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Michael Christophersen
Michael Christophersen ran for election to the Seattle Public Schools Board of Directors to represent District 1 in Washington. He lost in the primary on August 1, 2023.
Christophersen was a candidate for District 1 representative on the Seattle Board of Directors in Washington. He lost the general election on November 3, 2015.[1] Christophersen participated in Ballotpedia's 2015 school board candidate survey.
Biography
Christophersen is a technical consultant for IBM. He holds an A.A. in electronic engineering. He has three children.[2]
Elections
2023
See also: Seattle Public Schools, Washington, elections (2023)
General election
General election for Seattle Public Schools Board of Directors District 1
Incumbent Liza Rankin defeated Debbie Carlsen in the general election for Seattle Public Schools Board of Directors District 1 on November 7, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Liza Rankin (Nonpartisan) | 62.8 | 122,139 |
 | Debbie Carlsen (Nonpartisan) | 36.8 | 71,554 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.5 | 940 | ||
| Total votes: 194,633 | |||
 = 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. | ||||
Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for Seattle Public Schools Board of Directors District 1
Incumbent Liza Rankin and Debbie Carlsen defeated Michael Christophersen and Blaine Parce in the primary for Seattle Public Schools Board of Directors District 1 on August 1, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Liza Rankin (Nonpartisan) | 61.4 | 14,022 |
| ✔ | | Debbie Carlsen (Nonpartisan) | 22.4 | 5,103 |
 | Michael Christophersen (Nonpartisan) | 12.2 | 2,783 | |
| Blaine Parce (Nonpartisan) | 3.7 | 847 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.3 | 66 | ||
| Total votes: 22,821 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Jonathan Assink (Nonpartisan)
2019
See also: Seattle Public Schools, Washington, elections (2019)
General election
General election for Seattle Public Schools Board of Directors District 1
Liza Rankin defeated Eric Blumhagen in the general election for Seattle Public Schools Board of Directors District 1 on November 5, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Liza Rankin (Nonpartisan) | 55.4 | 121,660 |
 | Eric Blumhagen (Nonpartisan) | 44.2 | 97,161 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.4 | 863 | ||
| Total votes: 219,684 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for Seattle Public Schools Board of Directors District 1
Liza Rankin and Eric Blumhagen defeated Michael Christophersen, Darcie Kline, and Sanaz Saadat in the primary for Seattle Public Schools Board of Directors District 1 on August 6, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Liza Rankin (Nonpartisan) | 41.0 | 9,569 |
| ✔ | | Eric Blumhagen (Nonpartisan) | 38.5 | 8,985 |
| Michael Christophersen (Nonpartisan) | 10.3 | 2,397 | |
| Darcie Kline (Nonpartisan) | 6.0 | 1,408 | ||
| Sanaz Saadat (Nonpartisan) | 3.7 | 860 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.4 | 96 | ||
| Total votes: 23,315 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
2015
- See also: Seattle Public Schools elections (2015)
Four of the seven seats on the Seattle Board of Directors were up for election in 2015. Because more than two candidates filed for the District 3 and 6 seats, a primary election was held on August 4, 2015. The top two vote recipients in those races and the candidates for District 1 and 2 appeared on the general election ballot on November 3, 2015.
District 1 incumbent Sharon Peaslee, District 2 incumbent Sherry Carr, District 3 incumbent Harium Martin-Morris and District 6 incumbent Marty McLaren were up for re-election, but only McLaren filed to run for another term.[1]
The race for District 6 was the most competitive in 2015. Incumbent Marty McLaren faced challengers Leslie Harris and Nick Esparza in the primary. Harris and McLaren advanced to the general election, but the primary election results and campaign finance indicated a difficult general election race for the incumbent. McLaren placed second in the primary, more than 10 points behind Harris. As of campaign finance reports available on October 21, 2015, Harris had raised more than four times McLaren's campaign contributions and outspent her by a factor of almost seven. Harris defeated McLaren in the general election.
District 3 saw four candidates seeking the open seat: Lauren McGuire, David Blomstrom, Stephen Clayton and Jill Geary. Geary and McGuire advanced to the general election, garnering over $100,000 in combined campaign contributions as of October 21, 2015. Geary won the general election.
The District 1 and 2 seats saw just two candidates advance to the ballot each. Michael Christophersen and Scott Pinkham vied for the District 1 seat, while Laura Obara Gramer and Rick Burke ran for the District 2 seat.[1] Pinkham and Burke won election to the board.
Multiple candidates withdrew from their races prior to the deadline. Therefore, they did not appear on the ballot. Arik Korman withdrew from the District 1 race, Julie McCleery and Deborah Leblang withdrew from the District 2 race and Suzanne Sutton withdrew from the District 6 race.[1]
Results
| Seattle Public Schools Board of Directors, District 1 General Election, 4-year term, 2015 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Scott Pinkham |
69.6% | 105,869 |
| Michael Christophersen | 29.9% | 45,539 |
| Write-in votes | 0.52% | 791 |
| Total Votes | 152,199 | |
| Source: King County Elections, "Election Results: General and Special Elections November 4, 2015," November 24, 2015 | ||
Funding
Christophersen reported no contributions or expenditures to the Washington Public Disclosure Commission as of October 21, 2015.[3]
Endorsements
The Seattle Times editorial board endorsed Christopherson in this election, saying, "In the race for Seattle School Board District 1, Michael Christophersen brings more policy ideas and depth of knowledge than opponent Scott Pinkham."[4]
Campaign themes
2023
Michael Christophersen did not complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey.
