Melissa Williams
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Melissa Williams is an at-large representative on the Washington County Board of Education in Maryland. She was first elected in 2012. Williams sought another term in the primary election on April 26, 2016. Williams won re-election in the general election on November 8, 2016.[1]
Biography
Williams worked as a teacher and specialist in district schools from 1974 to her retirement in 2009. She and her husband, David, have three children.[2]
Elections
2016
Four of the seven seats on the Washington County Board of Education were up for general election on November 8, 2016. A primary election was held on April 26, 2016, with the top eight vote recipients advancing to the general election. Incumbents Donna Brightman, Wayne Ridenour, and Melissa Williams filed for re-election. They faced challengers Al Martin, Pieter Bickford, Joseph Chandler, Linda Murray, Stan Stouffer, and Robin Lynne Wivell in the primary election. All of these candidates except Chandler advanced to the general election. Ridenour, Bickford, Williams, and Stouffer won on November 8, 2016.[3] Wivell withdrew from the election on June 15, 2016.[4]
Results
| Washington County Public Schools, At-large General Election, 4-Year Terms, 2016 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Wayne Ridenour Incumbent |
15.61% | 26,949 |
| Pieter Bickford |
15.26% | 26,344 |
| Melissa Williams Incumbent |
14.96% | 25,835 |
| Stan Stouffer |
14.13% | 24,402 |
| Donna Brightman Incumbent | 13.71% | 23,669 |
| Linda Murray | 13.65% | 23,571 |
| Al Martin | 12.34% | 21,311 |
| Write-in votes | 0.33% | 572 |
| Total Votes | 172,653 | |
| Source: Maryland State Board of Elections, "2016 Presidential General Election Results," accessed December 14, 2016 | ||
| Washington County Public Schools, At-large Primary Election, 4-Year Terms, 2016 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Wayne Ridenour Incumbent |
14.87% | 13,871 |
| Pieter Bickford |
13.80% | 12,878 |
| Donna Brightman Incumbent |
12.73% | 11,881 |
| Melissa Williams Incumbent |
12.39% | 11,564 |
| Stan Stouffer |
12.27% | 11,447 |
| Linda Murray |
9.99% | 9,326 |
| Al Martin |
9.51% | 8,875 |
| Robin Lynne Wivell |
9.51% | 8,874 |
| Joseph Chandler | 4.92% | 4,592 |
| Total Votes | 93,308 | |
| Source: Maryland State Board of Elections, "Unofficial 2016 Presidential Primary Election results for Washington County," accessed April 26, 2016 | ||
Funding
Candidates for public office in Maryland had until March 22, 2016, to submit their first contributions and expenditure report of the primary campaign. The final campaign finance deadline of the 2016 campaign was November 22, 2016.[5] State law allows candidates to file Affidavits of Limited Contributions and Expenditures (ALCE) if their campaigns did not accept $1,000 in contributions or spend $1,000 in a particular reporting period.[6]
October 28 filing
Candidates received a total of $3,636.71 and spent a total of $8,736.16 as of October 28, 2016, according to the Maryland Campaign Reporting Information System.[7]
| Candidate | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Donna Brightman (incumbent) | $475.00 | $2,739.68 | $51.37 |
| Wayne Ridenour (incumbent) | ALCE | ALCE | ALCE |
| Melissa Williams (incumbent) | $775.00 | $1,203.17 | $671.83 |
| Al Martin | $150.00 | $2,521.19 | $243.09 |
| Pieter Bickford | $500.00 | $424.28 | $629.93 |
| Linda Murray | $415.00 | $752.25 | $188.47 |
| Stan Stouffer | $1,321.71 | $1,095.59 | $262.18 |
March 22 filing
Candidates received a total of $8,516.98 and spent a total of $2,511.71 as of March 22, 2016, according to the Maryland Campaign Reporting Information System.[8]
| Candidate | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Donna Brightman (incumbent) | $2,540.00 | $119.71 | $2,420.29 |
| Wayne Ridenour (incumbent) | ALCE | ALCE | ALCE |
| Melissa Williams (incumbent) | $300.00 | $0.00 | $300.00 |
| Al Martin | $1,700.00 | $0.00 | $1,700.00 |
| Pieter Bickford | $1,000.00 | $0.00 | $1,000.00 |
| Joseph Chandler | ALCE | ALCE | ALCE |
| Linda Murray | $1,476.98 | $898.46 | $578.52 |
| Stan Stouffer | $1,500.00 | $1,493.54 | $36.06 |
| Robin Lynne Wivell | ALCE | ALCE | ALCE |
2012
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Donna Brightman |
21.8% | 34,647 | |
| Nonpartisan | Wayne Ridenour |
21.5% | 34,273 | |
| Nonpartisan | Melissa Williams |
