Kim Smith (California school board candidate)
Kim Smith was a candidate for at-large representative on the Compton Unified Board of Education in California. The general election was held on November 3, 2015.[1] She lost the election.[2]
Biography
Smith earned a bachelor's degree in social science from the University of California at Irvine and a master's degree in education administration from California State University at Dominguez Hills. She has worked as a teacher in the Hawthorne School District since 1995. She previously taught in the Compton Unified School District from 1990 to 1995. She has experience working as a union site representative and as an after-school tutoring coordinator. Smith has also served on the PTA, as a facilitator of DATE PROGRAM and as a volunteer with the My Brother's Keeper Program.[3]
Elections
2015
Three of the seven seats on the Compton Unified School District Board of Education were up for general election on November 3, 2015.[4] Incumbents Micah Ali and Skyy Fisher sought re-election to their seats. Incumbent Emma Sharif did not file to run for re-election, leaving a seat open to a newcomer. In their bids for re-election, Ali and Fisher faced 18 challengers: Richard Alatorre, Lizette Arevalo, Barbara Calhoun, Charles Davis, Arturo Frazier, Maria Hechavarria, Carol Jordan, Justine Landeros, Jolena Lomax, Janette Mora, Sandra Moss, Francisco Orozco, Diana Padilla, Denzell Perry, Gregory Pitts, Jerry Randle, Kim Smith, and Omar Spry.[1][5] Arevalo and Orozco ran together as a slate.[6]
Ali, Davis, and Moss won the election. Davis was already a member of the Compton Unified Board of Education. His term was not supposed to be up for election again until 2017, but due to the at-large election process, he was able to run early. His election to a different term left a vacancy on the board.[2][7]
Marketta Martin initially filed as a candidate, but she withdrew from the election.[8]
Results
| Compton Unified School District, At-large, General Election, 2015 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Micah Ali Incumbent |
15.7% | 2,282 |
| Charles Davis |
9.7% | 1,412 |
| Sandra Moss |
8.3% | 1,204 |
| Gregory Pitts | 7.2% | 1,049 |
| Carol Jordan | 7.0% | 1,021 |
| Barbara Calhoun | 6.6% | 960 |
| Richard Alatorre | 6.4% | 932 |
| Jerry Randle | 5.5% | 795 |
| Skyy Fisher Incumbent | 4.4% | 637 |
| Arturo Frazier | 4.2% | 612 |
| Francisco Orozco | 4.2% | 602 |
| Lizette Arevalo | 3.8% | 547 |
| Diana Padilla | 3.2% | 466 |
| Kim Smith | 3.2% | 457 |
| Omar Spry | 2.7% | 387 |
| Justine Landeros | 2.3% | 331 |
| Denzell Perry | 1.8% | 258 |
| Maria Hechavarria | 1.7% | 242 |
| Janette Mora | 1.1% | 161 |
| Jolena Lomax | 0.9% | 135 |
| Total Votes | 14,490 | |
| Source: Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, "NOVEMBER 03, 2015 - LOCAL AND MUNICIPAL CONSOLIDATED ELECTIONS: Final Official Election Returns," accessed November 24, 2015 | ||
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.[9][10][11]
The first campaign finance reporting deadline was September 24, 2015, and the second one was October 22, 2015. If candidates raised or spent more than $1,000 from a single source, including their own funds, between August 5, 2015, and November 2, 2015, they had to file a campaign finance report within 24 hours.[12]
If you have any information regarding the campaign finance disclosures in this race, please contact the school board elections team at editor@ballotpedia.org.
Endorsements
Smith received no official endorsements in this election.
Campaign themes
2015
Smith highlighted the following statement on her campaign website:
| “ | I have been a classroom teacher for nearly 25 years. Some portion of that time was spent in the Compton Unified School District. It is my firsthand opinion that Compton Unified School District has some of the best and brightest students in the country and even in the world. Although this is true, the current state of affairs with the leadership of the District is dismal. The dropout rate in Compton Unified is approaching 50% and even though the budget for the school district is over $200 Million, there are classrooms without air conditioning while District Offices have every amenity imaginable. WE HAVE TO CHANGE[13] | ” |
| —Kim Smith (2015)[14] | ||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Kim Smith' 'Compton Unified School District'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Compton Unified School District, California
- Compton Unified School District elections (2015)
- Incumbency no guarantee of success in Nov. 3 school board elections (November 6, 2015)
- What happened in Nov.'s top board elections? (November 4, 2015)
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Los Angeles County, California, "Candidate List," accessed August 11, 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, "NOVEMBER 03, 2015 - LOCAL AND MUNICIPAL CONSOLIDATED ELECTIONS: Semi-Final Official Election Returns," accessed November 4, 2015
- ↑ Elect Kim Smith for School Board, "Background," accessed October 19, 2015
- ↑ Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, “2015 Scheduled Elections,” accessed January 27, 2015
- ↑ Compton Unified School District, "Board Members," accessed January 27, 2015
- ↑ A Better Compton, "Your Candidates for a Better Compton School District," accessed October 15, 2015
- ↑ Abbey Smith, "Phone communication with Charles Davis," October 20, 2015
- ↑ Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, "Final List of Qualified Candidates," September 1, 2015
- ↑ 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
- ↑ Fair Political Practices Commission, "Filing Schedule for Candidates and Controlled Committees for Local Office Being Voted on November 3, 2015," accessed August 5, 2015
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Elect Kim Smith for School Board, "Statement," accessed October 19, 2015
| 2015 Compton Unified School District Elections | |
| Los Angeles County, California | |
| Election date: | November 3, 2015 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Incumbent, Micah Ali • Incumbent, Skyy Fisher • Richard Alatorre • Lizette Arevalo • Barbara Calhoun • Charles Davis • Arturo Frazier • Maria Hechavarria • Carol Jordan • Justine Landeros • Jolena Lomax • Janette Mora • Sandra Moss • Francisco Orozco • Diana Padilla • Denzell Perry • Gregory Pitts • Jerry Randle • Kim Smith • Omar Spry |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
