Juan Benitez
Juan Benitez is a member of the Long Beach Unified School District school board in California, representing District 3. He assumed office in 2018. His current term ends on December 11, 2026.
Benitez won re-election to the Long Beach Unified School District school board to represent District 3 in California outright in the primary on June 7, 2022, after the primary and general election were canceled.
Benitez previously ran for the District 3 seat on the Long Beach Unified school board. He lost the general election on April 8, 2014.
Biography
Benitez earned his bachelor's degree, master's degree, and Ph.D. from the University of California at Los Angeles. His work experience includes serving as an associate professor of history at California State University at Long Beach, as the executive director of the Center for Community Engagement, and as a Long Beach Nonprofit Partnership board member.[1][2]
Elections
2022
See also: Long Beach Unified School District, California, elections (2022)
Nonpartisan primary election
The primary election was canceled. Juan Benitez (Nonpartisan) won the election without appearing on the ballot.
2018
General runoff election
General runoff election for Long Beach Unified School District school board District 3
Juan Benitez defeated Cesar Armendariz in the general runoff election for Long Beach Unified School District school board District 3 on June 5, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Juan Benitez (Nonpartisan) | 62.6 | 5,821 |
 | Cesar Armendariz (Nonpartisan) | 37.4 | 3,484 | |
| Total votes: 9,305 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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General election
General election for Long Beach Unified School District school board District 3
Juan Benitez and Cesar Armendariz advanced to a runoff. They defeated Eduardo Lara in the general election for Long Beach Unified School District school board District 3 on April 10, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Juan Benitez (Nonpartisan) | 48.3 | 2,201 |
| ✔ | | Cesar Armendariz (Nonpartisan) | 34.8 | 1,585 |
| Eduardo Lara (Nonpartisan) | 16.9 | 771 | ||
| Total votes: 4,557 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2014
Juan Benitez was defeated by incumbent John McGinnis for the District 3 seat in the general election on April 8, 2014.
Results
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan |  John McGinnis Incumbent |
51% | 2,642 | |
| Nonpartisan | Juan Benitez | 49% | 2,534 | |
| Total Votes | 5,176 | |||
| Source: Long Beach, California, "Long Beach Primary Nominating Election," accessed June 17, 2014 | ||||
Funding
At the time of this election, the Los Angeles Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk did not publish school board candidate campaign finance reports online. Ballotpedia staffers requested this information, but the only free method of viewing the files was at their office.
The Los Angeles Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk targeted the end of 2018 to make school board candidate campaign finance reports available online for free. From that point forward, Ballotpedia began including campaign finance data for Los Angeles County school board candidates.[3][4][5] On March 28, 2014, Gazettes published an article that included a limited amount of campaign finance data for the Long Beach election. Benitez raised approximately $50,000 for his campaign against incumbent John McGinnis, who self-funded his campaign using the stipend he earned by attending board meetings.[6]
Endorsements
Benitez received endorsements from the Teachers Association of Long Beach, Long Beach Democratic Club, Los Angeles County Democrats and several other local political and labor organizations, including the Long Beach Firefighter Association, Police Officers Association and California School Employees Association. Long Beach Vice Mayor Robert Garcia, Assemblymember Bonnie Lowenthal and State Senator Ricardo Lara endorsed Benitez, as well.[7]
Campaign themes
2022
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Juan Benitez did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
2014
Benitez published a list of his priorities on his campaign website:
| “ | I want to make sure all Long Beach students have the same opportunities to succeed academically and in their social and emotional development. All of our children should be able to achieve their dreams. As a product of public schools, I believe that the power of a public education can help turn dreams into realities.
Long Beach faces a large achievement gap between white students and students of color. As your School Board Member, I will work with students and their families to close this gap, because your background shouldn’t define your dreams. Engaging Parents As an academic advisor at CSULB, I know firsthand how important parental involvement is for a young person’s education and later success in college. One of my top priorities as School Board Member will be to create a culture of parent engagement in all of our schools. Right now there is not enough of a district-wide effort to encourage this engagement. We need to develop the mechanisms to make it happen. I will focus on building those systems for parents to feel vested in and a part of their schools. Transparency and Collaboration Over the next four years, the Long Beach School Board will be making decisions that will impact the next generation of students – decisions to fix the district’s structural deficit, implement Common Core Standards, and close the achievement gap. Decisions cannot be made in a vacuum or among special interests. They must be based on data, expertise, and the experiences of those who will be affected – students, parents, teachers, and community members. As Board Member, I reach out to you so you know what decisions are being made and how you can get contribute to the decision-making process.[8] |
” |
| —Juan Benitez (2014)[9] | ||
See also
2022 Elections
External links
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Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Nadra Nittle, The Press-Telegram, "Common Core, Local Control Funding Formula emerge as key factors in Long Beach school board race," March 23, 2014
- ↑ Juan Benitez, "About Dr. Juan Benitez," accessed April 1, 2014
- ↑ Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, "Campaign Finance Reports," accessed July 2, 2014
- ↑ Daniel Anderson, “Email communication with Brenda Duran, Los Angeles County Public Information Officer," October 7, 2016
- ↑ Abbey Smith, “Email communication with Brenda Duran, Los Angeles County Public Information Officer," January 2, 2018
- ↑ Ashleigh Ruhl, Gazettes, "Election 2014: School Board Candidates Bring New Faces To LBUSD," March 28, 2014
- ↑ Juan Benitez, "Endorsements," accessed March 31, 2014
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Juan Benitez, "Issues," accessed April 1, 2014
