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Mesa Public Schools elections (2014)

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2014 Mesa Public Schools Elections

General Election date:
November 4, 2014
Table of Contents
About the district
Method of election
Elections
Key deadlines
Additional elections
External links
See also
Arizona
Mesa Public Schools
Maricopa County, Arizona ballot measures
Local ballot measures, Arizona
Flag of Arizona.png

Two seats on the Mesa Public Schools Governing Board were up for general election on November 4, 2014.

Two incumbents, Mike Hughes and Michelle Udall, had terms expiring on December 31, 2014, but neither filed to run for re-election. Ben Smith, Dan Hink, Deanna Villanueva-Saucedo and Jenny Richardson ran to fill their vacated seats, with Richardson and Smith winning the general election.[1]

About the district

See also: Mesa Public Schools, Arizona
Mesa Public Schools is located in Maricopa County, Arizona.

Mesa Public Schools is located in the city of Mesa, which lies in southwestern Arizona in Maricopa County. Phoenix is the county seat and the state capital. In 2013, Maricopa County was home to 4,009,412 residents according to United States Census Bureau estimates. In the 2011-2012 school year, Mesa Public Schools was the largest school district in Arizona and served 64,728 students.[2]

Demographics

Maricopa County slightly overperformed compared to the rest of Arizona in terms of higher education achievement in 2012. The United States Census Bureau found that 29.5 percent of Maricopa County residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree compared to 26.6 percent in Arizona. The median household income for the county was $54,385 compared to $50,256 statewide. The poverty rate in Maricopa County was 15.8 percent compared to 17.2 percent statewide.[2]

Racial Demographics, 2013[2]
Race Maricopa County (%) Arizona (%)
White 84.7 84.0
Black or African American 5.7 4.6
American Indian and Alaska Native 2.7 5.3
Asian 4.0 3.2
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 0.3 0.3
Two or More Races 2.7 2.6
Hispanic or Latino 30.0 30.3

Presidential Voting Pattern, Maricopa County[3][4]
Year Democratic Vote Republican Vote
2012 602,288 749,885
2008 602,166 746,448
2004 504,849 679,455
2000 386,683 479,967

Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Voter and candidate information

The Mesa Public Schools Governing Board is composed of five at-large, nonpartisan members who are elected to four-year terms. There was no primary election, and the general election was November 4, 2014. Arizona law required an automatic recount in the case of a tie. If a tie held, the winner would have been chosen by drawing lots in the presence of the candidates. There were no runoff elections. Members-elect assumed their board memberships on January 1, 2015.[5]

Candidates were required to submit nominating petitions signed by qualified electors totaling 0.5 percent of the total voter registration in the school district to the county school superintendent between July 7, 2014, and August 6, 2014.[5] For the 2014 general election, the number of required signatures was 400. The deadline for write-in candidates to file was September 25, 2014.[6]

Voters were required to register by October 6, 2014, in order to vote in the general election. Early voting began October 9, 2014.[7]

Elections

2014

Candidates

At-large

  • Dan Hink
    • B.S., Arizona State University
    • M.A., Central Michigan University
    • Over 30 hours of graduate credit in educational administration, Ottawa University
    • Graduate, U.S. Army Command and General Staff College
    • Retired Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army, 26 years active duty
  • Jenny Richardson Green check mark transparent.png
    • Graduate, Westwood High School
    • B.S. in elementary education, Brigham Young University
    • Former public elementary school teacher in Utah and California

  • Ben Smith Green check mark transparent.png
  • Deanna Villanueva-Saucedo
    • B.A. in psychology, Arizona State University
    • M.P.A., Arizona State University
    • Works in public outreach for Maricopa Community Colleges
    • Former community liaison for MPS

Election results

Mesa Public Schools, At-large General Election, 4-year term, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Nonpartisan Green check mark transparent.pngJenny Richardson 34.5% 40,923
     Nonpartisan Green check mark transparent.pngBen Smith 22.2% 26,314
     Nonpartisan Deanna Villanueva-Saucedo 22.2% 26,239
     Nonpartisan Dan Hink 21.1% 24,978
Total Votes 118,454
Source: Maricopa County Recorder/Elections Office, "2014 General Election Results," accessed December 20, 2014

Endorsements

Jenny Richardson was endorsed by the following:[8]

  • Claudia Walters, former MPS Governing Board member and former vice mayor of Mesa
  • Michelle Udall, MPS Governing Board member

Deanna Villanueva-Saucedo was endorsed by the following:[9]

  • Christopher Glover, Mesa vice mayor
  • David Luna, Mesa council member
  • Dennis Kavanaugh, Mesa council member

Both Richardson and Villanueva-Saucedo were endorsed by John Giles, the mayor-elect of Mesa, and Mike Hughes, current MPS Governing Board member and president and the president and CEO of A New Leaf.

Dan Hink and Ben Smith did not receive any official endorsements.

Campaign finance

Candidates received a total of $1,507.00 in contributions and spent a total of $7.00 during the election, according to the Maricopa County Recorder's office.[10]

Candidate Contributions Expenditures Cash on hand
Dan Hink $1,000.00 $0.00 $1,000.00
Jenny Richardson $507.00 $7.00 $500.00
Ben Smith $0.00 $0.00 $0.00
Deanna Villanueva-Saucedo $0.00 $0.00 $0.00

Past elections

Key deadlines

The following dates were key deadlines for the Mesa Public Schools election in 2014.[7][11]

Deadline Event
January 31, 2014 Campaign finance report due
June 30, 2014 Campaign finance report due
July 7, 2014 First day to file petitions
August 6, 2014 Last day to file petitions
September 25, 2014 Last day to file as a write-in candidate
October 6, 2014 Last day to register to vote in general election
October 9, 2014 Early voting begins
October 31, 2014 Pre-general election campaign finance report due
November 4, 2014 Election Day
December 1, 2014 Official canvass of election results due
December 4, 2014 Post-general election campaign finance report due

Additional elections on the ballot

See also: Arizona elections, 2014

This election shared the ballot with general elections for Arizona's 1st, 2nd and 9th Congressional Districts, as well as eight state executive offices, the state senate, the state house of representatives, three statewide ballot measures, municipal elections and judicial elections.

Recent news

This section links to a Google news search for the term "Mesa + Public + Schools + Arizona"

See also

External links

Footnotes