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Kevin Leung
Kevin Leung (Democratic Party) is running for election to the Colorado State Senate to represent District 30. He declared candidacy for the Democratic primary scheduled on June 30, 2026.[source]
Leung was a member of the Douglas County School District Board of Directors in Colorado, representing District E. He assumed office on December 12, 2017. He left office on November 29, 2021.
On May 3, 2022, Leung was elected as the South Metro Fire Rescue Board Director.[1]
Leung won a first term in the nonpartisan general election on November 7, 2017. He ran as a member of the Community Matters slate along with Chris Schor, Anthony Graziano, and Krista Holtzmann.[2]
Biography
Leung graduated with a B.S. from the University of Utah in 1990. He later earned an M.B.A. and an M.S. in computer science from the University of Colorado at Denver.[3] Leung served as a consultant to the U.S. Army during the First Gulf War and received a certificate of appreciation. His work experience includes serving as an IT consultant and the owner of Magic Rabbit Carwash, Detail & Lube Co.[4]
Leung was appointed to serve on the Colorado State Advisory Council for Parent Involvement in Education, and he also served on the ESSA Accountability Spoke Committee. He has also served on the City of Parker’s Authority for Reinvestment Advisory Committee, the Douglas County School District’s District Accountability Committee, the Rock Canyon High School’s School Accountability Committee, and the 2016 Rocky Heights Middle School Principal Interview Committee. He and his wife have three children.[5]
Elections
2026
See also: Colorado State Senate elections, 2026
General election
The primary will occur on June 30, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Colorado State Senate District 30
Kevin Leung is running in the Democratic primary for Colorado State Senate District 30 on June 30, 2026.
Candidate | ||
![]() | Kevin Leung |
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Colorado State Senate District 30
Incumbent John Carson is running in the Republican primary for Colorado State Senate District 30 on June 30, 2026.
Candidate | ||
![]() | John Carson |
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Endorsements
Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.
2021
See also: Douglas County School District, Colorado, elections (2021)
General election
General election for Douglas County School District Board of Directors District E
Christy Williams defeated incumbent Kevin Leung in the general election for Douglas County School District Board of Directors District E on November 2, 2021.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
✔ | Christy Williams (Nonpartisan) | 54.5 | 65,334 | |
![]() | Kevin Leung (Nonpartisan) | 45.5 | 54,474 |
Total votes: 119,808 | ||||
![]() | ||||
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2017
Four of the seven seats on the Douglas County School District Board of Education in Colorado were up for nonpartisan general election on November 7, 2017. No incumbents filed to run for re-election, which guaranteed four new members were elected to the board. The race featured two candidate slates. The Community Matters slate—Anthony Graziano, Chris Schor, Kevin Leung, and Krista Holtzmann—won the election after campaigning against the policies of the board's 4-3 governing majority. They defeated the Elevate Douglas County slate—Ryan Abresch, Randy Mills, Grant Nelson, and Debora Scheffel—which campaigned in support of continuing programs started by the governing majority.[6][7]
Results
Douglas County School District, District E General Election, 4-year term, 2017 |
||
---|---|---|
Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
![]() |
58.00% | 52,314 |
Grant Nelson | 42.00% | 37,889 |
Total Votes | 90,203 | |
Source: Colorado Secretary of State, "Official Results," accessed August 28, 2023 |
Funding
Leung reported $19,991.61 in contributions and $19,842.13 in expenditures to the Colorado Secretary of State, which left his campaign with $149.48 on hand in the election.[8]
Endorsements
Leung and the other members of the Community Matters slate were endorsed by the organization Douglas County Parents.[9] They were also endorsed by 12 former Douglas County Board of Education members. Click here to read their letter of support that was published in The Denver Post. They were also endorsed by former officials and members of the community. Click here for a list of their supporters.
2013
Kevin Leung initially filed to run for the District D seat held by Dan Gerkin, but he failed to submit nominating petitions by the filing deadline on August 30, 2013.
