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Kate Smith
Ballotpedia provides comprehensive election coverage of the 100 largest cities in America by population as well as mayoral, city council, and district attorney election coverage in state capitals outside of the 100 largest cities. This board member is outside of that coverage scope and does not receive scheduled updates.
Kate Smith is the former at-large representative on the Upper Darby School District school board in Pennsylvania. Smith was initially appointed to the position in 2016. Smith lost a re-election campaign in the at-large general election on November 7, 2017.
Pennsylvania permits school board candidates to cross-file in primary elections. This means that a candidate may file to run in the primary election for both the Democratic and Republican parties. A cross-filed candidate can advance to the general election by winning one or both of the partisan primaries. This maximizes a candidate’s chances of advancing to the general as they have two ways to win in the primary round. If the candidate wins only one of the primaries, they face the winner of the other primary in the general election. Cross-filers who win both primaries may still face independent candidates in the general election.[1]
Elections
2017
Five of the nine seats on the Upper Darby School District school board were up for at-large general election on November 7, 2017. Four seats were up for regular four-year terms and an additional seat was up for a two-year term. A partisan primary election was held on May 16, 2017.
A total of eight candidates filed for the four-year terms. Board incumbents Maureen E. Carey, Vincent Gordon, Rachel Mitchell, and Kate Smith cross-filed to appear on both the Democratic and Republican ballots. They faced Denise Rockenbach, who also cross-filed, and Edward Brown, Neil Desnoyers, and Monica Taylor, who filed to run as Democrats. Taylor, Mitchell, Desnoyers, and Brown all won the Democratic nominations and advanced to the general. Carey, Gordon, Smith, and Rockenbach won the Republican nominations and advanced to the general. Incumbent Mitchell and challengers Taylor, Brown, and Desnoyers defeated incumbents Carey, Gordon, and Smith and challenger Rockenbach in the general election.
Two newcomers filed for the open two-year term on the board: Kelly Colvin, who cross-filed, and Gina Curry, who filed as a Democrat. Curry won the Democratic nomination and Colvin won the Republican nomination and advanced to the general election. Curry went on to defeat Colvin in the general election on November 7, 2017.[2][3][4]
These candidates could have faced independent candidates in the general election. However, no independent candidate filed by the August 1, 2017, deadline to get on the ballot.[5]
General results
| Upper Darby School District, At-Large General Election, 4-year terms, 2017 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Monica Taylor |
14.18% | 8,380 | |
| Democratic | Rachel Mitchell Incumbent |
14.13% | 8,346 | |
| Democratic | Edward Brown |
13.01% | 7,688 | |
| Democratic | Neil Desnoyers |
12.60% | 7,444 | |
| Republican | Maureen E. Carey Incumbent | 11.97% | 7,072 | |
| Republican | Vincent Gordon Incumbent | 11.53% | 6,813 | |
| Republican | Kate Smith Incumbent | 11.41% | 6,740 | |
| Republican | Denise Rockenbach | 11.16% | 6,593 | |
| Write-in votes | 0% | 2 | ||
| Total Votes | 59,078 | |||
| Source: Delaware County, Pennsylvania, "Un-Official Municipal Election 2017 Results," accessed November 8, 2017 These election results are unofficial and will be updated after official vote totals are made available. | ||||
Democratic primary results
| Upper Darby School District, At-Large Democratic Primary Election, 4-year terms, 2017 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Monica Taylor |
18.59% | 2,244 | |
| Democratic | Rachel Mitchell Incumbent |
18.35% | 2,214 | |
| Democratic | Neil Desnoyers |
17.11% | 2,065 | |
| Democratic | Edward Brown |
16.02% | 1,933 | |
| Democratic | Maureen E. Carey Incumbent | 10.49% | 1,266 | |
| Democratic | Kate Smith Incumbent | 10.14% | 1,224 | |
| Democratic | Denise Rockenbach | 5.57% | 672 | |
| Democratic | Vincent Gordon Incumbent | 3.71% | 448 | |
| Write-in votes | 0.02% | 2 | ||
| Total Votes | 12,068 | |||
| Source: Delaware County, Pennsylvania, "Official Municipal Primary 2017 Results for Upper Darby Township," accessed June 21, 2017 | ||||
Republican primary results
| Upper Darby School District, At-Large Republican Primary Election, 4-year terms, 2017 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Maureen E. Carey Incumbent |
25.08% | 2,926 | |
| Republican | Vincent Gordon Incumbent |
21.63% | 2,523 | |
| Republican | Kate Smith Incumbent |
19.70% | 2,298 | |
| Republican | Denise Rockenbach |
18.50% | 2,158 | |
| Republican | Rachel Mitchell Incumbent | 15.05% | 1,756 | |
| Write-in votes | 0.03% | 4 | ||
| Total Votes | 11,665 | |||
| Source: Delaware County, Pennsylvania, "Official Municipal Primary 2017 Results for Upper Darby Township," accessed June 21, 2017 | ||||
Funding
| 2017 Campaign Finance Deadlines in Pennsylvania[6] | |
|---|---|
| Date | Deadline |
| May 5, 2017 | 2nd Friday Pre-Primary report due |
| June 15, 2017 | 30-Day Post-Primary report due |
| October 27, 2017 | 2nd Friday Pre-Election report due |
| December 7, 2017 | 30-Day Post-Election report due |
School board candidates in Pennsylvania were required to report their campaign finance activity. Those who spent or received more than $250 in a reporting period had to file full reports. Those below the threshold had to file forms to declare they were exempt from reporting. Candidates could have, but were not required to, form committees to handle campaign finance transactions. They were not required to have separate bank accounts for campaign purposes.[7]
The table to the left details the four campaign finance deadlines in 2017.[6]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Pennsylvania School Boards Association, "How to Run for School Board," accessed March 30, 2017
- ↑ Delaware County, Pennsylvania, "Un-Official Municipal Primary 2017 Results for Upper Darby Township," accessed May 16, 2017
- ↑ Delaware County, "Official Candidate List," accessed April 7, 2017
- ↑ Delaware County, Pennsylvania, "Un-Official Municipal Election 2017 Results," accessed November 8, 2017
- ↑ Delaware County, "Official Candidate List," accessed October 25, 2017
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Pennsylvania Department of State, "2017 Election Calendar," accessed April 19, 2017
- ↑ Pennsylvania Department of State, "Campaign Finance Reporting Law," accessed January 15, 2014
| Upper Darby School District elections in 2017 | |
| Delaware County, Pennsylvania | |
| Election date: | Primary: May 16, 2017 General: November 7, 2017 |
| Candidates: | At-Large (four-year terms): Incumbent, Maureen E. Carey (R) • Incumbent, Vincent Gordon (R) • Incumbent, Rachel Mitchell (D) • Incumbent, Kate Smith (R) • Denise Rockenbach (R) • Edward Brown (D) • Neil Desnoyers (D) • Monica Taylor (D) At-Large (two-year term): Kelly Colvin (R) • Gina Curry (D) |
| Important information: | What's at stake? |
