Lesa Keith
Lesa Keith (Republican Party) is a member of the Montgomery County Schools in Alabama, representing District 1. She assumed office in 2014.
Keith (Republican Party) ran for election to the Alabama State Board of Education to represent District 5. She lost in the general election on November 3, 2020.
Biography
Keith was born in Elyria, Ohio and raised in Jackson, Mississippi. She moved to Montgomery in 1976 prior to her senior year in high school. Keith attended Auburn University where she earned a bachelor's degree in secondary education. She obtained a master's degree in psychology from AUM and a Ph.D in educational psychology from Auburn University. Keith began her career in teaching in 1981 at Central Alabama Academy. She joined MPS in 1984, teaching English at Floyd Junior High. In 1987, Keith transferred to Robert E. Lee High School where she helped in building nine classes of psychology. She later became the department head for the social studies department. She held that position for four years until she retired from MPS in 2012. At the time of her tenure, Keith was the Success Coach at South University and was teaching as an adjunct professor at Huntingdon College. She was also the broker of her real estate company, Tri-County Signature Homes. Keith was a member of St. James Methodist Church and has been one of the guest preachers for Lake Martin Resort Church. She is married and has three children.[1]
Elections
2020
See also: Alabama State Board of Education election, 2020
General election
General election for Alabama State Board of Education District 5
Tonya Smith Chestnut defeated Lesa Keith in the general election for Alabama State Board of Education District 5 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Tonya Smith Chestnut (D) | 62.7 | 161,192 |
 | Lesa Keith (R) | 37.2 | 95,593 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 245 | ||
| Total votes: 257,030 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary runoff election
Democratic primary runoff for Alabama State Board of Education District 5
Tonya Smith Chestnut defeated Fred F. Bell in the Democratic primary runoff for Alabama State Board of Education District 5 on July 14, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Tonya Smith Chestnut | 61.4 | 21,302 |
 | Fred F. Bell | 38.6 | 13,417 | |
| Total votes: 34,719 | |||
| = 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 Alabama State Board of Education District 5
The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for Alabama State Board of Education District 5 on March 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Fred F. Bell | 30.3 | 24,589 |
| ✔ | | Tonya Smith Chestnut | 19.8 | 16,044 |
| Billie Jean Young | 13.9 | 11,271 | ||
| Ron Davis | 11.1 | 8,957 | ||
 | Pamela Laffitte | 8.3 | 6,712 | |
 | Patrice McClammy | 7.3 | 5,932 | |
| Woodie Pugh Jr. | 7.0 | 5,696 | ||
| Joanne Shum | 2.3 | 1,830 | ||
| Total votes: 81,031 | |||
| = 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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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Phillip Ensler (D)
- Robert White II (D)
Republican primary election
The Republican primary election was canceled. Lesa Keith advanced from the Republican primary for Alabama State Board of Education District 5.
2014
Lesa Keith defeated incumbent Heather Sellers for the District 1 seat in the Republican primary election on June 3, 2014. She was unopposed in the general election on November 4, 2014.
Results
General
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican |  Lesa Keith |
97.5% | 5,026 | |
| Independent | Write-in votes | 2.5% | 130 | |
| Total Votes | 5,156 | |||
| Source: Margaret Koenig, "Email correspondence with Daniel A. Baxter, Montgomery County Director of Elections," December 31, 2014 | ||||
Primary
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Lesa Keith |
58.3% | 1,778 | |
| Republican | Heather Sellers Incumbent | 41.7% | 1,272 | |
| Total Votes | 3,050 | |||
| Source: Montgomery County Election Center, "2014 - Primary Election - OFFICIAL," August 8, 2014 | ||||
Funding
Keith reported $1,876.22 in campaign contributions and $1,294.11 expenditures to the Alabama Secretary of State, which left her campaign with $582.11 cash on hand.[2]
Endorsements
Keith did not receive any official endorsements for her campaign.
Campaign themes
2020
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Lesa Keith did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
2014
Keith's campaign website listed her themes for 2014:
| “ | "I believe my voice and my will to stand up for what is right will bring back a solid education and safety in our schools” said Dr. Keith. Her primary goals as a Board of Education member would be to bring back more vocational education, re-institute a zero tolerance policy regarding student behavior and to create better professional development opportunities for teachers, particularly new teachers. Keith also would focus on re-building the communities trust in the Board and the school system. She intends to work closely with Superintendent Allen to follow through with the mandates from Dr. Bice to regain the reputation that MPS has had in years past and that the system must have to drive our economy in the future. | ” |
| —Lesa Keith's campaign website, (2014) | ||
See also
2020 Elections
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- Montgomery Public Schools
- Office website
- Campaign website
- Campaign Facebook page
Footnotes
- ↑ Dr. Lesa Keith, "About Dr. Keith," accessed May 22, 2014
- ↑ Alabama Secretary of State, "Alabama Electronic Fair Campaign Practices Act (FCPA) Reporting System," accessed May 22, 2014
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Dr. Lesa Keith, "Issues," accessed May 22, 2014
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