture of success is important, a positive environment encourages engagement, it encourages growth for students and teachers. Administrative lines of communication need to be open, we need to identify areas of strength and areas where we lack, staying constantly aware and fluid with our actions is necessary. We also need community involvement, we need to actively engage parents, business owners, and community organizations, show our students the value of civics.
Skilled labor is a large component of communities and economies, I would advocate for greater community involvement from businesses and apprenticeship programs.
It's incumbent on the board that Administrative salaries are consistent with like positions in the community, we need to review the efficiency of staff to assure we're being effective with time, I'd also like to explore technology that can streamline day to day administration functions.
I believe that establishing a culture of success and accomplishment is the place to start, students who are engaged and acknowledged are less likely to act in a nefarious manner. I also believe that we need on site SRO's to some degree, having an additional person or persons who can engage students and get ahead of unsafe situations provides another line of security for students and staff.
Counselors and teachers should be empowered to assist students in need, giving students proper mentorship is important to mental health.
Jeremy likes his personal space, Justine also likes Jeremy's personal space...
Addition of SRO's, I'd also like to see a greater emphasis on the culture of the school, we want an excited student body and staff, the community should be proud of their district and I don't feel this is the overwhelming feeling. We need to include community members and business for both financial and educational support, build bridges between students and local business to better prepare them to transition into adulthood.
Students deserve to learn in a safe environment, both physically and mentally. I want classrooms where students are challenged, we need to empower educators to create critical thinkers, teach our students "How to think", not "What to think". We need goals and consequences, embrace their successes, provide support and mentorship when we fall short. Our students, parents, and staff should be proud of their district, this requires us to work together, its worth the effort
The school did the best with the situation that was presented, I wish our board had managed the budget better, they have continued to operate as if they have the additional monies that were available during COVID, those dollars are no longer there and it has created a significant shortfall for the district
OSD has great lines of communication, reinforcing existing practices with consistency should always be a focus, easy access to technology for parents and students is important.
I believe we should start from within, we should first embrace the motivation of existing faculty that seek new opportunities. It's the boards responsibility to keep students and staff engaged, build culture of pride and accomplishment. Once that's achieved, others will seek to be part of our program.
Transparency is critical, the greater community involvement, the better. Constituents should understand the challenges we face, we can't meet everyone's needs but we can definitely learn from others ideas.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Other survey responses
Ballotpedia identified the following surveys, interviews, and questionnaires Ruse completed for other organizations. If you are aware of a link that should be added, email us.
See also
2025 Elections
External links
Footnotes
