John H. Blethen
John H. Blethen was a candidate for the Position 4 seat on the Bellingham Board of Directors in Washington. He was defeated by incumbent Steven H. Smith in the November 5, 2013 general election.
Biography
Blethen earned a B.A. from Antioch College and a M.Ed. in Industrial Arts from Western Washington University. At the time of his candidacy, Blethen worked as the owner of Whatcom Interior. Blethen has been the co-chair of the Larrabee Elementary PTA, chair of the Bellingham Parks Board and helped establish the Bellingham Food Co-op. He has four children and seven grandchildren, including two daughters who taught at district schools.[1][2]
Elections
2013
Blethen sought election to the board against incumbent Steven H. Smith on November 5, 2013.
Results
General election
| Bellingham Board of Directors, Four-year term, Position 4, 2013 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan |  Steven H. Smith Incumbent |
53.5% | 14,725 | |
| Nonpartisan | John H. Blethen | 46.5% | 12,779 | |
| Total Votes | 27,504 | |||
| Source: Whatcom County Elections, "November 5, 2013 General Election," November 26, 2013 | ||||
Primary
Blethen placed second in the August 6, 2013 primary for the Position 4 seat. Blethen and Steven H. Smith advanced to the November 5, 2013 general election.
| Bellingham Board of Directors, Primary, Position 4, August 6, 2013 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan | Steven H. Smith Incumbent |
53.1% | 6,904 | |
| Nonpartisan | John H. Blethen |
29.2% | 3,791 | |
| Nonpartisan | Hue Beattie | 17.7% | 2,305 | |
| Total Votes | 13,000 | |||
| Source: Whatcom County Elections | ||||
Endorsements
Blethen's campaign website listed the following endorsements for 2013:[3]
- Bellingham Neighborhood School Coalition
- Coalition to Save Larrabee
- Happy Valley Neighborhood Association
- Wendy Scherrer
- David Marshak
- April Mahoney
Funding
Blethen reported no contributions or expenditures to the Washington Public Disclosure Commission.[4]
2009
Blethen sought election to District 1 on the Port of Bellingham Commission but lost to incumbent Scott L. Walker on November 3, 2009.
| Bellingham Port Commission, District 1, November 3, 2009 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan | Scott L. Walker Incumbent |
52.6% | 27,125 | |
| Nonpartisan | John H. Blethen | 47.4% | 24,489 | |
| Total Votes | 51,614 | |||
| Source: Whatcom County Elections | ||||
Campaign themes
2013
Blethen provided the following statement for the Local Voters' Pamphlet in Whatcom County:[2]
|
"Building community has been much of my adult life focus and I have worked hard saving open space as legacy for the future. But I know, and you know, the most important resource that we have is our kids. I am running for school board because I am concerned that the cost of education is rising, but student learning is not. We are looking at substantial new taxes to build facilities which will not reduce class size, the best tool for improving learning. While we need new school facilities, this need not happen at the expense of walk able community schools. We need to get school planning on the same page as neighborhood planning. It is also troubling to see our best principals moved to new administrative jobs at the expense of smaller class size and effective school leadership. . Our schools are focused on educating for college bound kids at the expense of kids who need other skills. Clearly, it is a time to look for innovative ways to educate our kids for a changing world. I pledge that I will participate actively in clear and transparent processes to lead our schools forward." |
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "John + Blethen + Bellingham + Schools"
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ John Blethen for Bellingham School Board, "Bio," accessed September 3, 2013
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Whatcom County Elections, "Local Voters' Pamphlet," accessed October 31, 2013
- ↑ John Blethen for Bellingham School Board, "Endorsements," accessed September 3, 2013
- ↑ Washington Public Disclosure Commission, "Local Candidates," accessed December 17, 2013
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