Pat Jenkins
Pat Jenkins was the Position 3 representative on the Puyallup Board of Directors in Washington. He was first elected to the board in 2011, but he lost his bid a second term in the general election on November 3, 2015.[1]
Biography
Jenkins graduated from the Puyallup School District and attended Green River Community College. He is the editor of The Dispatch and a program director and editor for Senior Media Services, publisher of Senior Scene and Where to Turn.[2] He worked as a writer and publication manger for newspapers in Washington and Hawaii and a magazine in California. He is married and has two adult children.[3]
Elections
2015
Opposition
Three of the five seats on the Puyallup School District Board of Directors were up for at-large general election on November 3, 2015. Position 2 incumbent Dane Looker, Position 3 incumbent Pat Jenkins and Position 5 incumbent Chris Ihrig were up for re-election. Looker defeated challenger Derek Maynes, while Jenkins lost to challenger Michael Keaton. Ihrig won re-election without opposition.[4]
Results
| Puyallup School District Board of Directors, Position 3 General Election, 4-year term, 2015 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Michael Keaton |
59.7% | 13,330 |
| Pat Jenkins Incumbent | 40.3% | 8,983 |
| Write-in votes | 0% | 0 |
| Total Votes | 22,313 | |
| Source: Pierce County Auditor, "November 3, 2015 General Election," November 24, 2015 | ||
Funding
Jenkins reported no contributions or expenditures to the Washington Public Disclosure Commission as of October 30, 2015.[5]
Endorsements
Jenkins was endorsed by the Washington Education Association.[6]
2011
| Puyallup School District, Position 3 General Election, 4-year term, 2011 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan | Pat Jenkins |
52.4% | 13,930 | |
| Nonpartisan | Klaus Snyder | 47.6% | 12,633 | |
| Total Votes | 26,563 | |||
| Source: Pierce County Elections, "November 8, 2011," November 29, 2011 | ||||
Campaign themes
2015
Jenkins provided statements on his campaign themes through the Pierce County voter's guide, a newspaper questionnaire and his campaign website.
Pierce County voter's guide
Jenkins provided the following statement for the Pierce County voter's guide:
| “ | It has been my great honor to be a member of the Puyallup School Board for the past four years and to be a part of the community’s work to provide the very best school experience for students and their families. The educational landscape is always shifting due to the challenges of legislative mandates and difficult budget decisions. But the focus on students never changes. In my time with the school district as a student, school volunteer and PTA leader, parent and School Board member, I have seen the dedication and unwavering commitment of teachers and staffs to their students, as well as the benefits of educational initiatives such as all-day kindergarten, advanced-learning programs, and career and technical education. The results are bright young people whose talents and education contribute so much to our community and the world around them. Each one of us can support that effort by doing everything we can to sustain and strengthen our district’s educational opportunities now and in the years ahead. I hope you will join me in that effort.[7] | ” |
| —Pat Jenkins (2015)[2] | ||
The News Tribune questionnaire
Jenkins participated in a candidate questionnaire for a voter guide by The News Tribune. The paper's questions are in bold and his answers are in plain text.
| “ | Voters in Puyallup have not approved a construction bond since 2004. District officials are asking voters this year for a $292.5 million bond measure to relieve overcrowding. Do you support the bond? Why or why not?