Endorsements
Leung's campaign website listed the following endorsements for 2013:[10]
- Asian Pacific Business Journal
- Colorado Chinese News
2009
Leung ran for the District D seat in 2009, but he was defeated by incumbent Dan Gerken.[11] The Douglas County Republican Party endorsed Gerken and fellow candidates John Carson, Meghann Silverthorn, and Doug Benevento, while the Douglas County Federation of Teachers and Classified Employees endorsed Leung.[12]
Results
Douglas County School District, District D General Election, 4-year term, 2009 |
||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
Nonpartisan | ![]() |
59.5% | 26,973 | |
Nonpartisan | Kevin Leung | 40.5% | 18,386 | |
Total Votes | 45,359 | |||
Source: Douglas County Elections Department, "Douglas County, Colorado — 2009 Coordinated Election — November 03, 2009," accessed October 30, 2017 |
Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
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2021
Kevin Leung did not complete Ballotpedia's 2021 Candidate Connection survey.
2017
Candidate website
Leung highlighted the following issues on his campaign website:
“ | Opportunities, Challenges and Priorities Douglas County School District faces several critical issues in the next few years including attracting and retaining high quality teachers, addressing limited state funding while improving fiscal accountability and transparency, and improving declining academic achievement. As a member of the Douglas County School Board, my plan is to work collaboratively with district leaders, teachers and staff, parents and students, and members of our community to find effective solutions that will once again make Douglas County a destination district. -Attracting and Retaining High Quality Teachers- -Financial Accountability- -Improve Academic Achievement and Create a Destination District for our Teachers and Students- The implementation of the Board of Education’s Strategic Plan has resulted in a working environment where staff members don’t feel supported and are distrustful of our district leaders. The community is starting to voice concerns over increasing turnover rates. My plan is to create a teacher and principal advisory group that reports directly to the Board of Education, helping us to direct the superintendent on improving academic achievement and district morale. -DCSD Financial Needs- The board must have a 3% TABOR reserve that is required by the state as part of the Tabor amendment. However, this board also has a 3% additional reserve for the same amount as the TABOR reserve plus 1% more for contingency. These reserves can be used to offset cuts in the future. Finally, it is past time that the school board develops a plan to address the district’s capital needs that exceed over $300 million. This will be one of my first priorities as a school board director. -Attract and Retain Teachers in Times of Budget Challenges- While increasing pay for DCSD teachers is a must, DCSD must also focus on the climate and culture within the district. DCSD needs to improve preparation and training for our teachers, and listen to our teachers. Many teachers are in this profession for much more than a paycheck. DCSD teachers seldom left eight years ago because DCSD offered a great working environment and administrators built trust with our teachers. We must restore the great culture and climate DCSD used to have. -Public School Education Choice- -Vouchers and Education Savings Accounts- -Bond and Mill Levy- The school district’s recent third-party community survey indicates that voters will support a mill levy override ballot question. In March 2017, a DCSD joint subcommittee recommended placing an initiative on the ballot to address funding challenges. Our community newspaper reported that “All seven school board members agree on the need to ask taxpayers for more money.” The time to act is now. As a board member, I will listen to the community to build consent on what ballot questions to ask voters. I will also ask the interim superintendent to give the board her recommendation on the amount of mill levy and bond funds she believes are needed. Based on facts from the interim superintendent and the community input, the board can then make the best decision on what to ask voters. -Transparency and Accountability- The board majority conducts its affairs based not on established common practice, but on the sole discretion of the majority. The harassment of then 15-year-old student Grace Davis, by Director Silverthorn and Director Reynolds, was a prime example. The appointment of the replacement Director in District E without a vote caused great dissatisfaction in the community. The board majority often refused to allow motions from the board minority and refused to consult the board minority in setting agendas. In effect, the board majority refused to work as a team to come up with a win-win solution for our kids. The incumbent board majority has set rules to end board meetings at 9:30pm and to disallow public comments in a work session in order to limit public input. The board majority even