Michael Najera
2021 - Present
2027
4
Michael Najera is an at-large member of the Socorro Independent School District school board in Texas. He assumed office on May 12, 2021. His current term ends in 2027.
Najera ran for re-election for an at-large seat of the Socorro Independent School District school board in Texas. He won in the general election on May 6, 2023.
Najera previously served as an at-large representative on the Socorro Independent School District Board of Trustees from 2009 to 2019.
Biography
Najera earned a bachelor's degree in accounting and an M.B.A. with a concentration in healthcare. As of 2015, he was the vice president of professional services for Craneware, a healthcare software company. He was also a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives and the Healthcare Financial Management Association. He had three children who attended or graduated from district schools.[1]
Elections
2023
See also: Socorro Independent School District, Texas, elections (2023)
General election
General election for Socorro Independent School District, At-large (2 seats)
The following candidates ran in the general election for Socorro Independent School District, At-large on May 6, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Marivel Macias (Nonpartisan) | 29.0 | 4,292 | |
| ✔ |  | Michael Najera (Nonpartisan) | 22.9 | 3,383 |
 | David Morales (Nonpartisan) | 18.2 | 2,695 | |
 | Joshua Carter Guerra (Nonpartisan) | 10.4 | 1,539 | |
| David Ayala (Nonpartisan) | 10.4 | 1,539 | ||
| Miguel Rico (Nonpartisan) | 4.6 | 685 | ||
| Jose Alonzo Jr. (Nonpartisan) | 4.5 | 671 | ||
| Total votes: 14,804 | |||
 = 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. | ||||
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2019
See also: Socorro Independent School District, Texas, elections (2019)
General election
General election for Socorro Independent School District, At-large (2 seats)
David Morales and Paul Garcia defeated incumbent Michael Najera, incumbent Antonio Ayub, and Derek Hernandez in the general election for Socorro Independent School District, At-large on May 4, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | David Morales (Nonpartisan) | 25.7 | 1,211 |
| ✔ | Paul Garcia (Nonpartisan) | 24.6 | 1,158 | |
| Michael Najera (Nonpartisan) | 20.8 | 978 | |
 | Antonio Ayub (Nonpartisan) | 20.7 | 972 | |
| Derek Hernandez (Nonpartisan) | 8.2 | 388 | ||
| Total votes: 4,707 | |||
| = 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
Opposition
Three of the seven seats on the Socorro ISD Board of Trustees were up for election on May 9, 2015. District 1 incumbent Hector Gonzalez won re-election unopposed. The two at-large incumbents, Antonio Ayub and Michael Najera, faced challengers Frank Del Toro and Kenneth Gezelius. Both incumbents won re-election.[2]
Results
| Socorro Independent School District, At-Large General Election, 4-year term, 2015 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan |  Michael Najera Incumbent |
40.1% | 2,938 | |
| Nonpartisan | Antonio Ayub Incumbent |
30% | 2,196 | |
| Nonpartisan | Frank Del Toro | 19.9% | 1,460 | |
| Nonpartisan | Kenneth Gezelius | 10% | 729 | |
| Total Votes | 7,323 | |||
| Source: El Paso County Elections, "Final Election Results," accessed May 26, 2015 | ||||
Funding
Najera reported no contributions or expenditures to the Texas Ethics Commission as of April 9, 2015.[3] The next filing deadline was May 1, 2015.
Endorsements
Najera was endorsed by the Socorro Education Association and the El Paso Times.[4][5]
2011
The 2011 election for two at-large seats was canceled as incumbents Antonio Ayub and Michael Najera were the only two candidates to file for the race.[6]
Campaign themes
2023
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Michael Najera did not complete Ballotpedia's 2023 Candidate Connection survey.
2019
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Michael Najera did not complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey.
2015
Greater El Paso Chamber of Commerce questionnaire
Najera participated in a candidate questionnaire from the Greater El Paso Chamber of Commerce. The questions and his responses are below:
| “ | 1. What experiences in leadership do you have that qualify you to serve as a school trustee?
I have demonstrated success in leadership positions. Professionally, I’ve held several leadership positions in healthcare finance and operations. I currently serve as Vice- President of Professional Services for an industry leading healthcare software company. Relative to school board experience, I served as President of the Socorro School Board in 2012, the same year the Board was selected as Region 19 board of the year. I’ve also chaired the Socorro ISD School Board Finance committee throughout my elected tenure. 2. What is motivating you to run for a school board trustee seat? I was fortunate enough to be blessed with many amazing teachers throughout my childhood who recognized my potential and educationally challenged me time and again. Their encouragement prevented me from taking the easy (lazy) road. They certainly didn’t have to. This and the value my father placed on education provided the motivation for me to be the first in my family to graduation from college furthering my education by also obtaining a master’s degree. My motivation for serving is to be a positive example to our children of the opportunities a public education yields and to allow me to serve educators in their pursuits, as they served and encouraged me in mine. I often tell my three daughters that we should be the voice for causes that are important; few are as important as education. 3. Describe the impact you expect to make on the strategic direction of the school board and how does your specific personal experience support that expectation? If re-elected to the Socorro School Board, I expect to continue the strategic direction we embarked on when I was first elected in 2009.
