Norma J.F. Harrison
Norma J.F. Harrison was a candidate seeking election to the Berkeley Unified School District Board of Education in California. She ran against three incumbents and one fellow challenger for three at-large seats on November 4, 2014.[1] Norma J.F. Harrison lost the general election on November 4, 2014.
Harrison ran unsuccessfully for a seat on the Berkeley Unified Board of Education twice before, in 2012 and 2010.
Biography
Harrison has lived in Berkeley, California since 1972. She earned her bachelor's degree from Roosevelt University in Chicago, Illinois. She has worked as a political activist, electronics technician, teacher and realtor. She and her husband have two children.[2]
Elections
2014
Three at-large seats on the Berkeley Unified School District Board of Education were up for general election on November 4, 2014. Incumbents Karen Hemphill, Josh Daniels and Julie Sinai ran against challengers Ty Alper and Norma J.F. Harrison.
Daniels and Hemphill were successful in their bids for re-election. Sinai, however, came in fourth in vote totals and lost the election. Successful challenger Alper won an at-large seat on the board.
Results
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan |  Ty Alper |
26.6% | 20,379 | |
| Nonpartisan | Josh Daniels Incumbent |
25.3% | 19,340 | |
| Nonpartisan | Karen Hemphill Incumbent |
21.9% | 16,731 | |
| Nonpartisan | Julie Sinai Incumbent | 21.2% | 16,207 | |
| Nonpartisan | Norma J.F. Harrison | 4.9% | 3,779 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in votes | 0.2% | 131 | |
| Total Votes | 76,567 | |||
| Source: Alameda County Election Department, "General Election Results," accessed December 22, 2014 | ||||
Funding
Harrison filed Form 470 with the City of Berkeley, indicating she did not intend to raise or spend more than $1,000 for her 2014 campaign. Because of this, Harrison did not have to file any additional campaign finance reports.[3]
Endorsements
Harrison did not receive any official endorsements for this election.
2012
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Judy Appel |
42.1% | 30,013 | |
| Nonpartisan | Beatriz Leyva-Cutler Incumbent |
31.2% | 22,267 | |
| Nonpartisan | Norma J.F. Harrison | 4.7% | 3,332 | |
| Nonpartisan | Tracy Hollander | 21.8% | 15,528 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in votes | 0.2% | 166 | |
| Total Votes | 71,306 | |||
| Source: Alameda County Registrar of Voters, "Certified Final Results: General Election November 6, 2012," accessed July 14, 2014 | ||||
2010
| Berkeley Unified School District, At-Large General Election, 4-year term, 2010 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan | Leah Wilson |
25.2% | 21,445 | |
| Nonpartisan | Josh Daniels |
22.4% | 19,091 | |
| Nonpartisan | Karen Hemphill Incumbent |
22.4% | 19,021 | |
| Nonpartisan | Julie Holcomb | 14.9% | 12,697 | |
| Nonpartisan | Priscilla Myrick | 10.4% | 8,872 | |
| Nonpartisan | Norma J.F. Harrison | 4.3% | 3,674 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in votes | 0.3% | 275 | |
| Total Votes | 85,075 | |||
| Source: Alameda County Registrar of Voters, "Official Results General Election November 2, 2010," accessed September 16, 2014 | ||||
Campaign themes
2014
Harrison highlighted why she was a candidate on her campaign website:
| “ | My campaign is committed to enabling and furthering those efforts that are being made and that can be made to reduce and end age segregation. Division of activities by age is becoming to be seen as an erroneous basis for making us study, teach, learn, work, play. Separation of people by age is painful. We miss each other through the day. Separate care facilities are inadequate just because they cannot let us be together in ways that feel good and that are useful as well. The separation serves the system we live in. For the youngest people, they're isolated to where they are prepared to fit into the system. The middle aged people are given jobs that on the overall fit into the capitalist production design. Older and old people either still must work - at exhausting jobs, or are kept from working, kept from being part of the community in the very important relationship of being a productive contributing member.
Other people are kept from working; unemployed people, physically or mentally handicapped people who yet have ability to work, people who are classed as too young. 'Education' is separated from our daily lives; people are appointed as teachers regardless that all of us, all ages, are teachers, learners, all our lives. Learning and teaching have been formulated into the commodity relationship; the teacher must sell it and the students must buy it. Our interests and abilities are separated; living is composed of undesirable chores: school; work; maintenance of home. As school director I'll emphasize continuing and expanding discussion of how these contrived separations serve the present system, furthering that discussion so we can develop the ways for us all to live reasonable, integrated lives pleasantly rather than these rather uncomfortable lives, constantly striving, usually falling too far short of people's initial goals.[4] |
” |
| —Norma J.F. Harrison's campaign website (2014)[5] | ||
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Norma + Harrison + Berkeley + Unified + School + District"
See also
External links
- Berkeley Unified School District
- Campaign website
- 2014 Smart Voter profile
- 2012 Smart Voter profile
- 2010 Smart Voter profile
Footnotes
- ↑ Alameda County Registrar of Voters, "Candidate Services Reports," accessed August 14, 2104
- ↑ Voter's Edge, "School Director - Berkeley Unified School District: Norma J.F. Harrison," accessed October 21, 2014
- ↑ City of Berkeley, "Viewing filing activity for Harrison, Norma," accessed October 28, 2014
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Norma Harrison for School Board, "Why I'm a Candidate," accessed September 17, 2014
| 2014 Berkeley Unified School District Elections | |
| Alameda County, California | |
| Election date: | November 4, 2014 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Incumbent, Josh Daniels • Incumbent, Karen Hemphill • Incumbent, Julie Sinai • Ty Alper • Norma J.F. Harrison |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