walked out of a meeting to force it to end when things did not go their way. The incumbent majority ignored the advice from 28 members of DCSD’s School Accountability Committees and staff recommendations to consider the mill levy and bond ballot questions in 2015 and 2016. The ineffective Douglas County school board and infighting inside the district have in effect caused great harm to our school district’s reputation. To achieve unity, our school board must include people with different opinions in the process. To do so, our school board must appoint people from all walks of life to serve on advisory committees. Our board should respect our staff’s recommendations and not make decisions based solely on political considerations. Our board needs to follow the Robert’s Rules of Order as a guide for conducting meetings and making decisions as a group to avoid meetings devolved into chaos. Our board needs to remove the automatic meeting end time of 9:30pm and to respect citizens attending meetings. I will ask the board to have meetings in different school feeder areas so we can bring our meetings to the community. I will lobby for staff and community surveys to be conducted every year to better understand what the community desires. In short, I will restore trust and accountability to the school board by improving the culture and climate in our school district. I have a proven track record of success working well with others when serving on education committees on the state, district and school levels. With that experience, I can bridge the gaps and ensure all residents are listened to.[13] |
” |
—Kevin Leung (2017)[14] |
Chalkbeat Colorado survey
Leung participated in the following survey conducted by Chalkbeat Colorado. The questions provided in the survey appear bolded, and Leung's responses appear below.
Tell us a bit about yourself. How long have you lived in the school district? What do you do for a living?
“ | I am a successful local business owner in Douglas County. Prior to owning my own business with my wife, I was in the IT profession and taught IT graduate courses at Regis University. My lovely wife and I have lived in Douglas County for over 26 years. Altogether, our three children spent six years in public charter schools and over 20 years in our neighborhood schools. I grew up in extreme poverty and was the son of illiterate parents. Through hard work and determination, I earned an MBA and a master’s degree in computer science from the University of Colorado. My daughter graduated in 2016 as one of the top four graduates at Rock Canyon High School.[13] | ” |
—Kevin Leung (2017)[15] |
Tell us about your connection to the school district.
“ | I have volunteered for the state, district and my kids’ school education committees for more than 12 years. I am the only parent representative from Douglas County to serve on the State Advisory Council for Parent Involvement in Education and the Colorado Department of Education’s Accountability Workgroup. I served on the Douglas County School District Accountability Committee for three years and was vice-chair of the Rock Canyon High School Accountability Committee. I participated on the School Accountability Committee at Buffalo Ridge Elementary School and Rocky Heights Middle School. I was a member of the Principal Interview Committee at Rocky Heights Middle School. I was also a Rocky Heights Middle School parent representative in the “Colorado School to Watch" interview conducted by the Colorado Association of Middle Level Education (CAMLE).[13] | ” |
—Kevin Leung (2017)[15] |
If elected, would you continue the district's legal fight to enact a private school voucher system? Why or why not?
“ | I have always supported choices within our public schools. My kids spent six years in a Douglas County charter school and 20 plus years in Douglas County neighborhood schools. Under my leadership, I will ensure that all public school options, including neighborhood, charter, magnet and online schools, vocational training, and home schooling are available and known to our parents.
I do not support using public taxpayer money to fund the DCSD Choice Scholarship Program. I support parents sending their child to a private school if that is their desire. However, our board is the custodian of public funds. Our public schools currently do not have enough funding and we cannot afford to divert resources to private schools and jeopardize the quality of public education options. Furthermore, once public money is diverted to private institutions, our board has no ability to protect the civil rights of students and demand the level of accountability expected from our public schools. Therefore, I will not continue to support our district’s legal fight to enact a private school voucher system. Once this lawsuit is over, our district can refocus our efforts solely on our existing public school choices instead of promoting a national agenda.[13] |
” |
—Kevin Leung (2017)[15] |
One of your most important tasks will be to select a new superintendent for the district. What characteristics will you seek in a new leader?
