Ligia Marroquin
Ligia Marroquin was a Democratic candidate for at-large representative on the Stamford Board of Education in Connecticut. The general election was held on November 3, 2015.[1] Ligia Marroquin lost the general election on November 3, 2015.
Biography
Marroquin is a immigration caseworker and Hispanic outreach coordinator for U.S. Rep. Jim Himes (D-4). As of the 2015 election, Marroquin was single and had no children; she also had no family members employed by the school district.[2]
Elections
2015
- See also: Stamford Public Schools elections (2015)
Five seats on the Stamford Public Schools Board of Education were up for election on November 3, 2015. The following three at-large incumbents' seats were up for regular general election in 2015: Lorraine Olson (R), Jerry Pia (R) and Polly Rauh (D). Additionally, two unexpired terms were also up for special election following resignations from the board. Rauh was the only incumbent to seek re-election; her defeat saw all five seats go to newcomers. The election did not change the board's Democratic majority; post-election, the board had six Democrats and three Republicans. This is the highest single-party majority allowed by law.
Republicans Mike Altamura and Andy George won two of the three full-term seats up for election while fellow party member Gerald Bosak won one of the unexpired terms. The Stamford Republican Town Committee initially endorsed Gerald Bosak and Prasad Tungaturthy for the one-year terms and Mike Altamura, Andy George and former board member Nicola Tarzia for the three-year terms. Tungaturthy, however, withdrew from the race on August 31, 2015. John Ciuffo was selected as the new Republican in Tugnaturthy's place.[3] Republicans Altamura, George and Tarzia ran as a slate called 2015BOE Team.
Democrats David Mannis and Jennienne Burke won a three-year and one-year term, respectively. The Stamford Democratic City Committee did not endorse any of its incumbents for re-election.[4] Instead, the party endorsed Angelica Gorrio, David Mannis and Ligia Marroquin for the three-year terms and Jennienne Burke and Monica DiCostanzo for the one-year terms.[5] Democrats Gorrio, Mannis and Marroquin also formed a slate for the election.
Incumbent Rauh still sought to retain her seat on the board despite lacking her party's nomination. The Democratic board member chose to run as an unaffiliated candidate instead of forcing a primary election within her party. Rauh's party registration as a Democrat, however, meant the state law requiring a minimum of one-third of the board's seats to be held by minority parties following each election still applied to her in this election.[6] John Zito also ran as an independent petitioning candidate in the regular-term race. Rauh placed seventh and Zito eighth out of the nine candidates running in the election for three-year terms.
Rolf Maurer was the sole Green Party candidate for the election. He sought a three-year term, but he placed last in the nine-candidate race.[7]
Results
| Stamford Public Schools, At-Large (3-year terms), General Election, 2015 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Mike Altamura |
17.4% | 5,445 | |
| Republican | Andy George |
15.9% | 4,997 | |
| Democratic | David Mannis |
14.9% | 4,656 | |
| Democratic | Angelica Gorrio | 14.1% | 4,431 | |
| Republican | Nicola Tarzia | 14.1% | 4,428 | |
| Democratic | Ligia Marroquin | 14.1% | 4,405 | |
| Petitioning | Polly Rauh Incumbent | 5.2% | 1,624 | |
| Petitioning | John Zito | 2.8% | 882 | |
| Green | Rolf Maurer | 1.5% | 472 | |
| Total Votes | 31,340 | |||
| Source: Connecticut Secretary of State, "Prescribed Form for Return of Votes Cast At A Municipal Election," accessed November 5, 2015 | ||||
Endorsements
Marroquin received no official endorsements in this election.
Campaign themes
2015
Marroquin provided the following answers to questions from the Stamford Advocate:
Why are running for the Board of Education? What qualifies you for the job?
| “ | I'm running for the board of education because our children need “all hands on deck” when it comes to education. It really does take a village. We need more people with a diverse background, with different perspectives, who are willing to put in the work and make our children a priority. What I bring to the table is the experience of being raised in the Stamford public schools, extensive experience in interpreting residents’ needs through the work that I do in the fourth congressional district and a broad knowledge of how the government works.[8] | ” |
| —Ligia Marroquin, Stamford Advocate candidate Q&A (2015)[9] | ||
What are the district’s strengths and weaknesses?
| “ | For starters, the district’s graduation rates are high and the dropout rates are low. Also, the Stamford public schools do a great job at creating partnerships with organizations such as the Stamford Public Education Foundation (SPEF), DOMUS, Neighbors Link Stamford, just to name a few. These programs show great support for the children and their parents. It’s safe to say all school boards have areas where they can use improvement. Issues of overcrowding, funding, and the management of facilities are issues that we face in our school system.[8] | ” |
| —Ligia Marroquin, Stamford Advocate candidate Q&A (2015)[10] | ||
How well has Superintendent Winifred Hamilton performed? Do you agree with her decision to retire?
| “ | Dr. Hamilton has made a decision to retire and now the important thing is to focus on finding a new superintendent. Finding a new superintendent will require everyone to work together and have the children’s/parents’/district’s best interests in mind.[8] | ” |
| —Ligia Marroquin, Stamford Advocate candidate Q&A (2015)[11] | ||
Should the search for a new superintendent be delayed until after the election?
