Owen Ditchfield

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Owen Ditchfield

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Prior offices

Muscogee County School District school board At-large

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Owen Ditchfield was a candidate for the at-large seat on the Muscogee County Board of Education in Georgia. He lost election against fellow newcomers Kia Chambers and Nate Sanderson in the general election on May 20, 2014. Ditchfield previously served on the board from 2000 to 2004.

Biography

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Ditchfield worked as a media specialist for Fort Benning Schools prior to his retirement. He is the president of Southern Columbus Concerned Citizens.

Elections

2014

See also: Muscogee County School District elections (2014)

Owen Ditchfield ran against Kia Chambers and Nate Sanderson in the general election on May 20, 2014. At-large incumbent Cathy Williams did not file for re-election.

Results

Muscogee County School District, At-Large General Election, 4-year term, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Kia Chambers	52.6%	12,306
	Nonpartisan	Owen Ditchfield	30.8%	7,189
	Nonpartisan	Nate Sanderson	16.6%	3,880
Total Votes				23,375
Source: Georgia Secretary of State, "UNOFFICIAL COUNTY RESULTS," May 20, 2014 These results are unofficial.

Funding

Ditchfield reported $13,327.00 in contributions and $7,648.37 in expenditures to the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission, leaving his campaign with $5,678.63 on hand prior to the election.

Endorsements

Ditchfield received no official endorsements in this election.

Campaign themes

2014

Ditchfield explained his themes for the 2014 campaign in an interview with the Ledger-Enquirer:

“	Should the school district divide into three regions -- east, west and central -- as proposed by the superintendent? Yes. Our priorities must be on the kids in the classroom. I believe this approach should help us reach the goal of every child, no matter where they live or attend school, receive a quality education. Should every school have the exact same resources? Many of our resource allocations is mandated by federal and state law. Non-mandated resources should be allocated based on each school's unique needs. Was the school board right to vote against then-superintendent Susan Andrews' appointments in May 2012? No. The School Board has the authority and responsibility to approve or disapprove the superintendent's recommendations. In this case, however, the board members should have privately informed the superintendent of their opposition, so as to not embarrass the nominees and their families. If elected, will you support another special purpose local option sales tax (SPLOST)? I supported the first two educational SPLOSTs and I believe the money raised improved the quality of education for the kids in the classroom. Supporting a new SPLOST would be dependent on the projects for which the money would be spent. Should the school district open up the bidding process for law firms? When selecting a professional adviser, such as a law firm, price should not be the only deciding factor. Experience and qualifications are also very important, especially when dealing with issues involving millions of dollars.	”
—Ledger-Enquirer, (2014)

Recent news

This section links to a Google news search for the term "Owen + Ditchfield + Muscogee + County + Schools + Georgia"

Owen Ditchfield News Feed

See also

• Muscogee County School District, Georgia
• Muscogee County School District elections (2014)
• Flurry of school board elections heading to ballots in Georgia, New York

External links

Suggest a link

• Muscogee County School District