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Mary Barghahn

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Mary Barghahn was a member of the Waterford School District Board of Education, At-large in Michigan. Barghahn assumed office in 2017.
This office is outside of Ballotpedia's coverage scope and does not receive scheduled updates. Our scope includes all elected federal and state officeholders as well as comprehensive coverage of the 100 largest cities in America by population.
Elections
2016
Three of the seven seats on the Waterford School District school board were up for general election on November 8, 2016. Incumbents Robert Petrusha, Bob Piggott, and Robert Seeterlin filed for re-election. They faced challengers Mary Barghahn, Paul Greenawalt, Jon Knapp, and Eric Lindemier. Petrusha, Barghahn, and Piggott won in the general election.[1]
Results
Waterford School District, At-Large General Election, 6-year terms, 2016 |
||
---|---|---|
Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
![]() |
19.50% | 12,298 |
![]() |
17.23% | 10,867 |
![]() |
15.83% | 9,988 |
Robert Seeterlin Incumbent | 14.48% | 9,132 |
Jon Knapp | 13.71% | 8,650 |
Eric Lindemier | 11.67% | 7,362 |
Paul Greenawalt | 7.08% | 4,465 |
Write-in votes | 0.5% | 318 |
Total Votes | 63,080 | |
Source: Oakland County Elections Division, "November 8, 2016 General Election," November 22, 2016 |
Funding
School board candidates in Michigan were required to file pre-election campaign finance reports with their county election offices by October 28, 2016. Post-election reports were due by December 8, 2016.[2]
In Michigan, candidates are prohibited from receiving contributions from corporations or labor organizations. Within 10 days of becoming a candidate, candidates must form a candidate committee. Following the creation of the committee, candidates have an additional 10 days to register the committee with the school district filing official by filing a statement of organization. A candidate committee that does not expect to receive or spend more than $1,000 during the election cycle is eligible to receive a reporting waiver, which allows that committee not to file pre-election, post-election, and annual campaign statements.[3]
October 28 filing
Candidates received a total of $7,117.95 and spent a total of $5,067.09 as of October 30, 2016, according to the Oakland County Clerk/Register of Deeds.[4]
Candidate | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
---|---|---|---|
Robert Petrusha (incumbent) | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
Bob Piggott (incumbent) | $797.95 | $782.09 | $15.86 |
Robert Seeterlin (incumbent) | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
Mary Barghahn | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
Paul Greenawalt | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
Jon Knapp | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
Eric Lindemier | $6,320.00 | $4,285.00 | $2,035.00 |
2014
The election in Waterford featured two at-large seats up for general election on November 4, 2014. Incumbent Heather Halls ran against challengers Mary Barghahn, Paul Barghahn, Cherie Billington, David Downing and John Paul Torres for the seats. Fellow board member Robin McGregor did not file for re-election. Mary and Paul Barghahn are married and campaigned together as a slate.[5] Halls and Downing also ran together as a slate.[6] Heather Halls and John Paul Torres defeated the other four candidates to win the two seats.
Results
Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Nonpartisan | ![]() |
25.4% | 7,690 | |
Nonpartisan | ![]() |
19.4% | 5,868 | |
Nonpartisan | David Downing | 18.1% | 5,494 | |
Nonpartisan | Mary Barghahn | 15.8% | 4,781 | |
Nonpartisan | Paul Barghahn | 10.6% | 3,201 | |
Nonpartisan | Cherie Billington | 10.3% | 3,113 | |
Nonpartisan | Write-in votes | 0.4% | 130 | |
Total Votes | 30,277 | |||
Source: Oakland County Elections Division, "November 4, 2014 General Election," accessed December 29, 2014 |
Funding
Barghahn did not report any contributions or expenditures during the election, according to the Oakland County Elections Division.[7]
Endorsements
Barghahn did not receive any official endorsements during the election.
Campaign themes
2016
Barghahn provided the following responses to the League of Women Voters Oakland Area regarding her top priorities for the district:
“ |
1. Raising our achievement scores. I would ask to see evidence of programs and their related achievement. I would ask to see program results. A clear criterion for which programs are evaluated and when results would be reported to the board would be established. A specific plan for improvement would be expected. Score reporting would be followed by deep discussion and questioning. 2. Securing financial stability. There is a need to be transparent about the use of funds, the district debt, and district expenses. There is a need for solutions to creating a 9% fund balance. I would move beyond the projected budget and discuss actual revenue and expenses against our actual budget. 3. Transparency. Discussing the two issues listed above at each meeting with great detail will be a priority for me. Details of all discussions and reports should be on the agenda with hyperlinks to the board packet.[8][9] |
” |
—Mary Barghahn (2016) |
See also
- Waterford School District, Michigan
- Waterford School District elections (2016)
- Waterford School District elections (2014)
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Oakland County Elections Division, "Unofficial Candidate List," August 19, 2016
- ↑ Michigan Bureau of Elections, "2016 and 2017 Campaign Finance Filing Schedule," January 12, 2016
- ↑ Genesee County, "Filing Requirements under Michigan's Campaign Finance Act," February 7, 2014
- ↑ Oakland County Clerk/Register of Deeds, "Campaign Finance Reporting System," accessed October 30, 2016
- ↑ Facebook, "Barghahns for Waterford School Board," accessed October 7, 2014
- ↑ Facebook, "Halls and Downing - Waterford Board of Education 2014," accessed October 7, 2014
- ↑ Oakland County Elections Division, "Campaign Finance - Oakland County Clerk," accessed October 24, 2014
- ↑ League of Women Voters Oakland Area, "Voter Guide - November General Election," accessed October 24, 2016
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
2016 Waterford School District Elections | |
Oakland County, Michigan | |
Election date: | November 8, 2016 |
Candidates: | At-large: Incumbent, Robert Petrusha • Incumbent, Bob Piggott • Incumbent, Robert Seeterlin • Mary Barghahn • Paul Greenawalt • Jon Knapp • Eric Lindemier |
Important information: | What was at stake? |
2014 Waterford School District Elections | |
Oakland County, Michigan | |
Election date: | November 4, 2014 |
Candidates: | At-large: • Incumbent, Heather Halls • Mary Barghahn • Paul Barghahn • Cherie Billington • David Downing • John Paul Torres |
Important information: | Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |