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Long Beach Unified School District elections (2014)
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Three seats on the Long Beach Unified School District Board of Education were up for general election on April 8, 2014. The election was initially scheduled for June 3, 2014, but it was moved up to the primary election date due to the low number of candidates who filed.[1] Megan Kerr defeated fellow newcomer Uduak-Joe Ntuk to win the District 1 seat vacated by retiring incumbent Mary Stanton. Board President John McGinnis fended off challenger Juan Benitez to retain his District 3 seat while District 5 incumbent Diana F. Craighead ran unopposed for re-election.[2]
About the district
Long Beach Unified School District is located in Los Angeles County, California. The county seat of Los Angeles County is Los Angeles. Los Angeles County is home to 10,017,068 residents, according to the United States Census Bureau.[3] Long Beach Unified School District was the third-largest school district in California, serving 83,691 students during the 2011-2012 school year.[4]
Demographics
Los Angeles County underperformed in comparison to the rest of California in terms of higher education achievement in 2012. The United States Census Bureau found that 29.5 percent of Los Angeles County residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree compared to 30.5 percent for California as a whole. The median household income in Los Angeles County was $56,241 compared to $61,400 for the state of California. The poverty rate in Los Angeles County was 17.1 percent compared to 15.3 percent for the entire state.[3]
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Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.
Voter and candidate information
The Long Beach Board of Education consists of five members elected to four-year terms by specific geographic districts. There was no primary election, and the general election was held on April 8, 2014. Three seats were up for election in 2014 and two seats were up for election in 2016.[6]
The filing deadline for school board candidates to get on the ballot in the general election was January 10, 2014 and the deadline to file as a write-in candidate was March 25, 2014. If no candidate received a majority of the votes cast in the April 8 election, a run-off election would have been held on June 3, 2014.[7]
Elections
2014
Candidates
District 1
- Uduak-Joe Ntuk
- Graduate, Long Beach City College, California State University at Long Beach and University of Southern California
- Petroleum engineer, Long Beach city government
- Megan Kerr
- Graduate, California State Polytechnic University at Pomona
- Community activist
District 3
- John McGinnis
- Incumbent Board President
- Graduate, University of Southern California and Loyola University
- Retired educator
- Juan Benitez
- Graduate, University of California at Los Angeles
- Associate professor of history, California State University at Long Beach
District 5
- Diana F. Craighead
- Incumbent Board Vice President
Election results
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Megan Kerr |
50.7% | 3,912 | |
| Nonpartisan | Uduak-Joe Ntuk | 49.3% | 3,804 | |
| Total Votes | 7,716 | |||
| Source: Long Beach, California, "Long Beach Primary Nominating Election," accessed June 17, 2014 | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | John McGinnis Incumbent |
51% | 2,642 | |
| Nonpartisan | Juan Benitez | 49% | 2,534 | |
| Total Votes | 5,176 | |||
| Source: Long Beach, California, "Long Beach Primary Nominating Election," accessed June 17, 2014 | ||||
District 5 incumbent Diana F. Craighead ran unopposed and retained her seat by default without an election.[8]
Endorsements
District 1
Uduak-Joe Ntuk received endorsements from the Democratic Party in Long Beach, Los Angeles County and the California state party. He also received endorsements from Progressive Majority, PowerPAC+ and The Press-Telegram in Long Beach. Multiple labor organizations endorsed him, including the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor and local affiliates from the American Federation of Teachers, California School Employees Association, Teamsters, International Association of Machinists, Service Employees International Union and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. Long Beach board member Felton Williams and a variety of elected officials from across Long Beach endorsed Ntuk, as well.[9]
Megan Kerr received endorsements from the Teachers Association of Long Beach and the National Women's Political Caucus along with several other local political and labor organizations, including the Long Beach Young Democrats, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Firefighter Association and Police Officers Association. Departing District 1 board member Mary Stanton and fellow board members John McGinnis, Diana F. Craighead and Jon Meyer also endorsed Kerr.[10]
District 3
Board President John McGinnis received endorsements from the Long Beach Register, The Press-Telegram and the Association of Long Beach Educational Managers. Long Beach Superintendent Chris Steinhauser and board members Diana F. Craighead, Jon Meyer and Felton Williams also endorsed McGinnis. He also received endorsements from United States Representative Alan Lowenthal, Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster, Long Beach Vice Mayor Robert Garcia, and Assemblymember Bonnie Lowenthal.[11][12]
Juan Benitez received endorsements from the Teachers Association of Long Beach, Long Beach Democratic Club, Los Angeles County Democrats and several other local political and labor organizations, including the Long Beach Firefighter Association, Police Officers Association and California School Employees Association. Long Beach Vice Mayor Robert Garcia, Assemblymember Bonnie Lowenthal and State Senator Ricardo Lara endorsed Benitez, as well.[13]
Campaign finance
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.[14][15][16]
On March 28, 2014, Gazettes published an article that included a limited amount of campaign finance data for the Long Beach election. According to that article, District 1 candidates Uduak-Joe Ntuk and Megan Kerr raised approximately $65,000 and $30,000 in contributions, respectively. District 3 candidate Juan Benitez raised approximately $50,000 for his campaign against incumbent John McGinnis, who self-funded his campaign using the stipend he earned by attending board meetings. District 5 incumbent Diana F. Craighead was not reported as raising any funds for her re-election campaign.[17]
Past elections
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2012
2010
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What was at stake?