I intend to maintain the community’s trust and confidence in our school district through proactive engagement, open communication and full transparency. 4. Trustees, as elected by specific district, must act and govern for the entire school district, not just advocate for the schools within their particular geography. Describe a time when you had to balance potentially conflicting priorities with multiple stakeholders, and how did you determine how to allocate resources and investment to meet the needs of all? My choice to seek re-election for one of the two At-Large seats is deliberate. The At-Large seats represent the entire district and provide for balance against the single member seats. As a single public education institution, we cannot advance one part of the district at the expense of another. A deficiency or short-coming in ANY of our schools is a failure for the whole district. I’ve consistently and successfully advocated for equity across our school district ensuring that the student experience is the same regardless of the school they attend. Examples include the upgrade of the Science labs and athletic facilities to ensure parity with new construction schools, installation of refrigerated air across all our elementary and middle schools and technology upgrades districtwide. 5. The role and responsibility of a Trustee is governance, oversight, and setting policy. Tell us about your experience in honoring the scope of responsibility in a past role? How did you make sure you did not cross over into the tactical execution of another person’s responsibility in the organization? Be specific in your response. My professional experience in the healthcare industry simplifies the delineation between governance and management. I’ve never had a member of the board of any organization where I’ve been employed provide prescriptive orders on performing a task within my remit. One who organizes the work is not governing. Trustees must hire, evaluate and support the CEO, provide strategic direction, establish goals and policy and serve as advocates of the District. I’ve served as a Socorro ISD Trustee since May 2009 and clearly understand the distinction. 6. Attracting and retaining top talented educators is critical to the success of a healthy school district. This includes supporting a school district-created ‘Human Capital Strategy’ designed to attract and retain top-notch quality reading, math, and science educators to build strong STEM programs. Describe your past experience as a leader supporting the broad strategy of identifying, selecting, and retaining top talent. Recruiting and retaining top tier talent begins with ensuring a positive work environment. I was an advocate of including recruitment and retention as an initiative in the District’s strategic plan which serves as the basis for Superintendent’s evaluation instrument. High turnover comes with hidden costs and I’ve promoted the periodic evaluation of turnover rates and the competitiveness of the District’s salary and benefits package. I’m happy to state that Socorro ISD is certified to have a 100% highly qualified educator workforce. 7. Financial management and investment strategy is an important component of Trustee capability. Describe your experience in identifying opportunities for superior financial performance. In your response please include your outlook on incremental expense versus incremental investment, and how you differentiate between the two. I hold a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting and a Master’s degree in Business Administration. I’ve served in finance and accounting roles for a majority of my over 20 year career in healthcare. My professional experience correlates directly with evaluating and promoting superior financial performance. During my service as Board Finance Committee chair, Socorro ISD has received high marks in the Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas (FIRST) achieving the highest rating, Superior Achievement, for three years running. Differentiating between incremental expense and investment expense is dependent upon expected return. One should expect a return from investments. One should be cognizant and cautious that in service sectors like education and healthcare, return is not always measured in dollars and cents. 8. There are a number of training tools available to school board trustees, not all of which are required. Specifically describe your past utilization of available versus required training materials for a new role that you occupied. How did you decide to commit your time and explore new means and methods to obtain valued skills? I am committed to lifelong learning. I am currently reading Hardwiring Excellence by Quint Studer. I am inquisitive by nature. I research that which I don’t know or understand. In our world of modern technology, there are a multitude of learning resources for those who seek training and education. Some resources are accessed formally: TASB, Socorro ISD Board Policy Manual, Region 19 and books, and some are accessed informally: articles, blogs and conversations with industry experts and peers. Serving in a new role, especially the school board, is a commitment of time. One’s commitment to serve must come with the commitment to make time to improve one’s skills. 9. If elected, would you have any potential conflicts of interest that you are aware of that would impair your ability to serve as a school board trustee? Please explain. I have no potential conflicts of interest that impair my ability to serve as a school board trustee. 10. If elected a school board trustee, will you uphold the following ethical standards? (Click here to see TASB School Board Code of Ethics) I already uphold the ethical standards listed above personally and professionally. Of course, commitment to uphold these standards extends to my service on the school board. 11. Do you have other remarks you would like to share about your candidacy? I’ve served as an At-Large Trustee for the Socorro ISD since May 2009. During my service as a board member, the Socorro school district has grown to be the second largest school district in El Paso County. We’ve become a high-performing board that has anticipated, planned for and met the needs of a growing district while advancing student performance and ensuring their career and college readiness. Most importantly, we’ve taken steps to restore and maintain the trust of our community. I look forward to my continued service to keep Socorro ISD a leading school district.[7] |
” |
| —Michael Najera (2015)[8] | ||
See also
2023 Elections
External links
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Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Socorro Independent School District, "Michael Najera," March 3, 2015
- ↑ Margaret Koenig, "Email correspondence with Lupe Alvarez, Executive Assistant, Office of the Superintendent, Socorro ISD," March 3, 2015
- ↑ Texas Ethics Commission, "Search Campaign Finance Reports," accessed April 10, 2015
- ↑ Facebook, "Socorro Education Association: Timeline Photo," March 25, 2015
- ↑ El Paso Times, "Editorial: Socorro ISD incumbents earn re-election," April 24, 2015
- ↑ El Paso County Elections, "Socorro Independent School District Bond Election: May 14, 2011, Sample Ballot," April 5, 2011
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Greater El Paso Chamber of Commerce, "2015 El Paso County Election Voter's Guide," accessed April 2, 2015
