LaWana Richmond

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

LaWana Richmond

Nonpartisan

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 3, 2020

Education

Associate

San Diego City College, 1995

Bachelor's

San Diego State University, 2003

Graduate

National University, 2005

Other

California State University, San Marcos/University of California, San Diego, 2015

Personal

Birthplace

Cleveland, Ohio

Religion

African Methodist Episcopalian

Profession

Organizational development manager

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Campaign Instagram

Personal LinkedIn

LaWana Richmond ran for election to the San Diego Unified School District school board to represent District E in California. She lost in the general election on November 3, 2020.

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

Biography

LaWana Richmond was born in Cleveland, Ohio. She earned an associate degree from San Diego City College in 1995, a bachelor’s degree from San Diego State University in 2003, a master’s degree from National University in 2005, and a doctorate of education from UC San Diego/CSU San Marcos in educational leadership in 2015. Richmond’s career experience includes working as an organizational development manager for transportation services at the University of California San Diego. She also worked as a business systems analyst and project manager in business and financial services, also at UC San Diego.

Elections

2020

See also: San Diego Unified School District, California, elections (2020)

General election

General election for San Diego Unified School District Board of Education District E

Incumbent Sharon Whitehurst-Payne defeated LaWana Richmond in the general election for San Diego Unified School District Board of Education District E on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Sharon Whitehurst-Payne (Nonpartisan)	55.7	220,480
		LaWana Richmond (Nonpartisan)	44.3	175,176

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 395,656
= 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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Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for San Diego Unified School District Board of Education District E

Incumbent Sharon Whitehurst-Payne and LaWana Richmond advanced from the primary for San Diego Unified School District Board of Education District E on March 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Sharon Whitehurst-Payne (Nonpartisan)	55.0	16,514
✔		LaWana Richmond (Nonpartisan)	45.0	13,524

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 30,038
= 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 Richmond's endorsements in the 2020 election, please click here.

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

LaWana Richmond completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Richmond'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.

A Trustee You Can Trust -

I am a mother, grandmother, community organizer, educator, researcher, and author. I don't want to speak at or to the needs of people in my community, I want to work with the people to find and implement solutions that work.

I'm a professional problem solver who has spent the past 15 years honing my skills analyzing problems to identify and implement solutions at UC San Diego.

I have always made a pledge to leave things better than I found them. I have special skills and experience that are just what we need in this time of COVID-19 and racial injustice.

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?

• Equity - Support and enhance programs and services that increase opportunity for all students to succeed. Addressing the discipline gap will help close the discipline gap.
• Accountability - Transparency is a cornerstone of accountability. With health and safety at the forefront, this becomes more important than ever.
• Excellence - Create space that encourages and allows

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Social and restorative justice.

Trauma-informed care.
Increased access to Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate coursework at all high schools.

Decolonization of the curriculum.

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

I admire Councilmember Monica Montgomery. She ran a race that was driven by the needs and wants of the people in her community and once elected, she followed through and managed to not only serve but educate her community around process and possibilities. She is often referred to as the people's council member and she lives up to the name. I have learned a lot about how things CAN be done by watching her journey.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

No. I can't think of one.

Here are a few that might be helpful:

Books:
Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler might be a good start, but add courageous conversations about race, the four agreements, and own the gap.

Films:
Pushout, The Queen of Katya, and Waiting for Superman

Reports:

When They Teach Us, I Love My Hair: The Weaponizing of Black Girls Hair by Educators in Early Childhood Education

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

I want my elected officials to: do their homework and arrive prepared, be accessible and listen, have the courage to speak up even with unpopular opinions, have the wisdom to compromise and collaborate with others in order to get things done and most importantly be more a public servant than a politician.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

Inquisitive, compassionate, patient, persistent, prepared, and brave.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Do your homework. Listen. Communicate. Work with colleagues to make decisions that further the mission of making sure: All San Diego students will graduate with the skills, motivation, curiosity and resilience to succeed in their choice of college and career in order to lead and participate in the society of tomorrow.

What legacy would you like to leave?

I upheld the public trust and championed effective and sustainable change.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

The school shooting that happened in the '70s. It was at the time an isolated event and a rock song was made based on the shooter's explanation that she doesn't like Mondays. I was 11 years old.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My very first job was working as an Assistant Manager at Winchell's Donut Shop. I worked there for about 3 months before returning to school.

What is your favorite book? Why?

The Four Agreements because it helps me have and maintain perspective.

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

Storm

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

Baby Shark

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

Being underestimated because I don't "fit the profile".

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

Policy, budget, and oversight.

Who are your constituents?

My constituents are the people in my neighborhood as well as throughout the district. This includes individuals and families with and without school-aged children. It includes teachers, staff, and administrators as well as vendors, volunteers, and employers. If current times have taught us nothing else, we have all seen how important schools are to every part of our economy.

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

I will support the diverse needs of the district through community engagement and service. I will levy my professional and lived experience and through collaboration with my colleagues and stakeholders advocate for and policy and budget decisions that satisfy the highest good.

How will you build relationships with members of the broader community? Which groups, organizations, stakeholders will you specifically target?

I will build relationships with the broader community by leveraging existing partnerships and networks as well as making myself available to hear people out. I will prioritize hearing from parents, students, and teachers but understand the importance of engaging with and building partnerships with other stakeholders in the private and public sectors.

What will you do to build a better relationship with parents in the district? What plans do you have to be inclusive of parental involvement?

I will reach out to them and offer programs and workshops that support and enable better collaboration in the education of their children.

Do you believe it is important to intentionally recruit with the aim of diversifying the district’s faculty, staff, and administration? If so, what would be your policy to achieve this?

I believe it is important to be intentional if you want results. A policy I have seen work in other environments is making sure to have diversity in staff involved throughout the recruitment and selection process. This will include making sure to engage with diverse media outlets and entities to post open positions as well as diverse community organizations.

What issues get in the way of quality education? How would you address these obstacles?

Isms in their various forms impede quality education. Having access to learning materials, tools, supplies and qualified teachers is very important but even a small amount of racism, sexism, ableism, or discrimination based on gender identity, sexual orientation, or religion can create inequities that impede access to quality education. For the isms, I believe a more effective implementation of restorative practices and anti-racist policies could begin to heal some of the rifts and build more equitable school communities.

Trauma, food or housing insecurity, mental and medical illness are also impediments. It is really hard to focus on learning when these basic needs are not met. For the basic needs and mental wellness, trauma-informed care, and increased access to counselors and nurses could fill some of these needs to make way for more learning to take place. Having access to social workers with a focus on addressing root causes through a restorative lens could also help.

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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