Linda Fowler (California)
Linda Fowler was a member of the Twin Rivers Unified School District school board in California, representing Trustee Area 7. She assumed office in 2007. She left office on June 30, 2024.
Fowler ran for re-election to the Twin Rivers Unified School District school board to represent Trustee Area 7 in California. She lost in the general election on March 5, 2024.
Biography
Fowler is the investigative auditor for the Division of Civil Rights in the California Department of Justice, which is overseen by the Office of the Attorney General. She previously owned a commercial printing and graphics company. Fowler earned a juris doctor from the University of Northern California School of Law.[1] Prior to serving on the Twin Rivers Unified Board of Trustees, she served on the North Sacramento Elementary School District Board of Trustees.[2]
Elections
2024
See also: Twin Rivers Unified School District, California, elections (2024)
General election
General election for Twin Rivers Unified School District school board Trustee Area 7
Sascha Vogt defeated incumbent Linda Fowler in the general election for Twin Rivers Unified School District school board Trustee Area 7 on March 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Sascha Vogt (Nonpartisan) | 54.9 | 1,498 | |
 | Linda Fowler (Nonpartisan) | 45.1 | 1,232 | |
| Total votes: 2,730 | |||
 = 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
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Fowler in this election.
2020
See also: Twin Rivers Unified School District, California, elections (2020)
General election
General election for Twin Rivers Unified School District school board Trustee Area 7
Incumbent Linda Fowler defeated Daniel Savala and Sascha Vogt in the general election for Twin Rivers Unified School District school board Trustee Area 7 on March 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Linda Fowler (Nonpartisan) | 40.1 | 1,392 |
 | Daniel Savala (Nonpartisan) | 31.3 | 1,086 | |
| Sascha Vogt (Nonpartisan) | 28.5 | 990 | ||
| Total votes: 3,468 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
2016
Four of the seven seats on the Twin Rivers Unified School District Board of Trustees were up for general election on June 7, 2016. The Trustee Area 1 election was canceled due to lack of opposition. Incumbent Michael Baker was unopposed in his bid for re-election, so he was automatically appointed to another term. In Trustee Area 3, incumbent Walter Garcia Kawamoto was defeated by challenger Ramona Landeros. Incumbent Sonja Cameron did not file to keep her Trustee Area 5 seat. Michelle Deleon and Basim Elkarra ran to fill that open seat. Elkarra, who unsuccessfully ran for the seat in a recall election in 2015, won the election. The Trustee Area 7 race featured incumbent Linda Fowler and challengers Francisco Garcia and Daniel Savala. Fowler won re-election.[3][4]
Results
| Twin Rivers Unified School District, Trustee Area 7 General Election, 4-Year Term, 2016 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Linda Fowler Incumbent |
40.48% | 1,197 |
| Francisco Garcia | 30.10% | 890 |
| Daniel Savala | 29.29% | 866 |
| Write-in votes | 0.14% | 4 |
| Total Votes | 2,957 | |
| Source: Sacramento County, "Official Results: Primary Election - June 7, 2016," accessed July 5, 2016 | ||
Funding
The Sacramento County Department of Voter Registration and Elections does not publish and freely disclose school board candidate campaign finance reports unless they are filed online. Fowler filed her reports in the county office, so those reports were unavailable to Ballotpedia.
Endorsements
Fowler was endorsed by the community organization Evolve.[5]
2012
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Linda Fowler Incumbent |
53.8% | 9,008 | |
| Nonpartisan | Francisco Garcia | 45.8% | 7,661 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in votes | 0.4% | 62 | |
| Total Votes | 16,731 | |||
| Source: Sacramento County, "Primary Election - June 5, 2012," accessed May 26, 2014 | ||||
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Linda Fowler did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
2020
Linda Fowler did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
2016
Ballotpedia survey responses
Linda Fowler, J.D. participated in Ballotpedia's 2016 survey of school board candidates. In response to the question "What do you hope to achieve if elected to the school board?" the candidate stated on April 4, 2016:
| “ | I want to continue building a better district and making sure all students have the opportunity to reach their full potential.[6][7] | ” |
Ranking the issues
The candidate was asked to rank the following issues based on how they should be prioritized by the school board, with 1 being the most important and 7 being the least important. Each ranking could only be used once.
| Education policy |
|---|
 |
Click here to learn more about education policy in California. |
| Education on the ballot |
| Issue importance ranking | |
|---|---|
| Candidate's ranking | Issue |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| Expanding school choice options | |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
| Improving post-secondary readiness | |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Improving relations with teachers | |
| “ | TRUSD has a minority majority student population and I believe more emphasis should be in the ELD classes and encouraging non English speaking parents to also enroll in ELD classes.[7] | ” |
| —Linda Fowler, J.D. (April 4, 2016) | ||
Positions on the issues
The candidate was asked to answer nine questions from Ballotpedia regarding significant issues in education and the school district. The questions are highlighted in blue and followed by the candidate's responses. Some questions provided multiple choices, which are noted after those questions. The candidate was also provided space to elaborate on their answers to the multiple choice questions.
| Should new charter schools be approved in your district? (Not all school boards are empowered to approve charter schools. In those cases, the candidate was directed to answer the question as if the school board were able to do so.) |
|---|
| Yes. If charter school petitions meet the criteria set by statute, the school district should approve the charter. If the board does not approve such a petition, the board has violated its fiduciary duty. |
| Which statement best describes the ideal relationship between the state government and the school board? The state should always defer to school board decisions, defer to school board decisions in most cases, be involved in the district routinely or only intervene in severe cases of misconduct or mismanagement. |
| The state should only intervene in severe cases of misconduct or mismanagement. California has clearly defined statutes and regs. School boards can be very biased and their decisions sometimes are in conflict with established laws. |
| Are standardized tests an accurate metric of student achievement? |
| No. For some students, standardized tests prove only one thing: the student was present. |
| What is your stance on the Common Core State Standards Initiative? |
| I support Common Core. We have far too many college graduates that no ability to analyze much of anything. It has to start in the K-12 programs. |
| How should the district handle underperforming teachers? Terminate their contract before any damage is done to students, offer additional training options, put them on a probationary period while they seek to improve or set up a mentorship program for the underperforming teacher with a more experienced teacher in the district? |
| Terminate their contract before any damage is done to students. Teaches are purported to be highly educated and have served time as a student teacher. When you have an underperforming teacher, students lose and time lost cannot be recovered in many instances. |
| Should teachers receive merit pay? |
| No. No. There is no objective method to award it. |
| Should the state give money to private schools through a voucher system or scholarship program? |
| No. While I believe in parental choice, private schools are in a different category and public money should not be used to further the beliefs of the private school whether it's religion or another concept. |
| How should expulsion be used in the district? |
| I am against expulsion unless it's for such an action that that will or has caused harm to others. |
| What's the most important factor for success in the classroom: student-teacher ratio, the curriculum, teachers, parent involvement or school administration? |
| Teachers Obviously we need great teachers, but parent involvement is also a must for success. |
See also
2024 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Twin Rivers Unified School District, "Meet The Board," accessed April 1, 2016
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedbackground - ↑ Sacramento County Department of Voter Registration and Elections, "Contest/Candidate Proof List: 2016 Presidential Primary Election," accessed March 14, 2016
- ↑ Sacramento County, "Unofficial Results: Primary Election - June 7, 2016," accessed June 8, 2016
- ↑ Evolve, "Endorsements: June 7, 2016 Election," accessed May 31, 2016
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2016, "Linda Fowler, J.D.'s responses," April 4, 2016
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