I support the bond. It addresses overcrowding in elementary schools and enrollment growth, and would help make up ground the district has lost in the last 12 years. During that period, no other bond measures have passed, while enrollment increased. And growth is expected to continue by another 1,600 students over the next five years, mostly in elementary schools. State school funding is changing, thanks to the state Supreme Court’s McCleary decision. How can the Legislature comply with the court order in the best interests of local school districts? One way might be through a work group that the governor has asked legislators to form as a way to work out the details of meeting the court's decision, but only if the approach of the group and the full Legislature is non-partisan. I respect how difficult the task has been so far and still is, but taking partisanship out of it and focusing solely on what's best for education can get the job done. A new system of standardized testing has caused some controversy among parents, teachers and students this year. What testing reforms would you support? I support testing that gauges students' progress, as long as that evaluation isn't unnecessarily weighted. Too much is involved in students' education and their classroom success for any single test to determine if a student is on track and eventually graduates. How many school board meetings have you attended in the past year? (Please note if you are an incumbent) As an incumbent, I have attended every regular meeting, study session and executive session since January 2014, a span that includes parts of the 2014-15 and 2015-16 school year. The total number of meetings is 62. Personal statement The Puyallup School District has provided an amazingly rewarding educational and community experience in my life and my family’s life. I attended schools here, and so have my children. It has been an honor to serve on the School Board and to give back to the students, families, educators and school staffs in a district that has given me so much more.[7] |
” |
| —Pat Jenkins (2015)[8] | ||
Campaign website
Jenkins provided the following statements on his campaign website:
| “ | It has been a great honor to be a member of the Puyallup School Board the past four years and to work with the community and the district’s outstanding educators and staff on giving our students the best possible school experience. Puyallup schools have had an incredibly positive impact on my children, myself and countless others, and on our community in general. And the community does so much to support the schools, from PTA fund-raisers to the backing of service clubs and businesses. I’ve always had a passion for education and the community. My wife and I have volunteered at the building and PTA levels as classroom assistants, reading tutors, event organizers and PTA officers. After moving away from the Puyallup district in the 1990s, we moved back in the early 2000s specifically because of the quality of education here and so our daughter could complete her K-12 education in that system. I’m also proud to say that in my family, my father-in-law is a retired junior high math teacher, my cousin is a retired high school teacher and administrator, and my daughter has been a student teaching aide. Because schools play such a hugely important role, communication between the school district and the community is key. As a board member, I have strongly advocated for public forums and meetings at multiple school sites as a way to encourage community participation in dealing with important issues such as classroom overcrowding. I also am an advocate of the board’s regular public meetings rotating among multiple school sites in the hope of strengthening community ties districtwide. This kind of outreach, along with the district’s communications through printed publications and online resources, is vital in order to give as many opportunities as possible to convey information and to hear from and communicate with people whose lives are intertwined with the schools. Providing the funding to support our schools is no easy task. There are never-ending challenges locally and at the state level. As a result, all funding is a precious commodity. Puyallup schools take that fact very seriously, I’m proud to say, and I will continue to be an advocate of prudent, forward-thinking financial management that makes direct educational benefits of students the highest priority.[7] |
” |
| —Pat Jenkins' campaign website (2015)[9] | ||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Pat Jenkins' 'Puyallup School District'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Puyallup School District, Washington
- Puyallup School District elections (2015)
- Incumbency no guarantee of success in Nov. 3 school board elections (November 6, 2015)
- What happened in Nov.'s top board elections? (November 4, 2015)
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedcandidates - ↑ 2.0 2.1 Pierce County, Washignton, "Online Voters' Guide," accessed October 20, 2015
- ↑ pj4psb, "Meet Pat," accessed October 20, 2015
- ↑ Pierce County Auditor, "Candidates Who Have Filed," accessed May 26, 2015
- ↑ Washington Public Disclosure Commission, "Search the Database: Local Candidates," accessed October 30, 2015
- ↑ Washington Education Association, "WEA Election Recommendations," accessed October 20, 2015
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ The News Tribune, "The News Tribune's 2015 General Election Voter Guide," accessed October 20, 2015
- ↑ pj4psd, "Home," accessed October 20, 2015
| 2015 Puyallup School District Elections | |
| Pierce County, Washington | |
| Election date: | November 3, 2015 |
| Candidates: | Position 2: Incumbent, Dane Looker • Derek Maynes Position 3: Incumbent, Pat Jenkins • Michael Keaton Position 5: Incumbent, Chris Ihrig |
| Important information: | Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
