Matthew Munson
Matthew Munson (Republican Party) ran for election to the California State Senate to represent District 20. He lost in the general election on November 6, 2018.
Munson was a 2014 Republican candidate for District 20 of the California State Senate.
Elections
2018
- See also: California State Senate elections, 2018
General election
General election for California State Senate District 20
Incumbent Connie Leyva defeated Matthew Munson in the general election for California State Senate District 20 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Connie Leyva (D) | 69.5 | 137,748 |
 | Matthew Munson (R) | 30.5 | 60,578 | |
| Total votes: 198,326 (100.00% precincts reporting) | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for California State Senate District 20
Incumbent Connie Leyva and Matthew Munson defeated Paul Avila in the primary for California State Senate District 20 on June 5, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Connie Leyva (D) | 47.0 | 40,112 |
| ✔ | | Matthew Munson (R) | 35.4 | 30,233 |
| Paul Avila (D) | 17.6 | 14,985 | ||
| Total votes: 85,330 | |||
| = 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
2016
Two of the five seats on the Chaffey Joint Union High School District board of trustees were up for at-large general election on November 8, 2016. In their bids for re-election, incumbents Shari Megaw and Sue Ovitt defeated challengers Matthew Munson, Richard Reyes Galvez, and Maria Galvan.[1][2]
Results
| Chaffey Joint Union High School District, At-large General Election, 4-year terms, 2016 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Sue Ovitt Incumbent |
39.82% | 72,666 |
| Shari Megaw Incumbent |
30.13% | 54,983 |
| Maria Galvan | 15.19% | 27,725 |
| Richard Reyes Galvez | 8.43% | 15,375 |
| Matthew Munson | 6.42% | 11,721 |
| Total Votes | 182,470 | |
| Source: San Bernadino County Elections Office of the Registrar of Voters, "Final Certified Election Results," accessed December 7, 2016 | ||
Funding
Munson filed an exemption form detailing he would not spend or receive more than $2,000 for this campaign. Because of this, he did not have to file additional campaign finance reports.[3][4]
2014
- See also: California State Senate elections, 2014
Elections for the California State Senate took place in 2014. A primary election took place on June 3, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was March 7, 2014. Connie M. Leyva (D) and Matthew Munson (R) defeated Shannon O'Brien (D), Sylvia Robles (D) and Alfonso "Al" Sanchez (D) in the blanket primary. Leyva defeated Munson in the general election.[5][6][7]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Connie M. Leyva |
62.4% | 56,943 | |
| Republican | Matthew Munson | 37.6% | 34,256 | |
| Total Votes | 91,199 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican |
Matthew Munson |
33% | 14,124 | |
| Democratic | Connie M. Leyva |
21.3% | 9,096 | |
| Democratic | Alfonso Sanchez | 18.6% | 7,958 | |
| Democratic | Shannon O'Brien | 15.8% | 6,769 | |
| Democratic | Sylvia Robles | 11.3% | 4,843 | |
| Total Votes | 42,790 | |||
Campaign themes
2016
Ballotpedia survey responses
Matthew Munson 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 October 21, 2016:
| “ | My main goal if elected to my school board is to make sure we close up the achievement gap in my district. I want kids in Montclair and Ontario to do well in key subjects so they can be better students in the long run. I would like to see reading classes offered in the schools so students with reading issues can improve their skills in the classroom and in life.[8][9] | ” |
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 | |
| Improving post-secondary readiness | |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Improving relations with teachers | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| Expanding school choice options | |
| “ | For the top three priorities. 1) I support closing the achievement gap where schools in 2 of the 4 cities are not as performing well. So we need to improve post secondary readiness to make the first goal happen. I also want to maintain the district budget so if we go back to bad times we dont end up firing teachers and staff.[9] | ” |
| —Matthew Munson (October 21, 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. As long as the charter school is fiscally solvent and has a detailed plan on how they would attain effectiveness I would be all ears. |
| 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. |
| Are standardized tests an accurate metric of student achievement? |
| No. Standardized tests are not the total metric of student achievement. It should be based on their achievement in the classroom and on the test. |
| What is your stance on the Common Core State Standards Initiative? |
| Common core basically federalizes education where local school districts and state education departments lose control over education policy. |
| 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? |
| Offer additional training options. Put them on a probationary period while they seek to improve. Set up a mentorship program for the underperforming teacher with a more experienced teacher in the district. Termination would only be utilized if the educator fails to improve after 3 years of trying to improve. |
| Should teachers receive merit pay? |
| Yes. Merit pay should be used as a method for raises.If an educator is not performing well then I would also be open to covering their classes or seminars to help them become better educators. |
| Should the state give money to private schools through a voucher system or scholarship program? |
| Yes. Partial grants should be utilized for non-religious schools as long as the schools are accredited by a recognized accreditation agency such as WASC. |
| How should expulsion be used in the district? |
| Serious cases such as assaults on students/staff, open drug use on campus. |
| What's the most important factor for success in the classroom: student-teacher ratio, the curriculum, teachers, parent involvement or school administration? |
| Teachers The teachers help control the destiny of the classroom. They help lead the involvement in all the other areas in the question discussed such as the curriculum, parental involvement and dealing with the school administration. |
See also
- State legislative elections, 2018
- California State Senate elections, 2018
- California State Senate elections, 2014
- California State Legislature
- California State Senate District 20
- California State Senate
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ San Bernardino County Elections, "Candidate List," August 13, 2016
- ↑ San Bernadino County, "Final Unofficial Election Night Results," accessed November 9, 2016
- ↑ San Bernardino County Elections Office of the Registrar of Voters, "County of San Bernardino Public Portal for Campaign Finance Disclosure," accessed October 5, 2016
- ↑ California Fair Political Practices Commission, "Filing Schedule for Candidates and Controlled Committees for Local Office Being Voted on November 8, 2016," accessed September 30, 2016
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Official 2014 Primary election candidate list," accessed March 27, 2014
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Official primary election results," accessed July 15, 2014
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Official general election results," accessed December 14, 2014
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2016, "Matthew Munson's responses," October 21, 2016
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
