Michael Petruccelli
Michael Petruccelli was a candidate for the District 5 seat on the Pinellas County Schools school board in Florida. Petruccelli was defeated in the by-district primary election on August 30, 2016.
Biography
Petruccelli is a licensed real estate and insurance broker. He is also a member of the Indian Shores Town Council. He graduated from Dixie Hollins High School in 1965.[1]
Elections
2016
- See also: Pinellas County Schools elections (2016)
The Pinellas County school board is under critical examination after an investigation of the board and district—titled "Failure Factories"—was published last year. The report described the daily strife of black students in the county, particularly in five elementary schools whose ratings changed from average to failing in just a few years. The investigation tied these students' struggles to a 2007 decision the board made to effectively segregate the district's schools, and the report triggered a still-in-progress civil rights investigation by the U.S. Department of Education. "Failure Factories," which won the 2016 Pulitzer Prize in Local Reporting, also showed that the board's vote appeared to be a symptom of other deep-seated problems in the district. Three of the board members who voted for the de-integration plan still sat on the board in 2016: Peggy O'Shea, Linda Lerner, and Carol Cook. These incumbents were re-elected to the board multiple times, exemplifying the 100 percent incumbency success rate the district saw from 1998 to 2014. Cook filed for re-election in District 5 and successfully defended her spot on the board against Michael Petruccelli and Eliseo Santana in the race for the seat. O'Shea's and Lerner's seats aren't up for election until 2018.
One of the seven seats on the Pinellas County school board was up for by-district general election and one was up for at-large general election on November 8, 2016. Four newcomers filed in the race for the at-large District 1 seat: Robert Beal, Bill Dudley, Joanne Lentino, and Matt Stewart. A primary election was held on August 30, 2016, in which Lentino and Stewart were the top two vote-getters. Since neither received more than 50 percent of the vote, they both advanced to the general election. In District 5, Cook and Santana both advanced from the primary to the general, leaving Petruccelli behind. The seat of incumbent Ken Peluso was also on the primary ballot. He filed for re-election to the District 4 seat and was joined on the ballot by newcomer Eileen Long. She defeated the incumbent and won outright by receiving a majority of the vote.[2]
Results
| Pinellas County Schools, District 5 Primary Election, 4-year term, 2016 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Carol Cook Incumbent |
48.22% | 16,362 |
| Eliseo Santana |
26.65% | 9,043 |
| Michael Petruccelli | 25.12% | 8,524 |
| Total Votes | 33,929 | |
| Source: Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections, "Official Results," accessed November 30, 2016 | ||
Funding
Petruccelli reported $8,925.00 in contributions and $4,296.30 in expenditures to the Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections, which left his campaign with $4,628.70 cash on hand, as of July 27, 2016.[3]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Michael Petruccelli Pinellas County Schools. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Tampa Bay Times, "Third candidate files for Pinellas School Board election seat," January 27, 2016
- ↑ Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections, "Candidates For 2016 Election Cycle," accessed July 1, 2016
- ↑ Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections, "Contributions and Expenditures," accessed July 27, 2016
| 2016 Pinellas County Schools Elections | |
| Pinellas County, Florida | |
| Election date: | Primary: August 30, 2016 General: November 8, 2016 |
| Candidates: | At-Large District 1: Robert Beal • Bill Dudley • Joanne Lentino • Matt Stewart District 4: Incumbent, Ken Peluso • Eileen Long |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
