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Melissa Martinez-Smith
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Melissa Martinez-Smith was the Place 3 representative on the Sharyland Independent School District Board of Trustees in Texas. She won election to the board in the general election on May 9, 2015. This year's election was the first for Place 3, as the Sharyland Board of Trustees began transitioning its election system to numbered at-large positions in 2014.
In her campaigning, Martinez-Smith described her vision of the role of school board members, saying, "A school board member is a representative of the community, accountable to the children, parents and teachers that make up this school district."[1]
Martinez-Smith joins the district in facing an ongoing state investigation of its spending in addition to welcoming a new superintendent for the district, its third in as many years.
Biography
Martinez-Smith was born June 19, 1964, and has lived in Sharyland ISD for 29 years.[2] She is married and has four children, all of whom attended or have graduated from district schools.[1]
Martinez-Smith earned her bachelor's degree in education at Trinity University. She has worked as the co-owner and president of Frank Smith Sales, Inc., an educator in McAllen Independent School District, and a co-curriculum coordinator at the Oratory Athenaeum for University Preparation. She formerly served on the Agape Christian School Board and on the Boys and Girls Club of McAllen board.[1]
Elections
2015
Two of the seven seats Sharyland school board were up for election on May 9, 2015. Incumbents Fernando Ramirez and Eddie Montalvo's at-large terms ended in November 2015. Due to a change in the election procedure for the board, Ramirez and Motalvo had the option of running for the new Place 3 and 4 seats. However, neither incumbent filed to run in the 2015 election.[2]
Both of the open seats saw contested races. Melissa Martinez-Smith defeated Cesar Aguilar for the Place 3 seat. José García defeated fellow newcomer candidates Suzanne Peña, Robert Puente, and Kevin Sparks for the Place 4 seat.[2] However, Puente withdrew from the race on April 24, 2015, and endorsed García in the Place 4 race. Puente's name still appeared on the ballot.[3]
The seat numbers did not correlate to geographic districts or specific schools in the district. Rather, they served to separate the elections for each seat on the board into its own race. Candidates filed to run for a specific seat, but all voters in the school district were eligible to vote for both seats up for election. For more information about the election process, see the method of board member selection section of this election's overview.
Results
| Sharyland Independent School District, Place 3 General Election, 3-year term, 2015 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan |  Melissa Martinez-Smith |
66.9% | 1,236 | |
| Nonpartisan | Cesar Aguilar | 33.1% | 611 | |
| Total Votes | 1,847 | |||
| Source: Hidalgo County Clerk, "Sharyland I.s.d.- May 9, 2015 Election: Official Results, May 20, 2015 | ||||
Funding
Martinez-Smith reported $8,050.00 in contributions and $6,556.51 in expenditures to the the district according to reports by The Monitor, which left her campaign with $1,493.49 on hand as of April 9, 2015.[4] The next filing deadline was May 1, 2015.
Endorsements
Martinez-Smith received no official endorsements as of April 7, 2015.
Campaign themes
2015
Digital AIM Media Tx, "Melissa Martinez Smith," April 17, 2015 |
Martinez-Smith provided the following statement on her Facebook campaign page:
| “ | A school board member is a representative of the community, accountable to the children, parents and teachers that make up this school district. I believe in Sharyland ISD. Complacency is not an option. Our children have the capacity to make Sharyland ISD stand above the rest both academically and athletically. Our teachers have the capacity to help our children reach their potential. Our parents have the capacity to support and guide their children. It is important that each school board member and our administration have the capacity to provide our children and teachers with the resources they need to complete this vision. This is what I believe.[5] | ” |
| —Melissa Martinez-Smith's Facebook campaign page (2015)[1] | ||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Melissa Martinez Smith Sharyland ISD. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Sharyland Independent School District, Texas
- Sharyland Independent School District elections (2015)
- Decreased success for school board incumbents in Texas; 1/3 defeated in largest districts (May 11, 2015)
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Facebook, "Elect Melissa Martinez-Smith for Sharyland ISD Pl3: Mobile Uploads," April 9, 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Margaret Koenig, "Email correspondence with Lou Ann Sarachene, Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources, Sharyland ISD," March 3, 2015
- ↑ Facebook, "Sharyland Times: Wall Post," April 24, 2015
- ↑ The Monitor, "Initial finance reports in for Sharyland school board election," April 13, 2015
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
| 2015 Sharyland Independent School District Elections | |
| Hidalgo County, Texas | |
| Election date: | May 9, 2015 |
| Candidates: | Place 3: Melissa Martinez-Smith • Cesar Aguilar
Place 4: José García • Suzanne Peña • Robert Puente • Kevin Sparks |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