21.1% | 33,643 | |
| Nonpartisan | Justin Hartings |
19% | 30,180 | |
| Nonpartisan | Travis W. Poole | 16.2% | 25,868 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in votes | 0.4% | 577 | |
| Total Votes | 159,188 | |||
| Source: Maryland State Board of Elections, "2012 Presidential General Election Results," November 28, 2012 | ||||
Campaign themes
2016
Williams' campaign website listed the following answers to questions from the League of Women Voters of Washington County:
| “ |
QUALIFICATIONS: What are your qualifications/experience for this office? Current BOE member; BOE committee work and Maryland Assoc. of Boards of Education training; dedicated educator with 35 years at WCPS - classroom through central office Title I Coordinator; experience training, developing, mentoring, evaluating staff; managing million dollar programs and budgets; worked as consultant for MD State Dept of Ed in area of school reform; supervised FSU student interns. PRIORITIES: What do you hope to accomplish if elected? Improve BOE relations with county commissioners; town hall meetings to improve dialog with parents, employees, community; use public work sessions to foster open discussion of issues; advocate for school and student equity; maintain quality programs; recruit, develop, retain highly effective teachers and admins; increase focus on student achievement, especially for our most vulnerable students. PROGRAM QUALITY: How will you ensure that the quality, equity, and variety of programs offered by Washington County Public schools is maintained in tight budget times? Set goals; base budget on goals; ask questions; work collaboratively with County Commissioners and state delegation; annually evaluate programs of study; hold myself, fellow Board members, and Superintendent accountable for providing the best possible education opportunities for ALL of our students while respecting the financial concerns of taxpayers. DIVERSITY: How does diversity enrich our school system, and what strategies would you work to put in place to ensure diversity? Schools exist as microcosms of society. Diversity in the student population is greater than ever. I continue to support having highly qualified professionals from diverse backgrounds in our schools and central office and the recent efforts of WCPS to recruit to ensure such diversity. There is much to be learned from those who differ from us, and ALL of our students deserve and need role models. NEW IDEAS: How will we address facilities and programming for the Barbara Ingram School for the Arts and other career programs? BISFA opened without enough space to be self-sufficient within its own building. That situation needs to be fixed. A solution is needed that doesn’t use general operating funds, which are already stretched thin, to make loan payments for a building. A solution can be found by not going it alone as a BOE, but by restoring relationships and opening a meaningful dialog with all the parties impacted. [9] |
” |
| —Melissa Williams (2016), [10] | ||
Recent news
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See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedwashington - ↑ Washington County Public Schools, "Melissa A. Williams," accessed April 11, 2016
- ↑ Maryland State Board of Elections, "Washington County 2016 Presidential Primary Election Local Candidates List," February 11, 2016
- ↑ Maryland State Board of Elections, "Washington County 2016 Presidential General Election Local Candidates List," October 28, 2016
- ↑ Maryland State Board of Elections, "Reporting Schedule," accessed February 10, 2016
- ↑ Maryland State Board of Elections, "EAffidavit Filing," accessed February 10, 2016
- ↑ Maryland Campaign Reporting Information System, "View Filed Reports Information," accessed October 30, 2016
- ↑ Maryland Campaign Reporting Information System, "View Filed Reports Information," accessed April 19, 2016
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Elect Melissa Williams, "Questions & Answers," accessed April 11, 2016
| 2016 Washington County Public Schools Elections | |
| Washington County, Maryland | |
| Election date: | November 8, 2016 |
| Candidates: | At-large: Incumbent, Donna Brightman • Incumbent, Wayne Ridenour • Incumbent, Melissa Williams • Pieter Bickford • Joseph Chandler • Al Martin • Linda Murray • Stan Stouffer |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
