Michael R. Hitchings

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Michael R. Hitchings
Image of Michael R. Hitchings

Education

Bachelor's

St. Mary's College

Personal
Profession
Project and program manager
Contact

Michael R. Hitchings was a candidate for the District F seat on the Harford County Board of Education in Maryland. He advanced from a primary election on June 24, 2014, losing to incumbent Thomas Fitzpatrick in the general election on November 4, 2014.

Biography

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Hitchings earned a bachelor's degree in biology from St. Mary's College. At the time of his candidacy, Hitchings was completing a master's degree in environmental engineering from Johns Hopkins University. Hitching has worked as a project and program manager at the Aberdeen Proving Ground. He and his wife have three children.[1]

Elections

2014

See also: Harford County Public Schools elections (2014)

The June 24, 2014, primary ballot included primaries for Districts B, C, D, E and F with the top two vote recipients in each primary advancing to the general election on November 4, 2014. Incumbent Robert "Bob" Frisch and challenger Laura Runyeon defeated Greg Johnson in District B. District C incumbent Alysson L. Krchnavy and challenger Joseph L. Voskuhl advanced to the general election by defeating John Anker. Nancy Reynolds faced challenger Mike Simon in her bid for another term in District D after defeating challengers Chris Scholz and Tishan D. Weerasooriya in the primary. The primary race for District E resulted in board member Arthur Kaff and newcomer Rachel Gauthier defeating Stephen Eric Macko and Barney Michel. Macko dropped out of the race after the withdrawal deadline which meant his name still appeared on the ballot. District F incumbent Thomas Fitzpatrick and Michael R. Hitchings squared off in the general election after defeating Joe Fleckenstein in the primary.

The District A race advanced to the general election without a primary as newcomers Frederick A. Mullis and Jansen M. Robinson were the only candidates to file for the seat.

In the general election Jansen M. Robinson won District A, incumbent Robert "Bob" Frisch was returned to District B, challenger Joseph L. Voskuhl defeated incumbent Alysson L. Krchnavy for District C, incumbent Nancy Reynolds won District D, newcomer Rachel Gauthier defeated incumbent Arthur Kaff for District E and incumbent Thomas Fitzpatrick won another term in District F.

This was the first time that county voters selected members for these seats on the Harford County Board of Education. Board members were appointed by the governor prior to a 2009 state law that turned six of the nine board seats into elected positions. There were board elections for two-year terms in Districts A, B and D in November 2010. Victorious candidates in the general election took office in July 2015 along with three newly appointed members.[2]

Results

General
Harford County Public Schools, District F General Election, 4-year term, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Nonpartisan Green check mark transparent.pngThomas Fitzpatrick Incumbent 52.7% 5,934
     Nonpartisan Michael R. Hitchings 46.7% 5,260
     Nonpartisan Write-in 0.7% 74
Total Votes 11,268
Source: Maryland State Board of Elections, "Official 2014 Gubernatorial General Election results for Harford County," accessed December 20, 2014
Primary
Harford County Public Schools, District F Primary Election, 4-year term, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Nonpartisan Green check mark transparent.pngThomas Fitzpatrick Incumbent 39.9% 1,881
     Nonpartisan Green check mark transparent.pngMichael R. Hitchings 38.2% 1,801
     Nonpartisan Joe Fleckenstein 21.9% 1,033
Total Votes 4,715
Source: Maryland State Board of Elections, "Official 2014 Gubernatorial Primary Election results for Harford County," July 17, 2014

Funding

Hitchings reported $895.00 in contributions and $7.55 in expenditures to the Maryland State Board of Elections, leaving his campaign with $887.45 on hand as of June 10, 2014.[3]

Endorsements

Hitchings was endorsed by the Harford County Education Association (HCEA), The Aegis and The Baltimore Sun.[4][5]

Campaign themes

2014

Hitchings explained his themes for the 2014 race on his campaign website:

Platform Position #1:

I will advocate on behalf of families, teachers, and communities to ensure each school is provided with the resources needed to place Harford County at the forefront of Maryland school systems.

Platform Position #2:

Seek opportunities to provide students with the education and resources needed to not only prepare them for the next stage in their education journey, but keep them on top of the competitive pool.

Platform Position #3:

Build on existing programs to enhance the school-day experience through supportive peer relationships & development, not detrimental peer pressure (i.e., bullying).

Platform Position #4:

Research national and international studies to advocate for the best way to structure HCPS curriculum standards, not just follow trends.[6]

—Michael Hitchings' campaign website, (2014)

[7]

Recent news

This section links to a Google news search for the term "Michael + Hitchings + Harford + County + Public + Schools"

See also

External links

Footnotes