“ | The reform-oriented board hired Dr. Elizabeth Fagen, a 'transformational' leader, who caused many problems for our district. I would prefer to have a pragmatic leader who will advocate for all teachers and students. I am looking for someone who is ethical, fair and has experience as an educator and can have credibility with our employees and educators.
Our district also needs someone who maintains open communication with all parties involved in the education process and can build partnerships with people of differing views in educating children. All should feel included in the decision- making process. They should possess the experience, knowledge and understanding of the current environment in the district and have a specific plan to improve academic performance for ALL, including kids with special needs. Our district needs someone who is a consensus builder and will not implement something without real consultation with the community, parents, teachers and local business leaders. They would need to rely on educational research and reliable, valid statistics to make decisions. We need someone who can help develop curriculum that focuses on what students need to succeed in life without focusing solely on test scores[13] |
” |
—Kevin Leung (2017)[15] |
If elected, would you seek to make changes to the way the district pays its teachers? How?
“ | The teacher evaluation system developed under Dr. Fagen has not been well accepted and has had a negative impact on our teachers’ morale. As an elected board member, I will ask parents and teachers to weigh in on how the district pays its teachers. I will make sure teachers’ pay relies more on student growth rather and teacher effectiveness. Classroom observations and teachers’ continuing education should also be factors in evaluating their performance. Multiple years of performance data for a teacher should be considered rather than only a one-year “snapshot” in evaluating a teacher’s performance.
In addition, our school district’s average teacher salary is currently $17,000 less than Cherry Creek and $13,000 less than Littleton, and the gap continues to grow. If we want to attract and retain the best teachers, we need to offer them competitive wages. Another way to change how our district compensates our teachers is to explore additional funding mechanisms for better pay.[13] |
” |
—Kevin Leung (2017)[15] |
If elected, would you support the district asking voters for a tax increase for capital construction and to pay for additional educational programs? Why or why not?
“ | DCSD has not passed a mill levy override and bond measure since 2006. DCSD parents, however, have increasingly paid much more in school fees. Our neighboring districts have successfully passed both mill levy overrides and bonds to increase revenue. Those increases enable them to pay teachers better, to use that money for capital construction and to add additional educational programs.
The district’s recent community survey indicates that voters will support a mill levy override ballot question. In March 2017, a DCSD joint subcommittee had recommended placing an initiative on the ballot to address funding challenges. Our community newspaper reported that, “All seven school board members agree on the need to ask taxpayers for more money.” The time to act is now. As a board member, I will listen to the community to build consent on what ballot questions to ask voters. I will also ask the interim superintendent to give the board her recommendation on the amount of mill levy and bonds she believes is needed. Based on facts from the interim superintendent and the community input, the board can then make the best decision on what to ask voters.[13] |
” |
—Kevin Leung (2017)[15] |
The Douglas County education community for years has been divided by actions taken by the school board. How would you bridge the gaps and ensure all residents are listened to?
“ | To achieve unity, our school board must include people with different opinions in the process. To do so, our school board must appoint people from all walks of life to serve on advisory committees. Our board should respect our staff’s recommendation and not make decisions based solely on political considerations. Our board needs to follow the Robert's Rules of Order as a guide for conducting meetings and making decisions as a group to avoid meetings devolved into chaos. Our board needs to remove the automatic meeting end time of 9:30 pm and to respect citizens attending meetings. I will ask the board to have meetings in different school feeder areas so we can bring our meetings to the community. I will lobby for staff and community surveys be conducted every year to better understand what the community desires. In short, I will restore trust and accountability to the board by improving the culture and climate in our school district. I have a proven track record of success working well with others when serving on education committees on the state, district and school level. With that experience, I can bridge the gaps and ensure all residents are listened to.[13] | ” |
—Kevin Leung (2017)[15] |
The effectiveness of the Douglas County School District's special education services was recently challenged in a U.S. Supreme Court case. While the court did not rule on the merit of the program, it did find the historic standard of "minimum" improvement is no longer acceptable. What sort of reforms do you believe the district's special education program should consider?