Three seats on the school board were up for election on April 8, 2014. Newcomers Uduak-Joe Ntuk and Megan Kerr competed for the vacant District 1 seat while incumbent Diana F. Craighead ran unopposed to keep her District 5 seat. Board President John McGinnis fended off a challenge from Juan Benitez to keep his District 3 seat.
Issues in the election
Accusations of dishonesty
In the month prior to the District 1 election, both Uduak-Joe Ntuk and Megan Kerr made statements claiming that the other was dishonest. Ntuk criticized Kerr's campaign for falsely claiming that she held a Master's degree. On an online profile created by the League of Women Voters, Kerr was attributed with an M.A. degree in Human Development from Pacific Oaks College. Kerr campaign representative Katy Stanton also claimed during an interview with The Press-Telegram that Kerr holds a Master's degree from California State University at Long Beach, which Kerr later denied. On her campaign website, Kerr clarified that she studied for a graduate degree at Pacific Oaks College but that she did not complete all of the necessary requirements to receive one.[19]
Ntuk also faced allegations of dishonesty from the Kerr campaign regarding endorsements. Ntuk's campaign used his website and thousands of robocalls to publicize an endorsement from AFT Local 1521, which is a local affiliate of the national American Federation of Teachers union. The Teachers Association of Long Beach, which endorsed Kerr and is affiliated with the National Education Association, characterized Ntuk's statements as an attempt to mislead voters into believing that the national union had endorsed him. Campaign spokesman Roy Behr said of Ntuk, "It was very clear that he had been endorsed by AFT Local 1521."[20]
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for the Long Beach Unified School District election in 2014:[7]
| Deadline | Event |
|---|---|
| December 16, 2013 | First day to file nominating petitions |
| January 10, 2014 | Last day to file nominating petitions |
| January 16, 2014 | Drawing of names for candidate positions on the ballot |
| February 10, 2014 | First day to declare as a write-in candidate |
| February 27, 2014 | Last day to file first campaign finance report |
| March 25, 2014 | Last day to declare as a write-in candidate |
| March 27, 2014 | Last day to file second campaign finance report |
| April 8, 2014 | Election day |
| June 3, 2014 | Run-off election (if necessary) |
| July 14, 2014 | New member terms begin |
| July 31, 2014 | Last day to file final campaign finance report |
Additional elections on the ballot
This election shared the ballot with the Long Beach mayoral and municipal primary elections and the Long Beach Community College District Governing Board election.[21] Proposition A, a local ballot measure to establish a sales tax on the retail sale of medical marijuana, also appeared on the ballot and was approved.[22]
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Long + Beach + Unified + School + District + California"
See also
- California
- Long Beach Unified School District, California
- California school board elections, 2014
- List of school board elections in 2014
- School board elections, 2014
- Los Angeles County, California ballot measures
- Local ballot measures, California
- Election preview: More than 100 candidates running in California, Missouri and South Dakota school board elections
- Post-election:Incumbents fare well in Missouri, South Dakota and California school board elections
External links
- Long Beach Unified School District
- Long Beach, California
- Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk
Footnotes
- ↑ Harry Saltzgaver, Gazettes, "SO MOVED: More Debate On Managers' Pay Raises," October 31, 2013
- ↑ Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, "Final List of Qualified Candidates," accessed March 31, 2014
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 United States Census Bureau, "Los Angeles County, California," accessed March 31, 2014
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "ELSI Table Generator," accessed April 22, 2014
- ↑ California Secretary of State Debra Bowen, "Report of Registration as of December 31, 2013 - Registration by County," accessed March 31, 2014
- ↑ Long Beach Unified School District, "LBUSD Board of Education," accessed March 31, 2014
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, "Candidate Handbook and Resource Guide," accessed March 31, 2014
- ↑ Long Beach, California, "Long Beach Primary Nominating Election," accessed June 17, 2014
- ↑ Uduak-Joe Ntuk - 2014 Long Beach School Board, "Endorsements," accessed March 31, 2014 (dead link)
- ↑ Megan Kerr, "Endorsements," accessed March 31, 2014
- ↑ Re-Elect John McGinnis for Long Beach Unified School Board, "Endorsements," accessed March 31, 2014
- ↑ Abbey Smith, “Email communication with John McGinnis," February 8, 2016
- ↑ Juan Benitez, "Endorsements," accessed March 31, 2014
- ↑ 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
- ↑ Ashleigh Ruhl, Gazettes, "Election 2014: School Board Candidates Bring New Faces To LBUSD," March 28, 2014
- ↑ League of Women Voters of California Education Fund, "School Contests for Los Angeles County, CA - April 13, 2010 Election," accessed March 31, 2014
- ↑ Megan Kerr, "Truth," accessed March 31, 2014
- ↑ Nadra Nittle, The Press-Telegram, "Long Beach Unified school board race growing increasingly contentious," March 24, 2014
- ↑ Long Beach, California, "City of Long Beach Primary Nomination Election, Qualified Candidates for April 8, 2014 - Ballot Order by Office," accessed March 31, 2014
- ↑ Eric Bradley, The Press-Telegram, "Long Beach voters to choose new city, school leaders," April 5, 2014
| 2014 Long Beach Unified School District Elections | |
| Los Angeles County, California | |
| Election date: | April 8, 2014 |
| Candidates: | District 1: • Uduak-Joe Ntuk • Megan Kerr District 3: • Incumbent, John McGinnis • Juan Benitez |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