Other survey responses
Ballotpedia identified the following surveys, interviews, and questionnaires Christophersen completed for other organizations. If you are aware of a link that should be added, email us.
2019
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Michael Christophersen did not complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey.
2015
Ballotpedia survey responses
Christophersen participated in Ballotpedia's 2015 survey of school board candidates. The following sections display his responses to the survey questions. When asked what his top priority would be if elected, the candidate made the following statement:
| “ | Insuring Seattle public schools follows all city, state and federal laws would be my top priority.
Our district is under intense federal scrutiny because of its failures to follow federal laws and provide appropriate education to students with disabilities. I have been advocating for my children and others children for the past 7 years attempting to influence Seattle public schools to follow the law and serve all students.[5] |
” |
| —Michael Christophersen (2015)[6] | ||
Christophersen included this additional statement with his survey responses:
| “ | Seattle has become an increasingly expensive place for all of us to live and therefore we use levy funds to help offset cost of living differentials. I want our teachers who work here to be able to afford to live here in Seattle and I support the use of levy funds for that purpose.[5] | ” |
| —Michael Christophersen (2015)[6] | ||
Ranking the issues
The candidate was asked to rank the following issues by importance in the school district, with 1 being the most important and 7 being the least important. This table displays this candidate's rankings from most to least important:
| Education policy |
|---|
 |
Click here to learn more about education policy in Washington. |
| Education on the ballot |
| Issue importance ranking | |
|---|---|
| Candidate's ranking | Issue |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
| Expanding career-technical education | |
| Improving college readiness | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| Expanding school choice options | |
Positions on the issues
The candidate was asked to answer 10 questions from Ballotpedia regarding significant issues in education and the school district. The questions are in the left column and the candidate's responses are in the right column of the following table:
| Question | Response |
|---|---|
| Modifications are required before they are implemented. | |
| No | |
| No | |
| No | |
| The district can ensure equal opportunities for all students by the adoption of evidence base curriculum; by insuring teachers are highly skilled and sophisticated in their approach in teaching; by providing differentiated instruction; and lowering class size. | |
| Expulsion cases must be viewed on a case-by-case basis rather than the district having an overarching policy. | |
| First you must have a through understanding of the root cause or causes for the school failure. If needed the board can approve additional resources or make a change in leadership in the appropriate manner to improve students outcomes. | |
| Yes | |
| Set up a mentorship program for the underperforming teacher with a more experienced teacher in the district. | |
I would employ these 3 principles,
|
King County voters' pamphlet
Christophersen provided the following statement for the King County voters' pamphlet:
| “ | I’m a father of three with over 35 years of combined experience with the Seattle public schools, as a student, parent and advocate. I’m running not just because of my roots and children, but because I believe that quality education is a fundamental right.
If elected I will hold myself accountable for student’s outcomes providing meaningful oversight of policies, insuring our district complies with all city, state and federal laws. Here are just a few of my ideas for change: Improving Outcome For Students With Learning Disabilities With nearly 5,000 Seattle Public schools students having been identified as having some form of dyslexia and an estimated 5,000 more students unidentified, it is critical that we implement scientific approaches to these challenges in education. Earlier this year I presented the district with a professional development proposal from a respected NHI researcher in literacy. Lowering The Dollar Amount Needed For Board Approval Currently the district employees can spend up to $249,000 without board approval, I would lower the amount to $20,000. Revoking Attorney Client Privilege Currently the district uses attorney client privilege as a shield preventing the public from knowing the facts around various issues and to obfuscate from parents what is really going on with their child’s education. I would propose that the board enact a policy requiring the district’s legal department to obtain board approval before invoking attorney client privilege. Lowering Central Administrative Cost Once in office, I would conduct a review of all 838 + central administrative positions then work with the board and the superintendent to redirect unnecessary administrative expenditures to our classrooms. I’m ready to do what is needed to provide an equitable, meaningful, and fundamentally sound education for all students and I need your vote to do it and your support over the next 4 years.[5] |
” |
| —Michael Christophersen (2015)[2] | ||
See also
2023 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 King County Elections, "2015 Official Candidate Filing," accessed May 26, 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 King County, Washington, "Local Voters' Pamphlet: November 3, 2015 General And Special Election," accessed October 21, 2015
- ↑ Washington Public Disclosure Commission, "Search the Database," accessed October 21, 2015
- ↑ The Seattle Times, "The Times recommends: Michael Christophersen for Seattle School Board District 1," October 16, 2015
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2015, "Michael Christophersen's responses," July 14, 2015