“ | Over 10 percent of DCSD students were classified as special education students in the 2016-7 school year. Inadequate funding to implement Individual Educational Plans (IEPs) or 504 plans have caused student and parent hardship. The State of Colorado currently underfunds special education, meaning that they do not provide enough funding to cover the costs required to meet the requirements of special education students as defined by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The high teacher turnover in our district only makes the problem worse.
We must recruit and retain the best special education teachers as possible and provide meaningful professional development for special education teachers, as well. And Douglas County needs to provide more public school choices for special education students. Our district must provide better accountability on how SPED money is being spent and what programming is available to meet the unique needs of all learners. Finally, we must rebuild trust with special education parents. By law, parents are required to be included on the IEP team. Many special education parents do not think that the district provides meaningful parental participation in the IEP program.[13] |
” |
—Kevin Leung (2017)[15] |
How should Douglas County approach its relationships with existing and future charter schools, and should they be funded equally?
“ | I have always been a supporter of choice in our public schools, including neighborhood schools, public charter schools, and others. As evidence, my kids have spent six years in a Douglas County charter school and 20 plus years in Douglas County neighborhood schools. Also, I have been personally involved in the evaluation and approval of three Douglas County charter school applications while serving on the District Advisory Committee. Additionally, I have worked closely with charter school representatives while serving on our state’s accountability committees.
The current board has not built a neighborhood school since 2010, relying solely on charter schools to address growth for the past six years. That is not healthy when we know our community wants both charter and neighborhood schools. Our community is clear in the most recent survey that they support quality schools above any certain type of school. My goal is to ensure all schools are quality choices for our residents regardless of whether they are charter or neighborhood schools. I will ensure new charter schools are locally organized with a large group of local parents supporting the effort. Finally, charter schools are public schools and all public schools should be funded equally.[13] |
” |
—Kevin Leung (2017)[15] |
Highlands Ranch Herald Q&A
Leung participated in the following Q&A conducted by the Highlands Ranch Herald. The questions provided in the Q&A appear bolded, and Leung's responses appear below.
Why did you decide to run?
“ | I’ve always been passionate about education. I ran in 2009, but after that I continued my involvement in the district, serving on the district advisory committee. I want to make sure that students in Colorado, especially in the place where I have lived for 26 years, get a good education. I came to this country as a very poor student. I lived in a very poor environment, (but) because of the opportunity this country gave me, because of the education I got from this country, it made me what I am. My children and my family have been well taken care of and I think I need to give back to the community.[13] | ” |
—Kevin Leung (2017)[16] |
What are the most important issues facing the school district?
“ | The reason I moved to Douglas County in 1991 was because of the schools. It was my number one priority. We used to have the top CDE (Colorado Department of Education) rating, Accredited with Distinction. We lost that. We used to be much higher than Cherry Creek and now Cherry Creek is catching up. We are only average now. Douglas County should not be average. We should always be in the top five, top 10 at the minimum. If not, I feel like we are doing the students a disservice.
The second thing I want to focus on is the retention of the best teachers and principals. Some people will tell you that our teacher drop-off isn’t as bad as the state average. But that is a fallacy. We should never compare ourselves to the average… We used to be fairly stable in terms of the people who work here, but the level of turnover is a big issue.[13] |
” |
—Kevin Leung (2017)[16] |
The board has been divided in recent years. How would you help bridge that divide?
“ | The constant fighting, the constant bickering, that hurts us. It hurts our ability to rally the community to support our schools. People look at and say these people are constantly fighting and talking bad about each other. They say, 'Why would I want to support someone I don’t believe in?'[13] | ” |
—Kevin Leung (2017)[16] |
Would you be supportive of a bond or mill levy to bring more funding to the district?
