Julia Hurtado

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Julia Hurtado

Democratic Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 3, 2020

Education

Bachelor's

University of Florida, 2007

Other

Emory University, 2010

Personal

Birthplace

Arlington, Va.

Religion

Jewish

Profession

Neurologic physical therapist

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Campaign Instagram

Julia Hurtado (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Cobb County School District school board to represent District 5 in Georgia. She lost in the general election on November 3, 2020.

Hurtado completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Julia Hurtado was born in Arlington, Virginia. She received a bachelor's degree from the University of Florida in 2007 and another degree from Emory University in 2010. Hurtado's professional experience includes being a neurologic physical therapist. She has been affiliated with the American Physical Therapy Association, the Physical Therapy Association of Georgia, the Anti-Defamation League, Moms Demand Action, and You Lucky Dog Rescue. Hurtado has led her daughter's Girl Scouts troop and been a member of PTAs. Her family has belonged to The Temple, a Reform Jewish synagogue in Midtown.

Elections

2020

See also: Cobb County School District, Georgia, elections (2020)

General election

General election for Cobb County School District school board District 5

Incumbent David Banks defeated Julia Hurtado in the general election for Cobb County School District school board District 5 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	David Banks (R)	52.4	29,796
		Julia Hurtado (D)	47.6	27,028

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 56,824
= 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.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Cobb County School District school board District 5

Julia Hurtado defeated Tammy Andress in the Democratic primary for Cobb County School District school board District 5 on June 9, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Julia Hurtado	58.1	6,563
	Submit photo	Tammy Andress	41.9	4,728

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 11,291
= 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.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Cobb County School District school board District 5

Incumbent David Banks defeated Shelley O'Malley and Matt Harper in the Republican primary for Cobb County School District school board District 5 on June 9, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	David Banks	54.2	7,106
	Submit photo	Shelley O'Malley	24.7	3,234
	Submit photo	Matt Harper	21.1	2,761

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 13,101
= 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.

Endorsements

To view Hurtado's endorsements in the 2020 election, please click here.

Campaign themes

2020

Video for Ballotpedia

Video submitted to Ballotpedia Released October 18, 2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Julia Hurtado completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Hurtado's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Dr. Julia Hurtado has lived in Cobb county for nine years with a family that looks like what Cobb has begun to look like: multiple languages, ethnicities, and religions under one roof. Her family has more similarities than differences, and she believes those differences strengthen them. The same is true of Cobb schools, and Dr. Hurtado is running for School Board to ensure that all Cobb stakeholders are represented. Dr. Hurtado moved to Cobb after earning her Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Emory University. She now practices at the Shepherd Center as a neurologic physical therapist treating adolescent student athletes with concussion. She's a fierce advocate for her patients, and she's eager to bring this commitment to Cobb schools. In her spare time, Dr. Hurtado enjoys reading and running, and leading her daughter's Girl Scout troop.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• She's passionate about updating special education and ensuring adequate counseling resources.
• She cares deeply about communication and transparency, and believes that her community deserves to have its elected officials participate in the tough conversations with our community that are necessary for change.
• More than ever, a health scientist's perspective is needed in conversations deciding policy on school safety, and Dr. Hurtado is committed to finding innovative solutions that promote safety without compromising academic excellence.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Dr. Hurtado is passionate about educational equity, culturally-relevant curricula, early childhood literacy, early identification and intervention for special education, disability advocacy, parent-teacher collaboration and involvement, community partnerships, innovation in technology, apprenticeships and mentorship, and professional development when it comes to educational policy. She is also personally passionate about voting rights and climate justice.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

I look up to my daughter. Kids are so resilient. And she is relentlessly kind. She has known exactly who she is since Day One and teaches me every day how to trust myself and do the right thing.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

An elected official should be accountable to their constituents and represent not only their personal views and interests but the interests of their community. They should lead through example, with kindness and compassion, with dignity and mutual respect, with empathy and foresight. Elected officials should have integrity and intellectual curiosity. For school board specifically, I think it's also important to have leaders who have children in the district personally; that investment is important.

What legacy would you like to leave?

I want to create a better world for my daughter.

What is your favorite book? Why?

My favorite book of all time is a children's book called The Trumpet of the Swan, by E. B. White. This is the same author who brought us Charlotte's Web, but it's not as well-known. The story is about a swan who is unable to honk, but he overcomes this by learning to play the trumpet. I think it was the first chapter book I read, and I remember loving it at a very early age, but the lessons from it really stayed in my mind even as an adult. On some level, I wonder if it's what inspired me to go into physical therapy! It's a beautiful story, and I think books like that are wonderful for families to share together.

What is the primary job of a school board member in your view?

The Board of Educations' job is to assist Cobb county schools in producing functioning members of our community through public education. The Board is comprised of seven publicly elected members who hire and evaluate the Superintendent and vote on issues like budget and policy. School Board Members are also responsible for communicating and advocating for the needs of the community, including teachers, families, and other stakeholders, to the district.

Who are your constituents?

The constituents are the citizens of East Cobb; whether they are directly involved in our schools or not, they are stakeholders in our school community because CCSD is a microcosm of our entire community.

How would you support the diverse needs of your district’s students, faculty, staff, and community?

I plan to build a coalition of community through education, including all stakeholders in our post. I plan to reinstate public comments at Board of Education meetings, and I plan to form task forces from various groups within our community to help me understand the unique needs of people who may have different experiences than my own. Gathering feedback from a diverse group is the first step in ensuring that all needs are met. I also plan to audit current policies to ensure that we are being both effective in action and in cost.

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.

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