Mike Guessford
Ballotpedia provides comprehensive election coverage of the 100 largest cities in America by population as well as mayoral, city council, and district attorney election coverage in state capitals outside of the 100 largest cities. This board member is outside of that coverage scope and does not receive scheduled updates.
Mike Guessford is an at-large representative on the Washington County Board of Education in Maryland. He advanced from a primary election on June 24, 2014, and one of the three available seats in the general election on November 4, 2014.
Biography
Guessford is the owner of Always Ron's Restaurant.[1]
Elections
2014
The June 24, 2014, primary ballot included incumbents Jacqueline Fischer and Karen J. Harshman as well as challengers Mike Guessford, Henry House, Mindy Marsden, Ryan Richard Miner, Peter E. Perini Sr. and Stan Stouffer. All of the primary candidates except House and Marsden faced off in the general election on November 4, 2014.
Results
General
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan |  Mike Guessford |
19.6% | 17,242 | |
| Nonpartisan | Karen J. Harshman Incumbent |
18.2% | 15,995 | |
| Nonpartisan | Jacqueline Fischer Incumbent |
18.1% | 15,919 | |
| Nonpartisan | Peter E. Perini Sr. | 17.5% | 15,398 | |
| Nonpartisan | Stan Stouffer | 15.9% | 13,966 | |
| Nonpartisan | Ryan Richard Miner | 10.4% | 9,150 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in votes | 0.3% | 268 | |
| Total Votes | 87,938 | |||
| Source: Maryland State Board of Elections, "Official 2014 Gubernatorial General Election results for Washington County," December 2, 2014 | ||||
Primary
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Mike Guessford |
16.7% | 6,296 | |
| Nonpartisan | Karen J. Harshman Incumbent |
15.5% | 5,840 | |
| Nonpartisan | Stan Stouffer |
13.8% | 5,208 | |
| Nonpartisan | Jacqueline Fischer Incumbent |
13.2% | 4,963 | |
| Nonpartisan | Ryan Richard Miner |
11.4% | 4,287 | |
| Nonpartisan | Peter E. Perini Sr. |
11.2% | 4,212 | |
| Nonpartisan | Mindy Marsden | 11.1% | 4,184 | |
| Nonpartisan | Henry House | 7% | 2,651 | |
| Total Votes | 37,641 | |||
| Source: Maryland State Board of Elections, "Official 2014 Gubernatorial Primary Election results for Washington County," July 16, 2014 | ||||
Funding
Guessford reported $560.00 in contributions and $1,194.62 in expenditures to the Maryland State Board of Elections, leaving his campaign with $634.62 in debt as of June 4, 2014.[2]
Endorsements
Guessford did not received any official endorsements in this election.
Campaign themes
2014
Guessford explained his themes for the 2014 campaign in an interview with The Herald-Media:
| “ | 1. In your opinion, what is the role of a school board member? School board members are elected by the people to govern the school system and guild the Superintendent of schools. They set and review policies that the superintendent is to implement. They should be a voice for the teachers and an advocate for the students. 2. With the cost of brick-and-mortar schools so high, what should be done to accommodate student growth overall and in specific areas? Look at empty buildings throughout Washington County and within the school system to see what we can reuse. Remodel and add on to existing schools when feasible. When building new schools, use blueprints that have been used before to save major architecture cost. Do away with unsecured portables and build permanent structure that can be attached to existing schools. 3. What more should Washington County Public Schools do to prevent bullying, including cyber bullying? Remove the bully from the classroom, not the victim and take away extracurricular activities. Have the bully attend a school Anger Management counseling class with two weekly follow-up classes after school hours. If it continues, have the parent attend with the student, to stress the importance of positive behaviors towards others. Hold both accountable for attendance before returning to school. 4. What can the school system do to improve literacy among elementary school students? Start a very early childhood literacy program in which parents read aloud to their child beginning at 6 months old. Have goals for parents that have to be met. Add a local learning channel on TV and a laptop or smartphone for loan program for students who are 3, 4 or 5 to help prepare students for kindergarten. 5. Do you have any concerns about the Common Core State Standards, now referred to as Maryland's College and Career-Ready Standards? Why or why not, and what could the local board do about any concerns that you might have? Yes. If elected, I would be the leader who stops placing new curriculum into our schools until our teachers have full understanding of the curriculum that's in place. We need to find stability in the curriculum and stick with it, not modify or change it at the site of dangled money. Continue to support our teachers with proper training, and allow time at work for the teachers to prepare the teaching materials.[3] |
” |
| —The Herald-Media, (2014) | ||
What was at stake?
Issues in the election
2014
June 2 candidate forum
Every candidate except Mike Guessford participated in a candidate forum on June 2, 2014, at the district's Center for Educational Services. HMTV6 anchor Mark Keller directed questions about bullying, district communications and the layout of the school day to the candidates though the questions were not asked of all candidates. The following is a summary of candidate responses to Keller's questions:[5]
Bullying
Jacqueline Fischer, Karen J. Harshman and Stan Stouffer discussed the issue of bullying in district schools. Fischer advocated for a more open discussion among district residents as well as more flexibility under state law to suspend or expel repeat offenders. Harshman suggested teachers hold an important role in identifying students who are struggling and encouraging positive behaviors in the classroom. Stouffer stated that the district needs to educate parents about how to identify bullying behaviors and modify these behaviors at home.[[[5]
District communications
Henry House and Peter E. Perini Sr. offered proposals for improvements to the district's communications with parents and teachers. House argued that the district should add a liaison that encourages involvement by home-schooled students. Perini celebrated Superintendent Clayton Wilcox's regular listening sessions and proposed improved PTAs especially at the high school level.[5]
School day layout
Mindy Marsden and Ryan Richard Miner disagreed about potential reforms to the number of periods in each school day. The school board has discussed a six-period school day that would spread classes throughout the school year. Marsden supports using the six-period school day to break lessons into smaller sections especially for students with varying attention spans. Miner expressed misgivings with the six-period proposal because of concerns about the impacts on extracurricular activities and arts programs.[5]
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Mike + Guessford + Washington + County + Public + Schools"
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ LinkedIn, "Mike Guessford," accessed June 6, 2014
- ↑ Maryland Campaign Reporting Information System, "View Filed Reports," accessed June 3, 2014
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ The Herald-Media, "Washington County Board of Education candidate - Mike Guessford," June 1, 2014
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 The Herald-Media, "School board candidates address bullying, communication," June 2, 2014
| 2014 Washington County Public Schools Elections | |
| Washington County, Maryland | |
| Election date: | November 4, 2014 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Jacqueline Fischer • Mike Guessford • Karen J. Harshman • Henry House • Mindy Marsden • Ryan Richard Miner • Peter E. Perini Sr. • Stan Stouffer |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
