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Matt Dhieux
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Matt Dhieux was a candidate for the District 2 seat on the Jeffco Public Schools Board of Education in Colorado. He ran against incumbent John Newkirk in his recall election on November 3, 2015.[1] He lost the election.[2]
Newkirk and former board members Julie Williams and Ken Witt were targeted for recall by Jeffco United for Action. The group's recall ballot statement accused the three members of paying the district's new superintendent more than necessary, violating open meeting laws, bullying parents and students and pushing teachers out of the district due to the new merit pay system.
Biography
Dhieux is a business owner and medical provider. He formerly work as a teacher.[3]
Elections
2015
An effort to recall three members of the Jeffco Public Schools Board of Education in Colorado was on the ballot on November 3, 2015.[4] Board members Julie Williams, John Newkirk, and Ken Witt from Districts 1, 2, and 5, respectively, were ousted from office with more than 60 percent of voters in each district casting ballots in favor of recall.[2]
A total of six candidates filed to replace the three incumbents up for recall. Brad Rupert ran for the seat held by Williams. Matt Dhieux and Susan Harmon campaigned for Newkirk's seat, and Regan Benson, Ron Mitchell, and Paula Noonan ran for Witt's seat. Rupert, Harmon, and Mitchell ran together as "The Clean Slate."[1][5] All three slate members were elected to replace Williams, Newkirk, and Witt.[2] They took office on November 19, 2015.[6]
The other two seats on the board—District 3 and District 4—were also on the ballot on November 3, 2015. They were up for general election. Neither incumbent filed to retain her seat in that election, meaning the district welcomed an entirely new board on November 19, 2015.[7]
Results
| John Newkirk, Area 2 Board Member, Jeffco Public Schools | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
 Recall | 115080 | 63.63% | ||
| Retain | 65770 | 36.37% | ||
| Election results via: Jefferson County, "Official County Results," November 20, 2015 | ||||
| Successor candidate, Area 2 Board Member, Jeffco Public Schools | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Susan Harmon | 96805 | 82.17% | ||
 Matt Dhieux | 21002 | 17.83% | ||
| Election results via: Jefferson County, "Official County Results," November 20, 2015 | ||||
Funding
Dhieux reported $268.94 in contributions and $95.00 in expenditures to the Colorado Secretary of State, which left his campaign with $173.94 on hand in the election.[8]
Campaign themes
2015
Dhieux highlighted the following issues on his campaign website:
| “ | Jefferson County has an illness. Like many areas across this country, we have been infected with the politicalization of our school board. Politicalization is the oversimplification of important issues in order to attach them to a voter base, thus turning complex educational issues into buzz words such as "choice", "reform", "pay for performance". This illness is not about conservatives vs. liberals or Democrats vs. Republicans. This sickness is about turning these simplified terms into political agendas in order to make complex and important decisions about public education. Together we will remove this illness from the Jefferson County School Board. We will restore common sense to the direction and decision-making process.
Poking yourself in the eye with a sharp stick is a choice, but it doesn't mean you should do it. The politicalization of "choice" has turned a complex educational issue into the simplified political agenda of throwing money at charter schools and voucher systems. Data has shown that charter schools do not necessarily perform better when compared to public schools. Furthermore, many of the charter schools that the current board financially supports are run by FOR PROFIT education management companies. I concur that there are many charter schools within Jefferson County are highly successful and provide an important educational impact on our community. Together we will provide funding for charter schools that provide a true educational choice and utilize district funding in a responsible manner. "Pay for performance" is one of my favorite political terms, and another great example of how a simplified political agenda can sound wonderful as a PR blurb, but have a significant negative impact when implemented. In its simplified form, "pay for performance" may make perfect sense. This theory supports the concept that if we pay well-performing teachers more and poor-performing teachers less, the district will keep great teachers and weed out poor teachers. The problem is this: there are no assessment models which can accurately and consistantly assess a teacher's performance. Instead of increasing the quaility of teachers, the execution of this political agenda creates a negative teaching environment. Teachers are leaving our district, in search of positions in other districts which foster a more positive employment atmosphere. Together we will work with the teachers association. We will negotiate a contract which attracts the top teachers of Colorado and create a system of teacher assessment which focuses on training and support in order to improve teacher quility. Politicalization has a large financial impact in our local school board elections. In 2013, Americans For Prosperity and other outside poilitical interest groups poured money into our local school board election. This year they are once again pushing their political agenda by spending hundreds of thousands of dollars in our local school board elections. Together we will take back our school board. We will use common sense to guide our choices, instead of political agendas.[9] |
” |
| —Matt Dhieux's campaign website (2015)[10] | ||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms ”Matt Dhieux” ”Jeffco Public Schools”. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Jeffco Public Schools, Colorado
- Jeffco Public Schools recall, Colorado (2015)
- Analysis of incumbency advantage in the 2014 school board elections
- 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
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Chalkbeat Colorado, "6 candidates, including longtime critic, in running to replace Jeffco school board recall targets," September 28, 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Jefferson County, "Unofficial County Results," November 3, 2015
- ↑ Matthew Dhieux for Jeffco School Board, "Who Am I," accessed October 14, 2015
- ↑ Chalkbeat Colorado, "Clerk: Jeffco school board recall will be on November ballot," September 3, 2015
- ↑ Colorado Independent, "Recall-backed Jeffco school board candidates skip conservative forum," September 1, 2015
- ↑ FOX 31 Denver, "Ousted Jefferson County school board members attend final meeting," November 5, 2015
- ↑ Jeffco Public Schools, "Board of Education Election 2015," accessed August 31, 2015
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "TRACER Candidate Information - Election Year 2015: Dhieux, Matthew," accessed December 7, 2015
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Matthew Dhieux, "Together We Will," accessed October 14, 2015
| 2015 Jeffco Public Schools General Election and Recall Election | |
| Jefferson County, Colorado | |
| Election date: | November 3, 2015 |
| Candidates: | General Election Candidates District 3: • Kim Johnson • Ali Lasell District 4: • Tori Merritts • Amanda Stevens Recall Election Candidates District 1: • Incumbent, Julie Williams • Brad Rupert District 2: • Incumbent, John Newkirk • Matt Dhieux • Susan Harmon District 5: • Incumbent, Ken Witt • Regan Benson • Ron Mitchell • Paula Noonan |
| Important information: | Issues in the general election • Recall supporters • Recall opponents • Key general election deadlines • Recall path to the ballot |
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