| “ | The newly-elected board members should take an active part in choosing a new superintendent. I don’t think the search itself should be delayed. A qualified superintendent candidate will be interested in knowing that s/he will be working with a unified board.[8] | ” |
| —Ligia Marroquin, Stamford Advocate candidate Q&A (2015)[12] | ||
How do you think the current board handled the Stamford High School sex scandal? What might you have done differently?
| “ | The situation at Stamford High should never have happened. At this point, I don’t believe pointing fingers is helpful. However, it is the responsibility of the administration to take immediate action and adhere to protocol when dealing with urgent situations. The parents have a right to be informed of issues that impact the well being of their children as well as how the administration plans on bringing forth a solution.[8] | ” |
| —Ligia Marroquin, Stamford Advocate candidate Q&A (2015)[13] | ||
The condition of the district’s facilities has been called into question lately. Should the Board of Education bring its facilities management in-house or should it continue to contract with an outside firm? Why?
| “ | This is a complicated issue that requires further analysis and input from the current board members as well as the community. I’ll be glad to cooperate in any efforts to bring further clarification on the matter.[8] | ” |
| —Ligia Marroquin, Stamford Advocate candidate Q&A (2015)[14] | ||
Define what you think the school board’s role should be in the district. Does the superintendent currently have too much power?
| “ | The Board of Education should be an advisory board that gives direction to the superintendent around policy and key issues. It should give clear direction on what the priorities for the school system should be. The board should also stay in touch with the community to better understand what issues are relevant.[8] | ” |
| —Ligia Marroquin, Stamford Advocate candidate Q&A (2015)[15] | ||
How specific should the Board of Education’s goals be for the superintendent?
| “ | I believe communication is key. If information and/or direction is given in a matter that prompts further clarification or specificity, then that needs to happen.[8] | ” |
| —Ligia Marroquin, Stamford Advocate candidate Q&A (2015)[16] | ||
Would you make expanding preschool programs a priority?
| “ | It’s definitely something worth looking into. It would be great to move forward on key issues such as these. It’s important to hear input/concerns around preschool programming while taking into consideration the realities around what it would take to make this happen.[8] | ” |
| —Ligia Marroquin, Stamford Advocate candidate Q&A (2015)[17] | ||
How should the district better support the mental health of its students, given its limited resources?
| “ | Mental health issues are very real. There should be resources for students who have mental health problems. I don’t believe the Stamford public school system lacks resources in this department. In addition, having parent involvement, after school programs, and extracurricular activities (in/out of school) for the students are ways of ensuring our students feel connected and belong to a community.[8] | ” |
| —Ligia Marroquin, Stamford Advocate candidate Q&A (2015)[18] | ||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Ligia Marroquin' 'Stamford Public Schools'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Stamford Public Schools, Connecticut
- Stamford Public Schools 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
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedDemCandidates - ↑ Stamford Advocate, "Stamford Board of Education candidate bios," October 8, 2015
- ↑ Stamford Advocate, "Stamford GOP school board candidate withdraws," September 2, 2015
- ↑ Stamford Advocate, "Stamford Democrats dump school board incumbents," July 23, 2015
- ↑ Stamford Democratic City Committee, "Our 2015 Democratic Candidates," accessed August 10, 2015
- ↑ Stamford Advocate, "Rauh to run for Stamford school board," August 5, 2015
- ↑ Connecticut Green Party, "2015 candidates," accessed September 10, 2015
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 8.7 8.8 8.9 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Stamford Advocate, "Stamford Board of Education candidates answer why they’re running," October 8, 2015
- ↑ Stamford Advocate, "Stamford Board of Education candidates talk about district’s strengths, weaknesses," October 8, 2015
- ↑ Stamford Advocate, "Stamford Board of Education candidates: How well has Hamilton performed?" October 8, 2015
- ↑ Stamford Advocate, "Stamford Board of Education candidates discuss search for new superintendent," October 8, 2015
- ↑ Stamford Advocate, "Stamford Board of Education candidates talk about Stamford High sex scandal," October 10, 2015
- ↑ Stamford Advocate, "Stamford Board of Education candidates talk about the district’s facilities management," October 10, 2015
- ↑ Stamford Advocate, "Stamford Board of Education candidates talk about board’s role," October 17, 2015
- ↑ Stamford Advocate, "Stamford Board of Education candidates discuss goals for superintendent," October 17, 2015
- ↑ Stamford Advocate, "Stamford Board of Education candidates discuss expanding preschool," October 24, 2015
- ↑ Stamford Advocate, "Stamford Board of Education candidates discuss mental health services for students," October 24, 2015
| 2015 Stamford Public Schools Elections | |
| Fairfield County, Connecticut | |
| Election date: | November 3, 2015 |
| Candidates: | Four-year terms: •  Incumbent, Polly Rauh •  Angelica Gorrio • David Mannis • Ligia Marroquin •  Rolf Maurer •  Mike Altamura • Andy George • Nicola Tarzia •  John Zito One-year terms: • Jennienne Burke • John Ciuffo • Monica DiCostanzo • Gerald Bosak |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
