Nathaniel Downes
Nathaniel Downes was a candidate for at-large representative on the Puyallup School District school board in Washington. Downes was defeated in the at-large primary election on August 1, 2017.
Click here to read this candidate's 2017 campaign themes.
Downes was a 2016 Democratic candidate for District 2-Position 2 of the Washington House of Representatives. He lost the primary election on August 2, 2016.
Biography
Downes' professional experience includes working as a political writer with Reverb Press and serving as the president of Mission Worlds Media. He attended Marist College and graduated from Greely High School in 1994.[1]
Elections
2017
Two of the five seats on the Puyallup School District school board in Washington were up for at-large general election on November 7, 2017. A primary election for Position 1 was held on August 1, 2017, because more than two candidates filed for the seat.
The Position 1 seat saw Maddie Names and Mike Leuzzi defeat Nathaniel Downes and Sheila Wynn in the primary. Names went on to win the seat in the general. Position 4 board member Kathy Yang filed for re-election and defeated challenger Bart Johnson.[2]
Results
| Puyallup School District, Position 1 Primary Election, 4-year term, 2017 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Maddie Names |
49.55% | 6,294 |
| Mike Leuzzi |
26.40% | 3,353 |
| Sheila Wynn | 14.86% | 1,888 |
| Nathaniel Downes | 8.77% | 1,114 |
| Write-in votes | 0.43% | 54 |
| Total Votes | 12,703 | |
| Source: Pierce County Elections, "Statement of Votes Cast by Geography: Pierce County, Washington, Primary Election, Aug 01, 2017," accessed August 18, 2017 | ||
Funding
Downes opted for mini reporting in this election, according to the Washington Public Disclosure Commission.[3] Candidates who opted for this had to keep a record of their contributors and expenditures, but were not required to report them. If they raised and spent more than $5,000 in aggregate or received more than $500 from any one contributor, including themselves, they would have had to switch their filing status from mini to full reporting.[4]
2016
Elections for the Washington House of Representatives took place in 2016. The primary election was held on August 2, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was May 20, 2016.
Incumbent J.T. Wilcox defeated Derek Maynes in the Washington House of Representatives, District 2-Position 2 general election.[5]
| Washington House of Representatives, District 2-Position 2 General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | J.T. Wilcox Incumbent |
65.66% | 39,033 | |
| Democratic | Derek Maynes | 34.34% | 20,413 | |
| Total Votes | 59,446 | |||
| Source: Washington Secretary of State | ||||
Derek Maynes and incumbent J.T. Wilcox defeated Nathaniel Downes in the Washington House of Representatives District 2-Position 2 top two primary.[6][7]
| Washington House of Representatives, District 2-Position 2 Top Two Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Derek Maynes |
19.13% | 4,563 | |
| Republican | J.T. Wilcox Incumbent |
65.86% | 15,708 | |
| Democratic | Nathaniel Downes | 15.00% | 3,578 | |
| Total Votes | 23,849 | |||
| Source: Washington Secretary of State | ||||
Campaign themes
2017
Downes submitted the following statement to the Pierce County voters' guide:[8]
| “ | Our school system is doing pretty good today. However, tomorrow is another story. Educating the next generation requires foresight, an understanding how our workforce is changing, and seeing the challenges ahead.
Many of the learning methods currently employed date back well over a century, and no longer apply for the jobs of tomorrow. "Because we've always done it this way" is not acceptable. New approaches, new tools, new methods are all starting to emerge, and I aim to encourage and support our embrace of them. And this goes beyond mere academics. Recall that Puyallup's schools have been rocked with several lawsuits over the past few decades. The issues which resulted in these suits could all have been avoided with just a little foresight. Instead, our children pay the price for our turning a blind eye. We owe it to our children not to condemn them to mediocrity when they can achieve greatness. It is a new age, a new era, and our schools deserve the support needed to reach for the stars. I thank you for your consideration, and ask for your support. Let us make Puyallup's schools the example for others to follow, together.[9] |
” |
| —Nathaniel Downes (2017)[8] | ||
2016
Downes issued the following statement regarding his bid for office:
| “ | The 2nd Legislative District is all but ignored in Olympia. Our infrastructure is out of date, our schools are underfunded, we lack sufficient healthcare access, and someone needs to do something about it. Our politicians in general lack the experience with the internet and big data to make the right decisions in these areas. The world is changing, but we still have policies and laws in place which date to when our farmers were tilling the field using a pair of oxen. Be it a GPS driven smart combine to having hospitals with modern databases, the need for politicians who understand and embrace the 21st century is desperately needed. And this infrastructure demand includes that of medicine. In an emergency, every minute counts. My district significantly lacks even basic medical care, and something needs to be done about it. | ” |
| —Nathaniel Downes (2016)[1] | ||
See also
- Puyallup School District, Washington
- Puyallup School District elections (2017)
- Washington House of Representatives
- Washington House of Representatives District 2-Position 2
- Washington House of Representatives elections, 2016
- Washington State Legislature
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Information submitted through Ballotpedia's biographical submission form on June 6, 2016
- ↑ Pierce County, "Candidates Who Filed," accessed May 24, 2017
- ↑ Washington Public Disclosure Commission, "Local Candidates," accessed October 16, 2017
- ↑ Washington State Public Disclosure Commission, "New Candidates," accessed June 22, 2017
- ↑ Washington Secretary of State, "General Election Results 2016," accessed December 2, 2016
- ↑ Washington Secretary of State, "2016 Candidates Who Have Filed," accessed May 23, 2016
- ↑ Washington Secretary of State, "August 2, 2016 Primary Results," accessed August 25, 2016
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Pierce County, "2017 Primary Election Voters' Guide," accessed June 26, 2017
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
| Puyallup School District elections in 2017 | |
| Pierce County, Washington | |
| Election date: | Primary: August 1, 2017 General: November 7, 2017 |
| Candidates: | Position 1: Nathaniel Downes • Mike Leuzzi • Maddie Names • Sheila Wynn Position 4: Incumbent, Kathy Yang • Bart Johnson |
| Important information: | What's at stake? |