“ | I will be supportive of a mill levy and bond. To get from here to there, the most important thing is to get the community on board. The devil is always in the details. How we can come up with a ballot initiative that can pass is something that we need to work on. We need the community to come together as a team.[13] | ” |
—Kevin Leung (2017)[16] |
What else do you want people to know about you?
“ | In the past few elections, everyone who is not affiliated with the incumbents is automatically branded as union. I want people to vote based on the credentials of the person, not labeling, and I want people to know that I am not affiliated with one side or the other. I am running in District E because I think I’m the best person to represent this district on the school board.[13] | ” |
—Kevin Leung (2017)[16] |
2013
Leung's campaign website listed the following issues for his 2013 campaign:
Maintain academic excellence
“ | I will work to ensure adequate resources are allocated to the school principals and to ensure more responsive communication with school accountability councils to improve their schools.[13] | ” |
—Kevin Leung (2013)[17] |
Improve financial management
“ | I will restore efficient use of taxpayers’ money to maximize educational opportunities, reduce class size and restore the lost instructional time in high schools, benefiting both charter and neighborhood schools’ students enrolled to DCSD high schools.[13] | ” |
—Kevin Leung (2013)[17] |
Improve employee morale
“ | DCSD should seek to attract and retain great employees who can excite and motivate students and work well with parents.[13] | ” |
—Kevin Leung (2013)[17] |
Project funding
“ | Increase funding for capital maintenance on charter, neighborhood, and alternative school properties.[13] | ” |
—Kevin Leung (2013)[17] |
Charter schools
“ | Create an advisory committee on charter schools to address charter schools’ concerns, and to promote cooperation between charter and neighborhood schools. I will strive to reform the District Accountability Committee so it will become a truly independent advisory committee that represents the diversity of our school district.[13] | ” |
—Kevin Leung (2013)[17] |
Campaign finance summary
Campaign finance information for this candidate is not yet available from OpenSecrets. That information will be published here once it is available.
See also
2026 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ The Villager, "South Metro Fire Rescue Board election results," May 11, 2022
- ↑ Community Matters, "Home," accessed October 9, 2017
- ↑ LinkedIn, "Kevin Leung" accessed July 19, 2013
- ↑ Kevin Leung for Douglas County Schools, "About Kevin" accessed July 19, 1987
- ↑ Kevin for Douglas County Schools, "About Kevin," accessed October 9, 2017
- ↑ Douglas County Elections Office, "Unofficial Results," accessed November 7, 2017
- ↑ Douglas County School District, "2017 School Board Election Candidates," accessed September 5, 2017
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "TRACER: Candidate Search," accessed December 15, 2017
- ↑ Douglas County Parents, "Candidates," accessed October 9, 2017
- ↑ Kevin Leung for Douglas County Schools, "News and Endorsements," accessed August 30, 2013 (dead link)
- ↑ Douglas County Clerk and Recorder, "Coordinated Election Results, November 3, 2009," accessed July 22, 2013
- ↑ Jeremy P. Meyer, The Denver Post, "Douglas County school board race turning into partisan battle," October 20, 2009
- ↑ 13.00 13.01 13.02 13.03 13.04 13.05 13.06 13.07 13.08 13.09 13.10 13.11 13.12 13.13 13.14 13.15 13.16 13.17 13.18 13.19 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Kevin for DCSD Schools, "Issues," accessed October 9, 2017
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 15.5 15.6 15.7 15.8 Chalkbeat Colorado, "We sent surveys to all the 2017 Douglas County school board candidates. Read their answers here." October 5, 2017
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4 Highlands Ranch Herald, "Q&A with Kevin Leung," June 20, 2017
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 17.4 Kevin Leung for Douglas County Schools, accessed July 19, 2013