Phyllis Strickler
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Phyllis Strickler was the Position 5 representative on the Richland Board of Directors. First elected to the board in 1995, Strickler served for 10 years before being defeated in the 2015 election. While she advanced from the primary election on August 4, 2015, she was defeated in the general election on November 3, 2015.[1]
Biography
Strickler graduated from Richland High School and earned a B.S. and an M.S. form Washington State University. She later earned her Ph.D. from the University of Iowa. She is the director of the West Side Tutoring Program. She previously worked as a research assistant at Washington State University and the University of Iowa in addition to teaching at Western State College in Colorado and the University of Wyoming. She has also been a substitute teacher in the Richland district.[2]
Elections
2015
Three seats on the Richland School District school board were up for general election on November 3, 2015. Positions 3, 4, and 5 were on the ballot. Because more than two candidates filed for Positions 4 and 5, a primary election for those races was held on August 4, 2015, with the top two vote-recipients advancing to the general election.
A mandatory recount for Position 4 was necessary due to the narrow margin between the two candidates in the general election. Position 4 incumbent Mary Guay did not file to seek re-election. Her open seat drew the most candidate filings in the district's elections. Brett Amidan, a returning candidate from 2013, Emily Allen, and Jill Oldson appeared on the primary ballot for the seat. Amidan and Oldson triumphed over Allen in that race and competed in the general election. Certified results showed just two votes placed Oldson over Amidan, necessitating the recount for the race. After the recount, the candidates were declared tied. A coin toss was held to break the tie, and Amidan was declared the winner.[3]
Ronald Higgins, a 2012 candidate for Washington Superintendent of Public Instruction, initially filed to run for the Position 4 seat. He withdrew from that race on May 15, 2015, in order to run for the Position 3 seat, instead. He lost to Position 3 incumbent Rick Donahoe in that race.
Position 5 incumbent Phyllis Strickler saw the second highest candidate filings in her race and was ultimately unseated. Returning 2013 candidate Gordon Comfort and Donald Todd ran against her in the primary. Strickler and Comfort advanced to the general election, where Comfort defeated the sitting board member.
Results
| Richland School District Board of Directors, Position 5 General Election, 4-year term, 2015 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Gordon Comfort |
52.1% | 6,585 |
| Phyllis Strickler Incumbent | 47.9% | 6,062 |
| Write-in votes | 0% | 0 |
| Total Votes | 12,647 | |
| Source: Benton County, Washington, "November 3, 2015 General Election," November 24, 2015 | ||
| Richland School District Board of Directors, Position 5 Primary Election, 4-year term, 2015 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Phyllis Strickler Incumbent |
40.2% | 2,977 |
| Gordon Comfort |
36.9% | 2,737 |
| Donald Todd | 22.9% | 1,698 |
| Write-in votes | 0% | 0 |
| Total Votes | 7,412 | |
| Source: Benton County, "August 4, 2015 Primary," accessed August 20, 2015 | ||
Funding
Strickler reported no contributions or expenditures to the Washington Public Disclosure Commission as of October 30, 2015.[4]
Endorsements
Strickler received no official endorsements in this election.
2011
| Richland School District, Position 5 General Election, 4-year term, 2011 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan | Phyllis Strickler Incumbent |
53% | 8,087 | |
| Nonpartisan | Brett Amidan | 47% | 7,168 | |
| Total Votes | 15,255 | |||
| Source: Benton County Auditor's Office, "Election results: November 08, 2011 General Election," November 29, 2011 | ||||
Campaign themes
2015
Voter pamphlet
Strickler provided the following statement for the Benton County voter pamphlet:
| “ | Thanks to the support of our community, this summer we are moving into four new school buildings, and have made improvements to Fran Rish Stadium and Chief Joseph Middle School, and a new middle school is to be built in West Richland.
We need to continue and expand our efforts to enhance student learning for all students. All day kindergarten will become a reality this fall, though families may opt to go half day. Programs at each end of the learning spectrum give students help in reaching goals. Our district is fiscally sound and needs to remain so. We must balance the needs and desires of the district with the economic realities of our community and its members.[5] |
” |
| —Phyllis Strickler (2015)[2] | ||
Campaign website
Strickler made the following statements on her campaign website:
| “ | Responsibility in Basic Education High standards must be achieved in core skills and knowledge. We need to provide multiple options for students and enthusiastic support, preparing them for advanced study or to go directly into the work force. Some students need extra help on their quest, others extra challenges to stretch them. Education is the key to our children’s future and to our own. Federal intrusion into standards/Common Core and assessment is a concern. Responsibility in Spending Construction projects have been going well. Four new schools will be ready for the 2015/2016 school year. A new middle school is in the design phase and plans are being discussed for a new Jefferson. Responsibility in Communication |
” |
| —Phyllis Strickler's campaign website (2015)[6] | ||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Phyllis Strickler Richland School District. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Richland School District, Washington
- Richland 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 Benton County Auditor's Office, "Voter Pamphlet: Phyllis Strickler," accessed October 19, 2015
- ↑ Tri-City Herald, "Amidan wins coin toss for Richland School Board seat," December 8, 2015
- ↑ Washington Public Disclosure Commission, "Search the Database: Local Candidates," accessed October 30, 2015
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Re-Elect Phyllis Strickler | Richland School Board Position 5, "Home," accessed October 19, 2015
| 2015 Richland School District Elections | |
| Benton County, Washington | |
| Election date: | Primary - August 4, 2015
General - November 3, 2015 |
| Candidates: | Position 3 : Incumbent, Rick Donahoe • Ronald Higgins
Position 4 : Brett Amidan • Emily Allen • Jill Oldson Position 5 : Incumbent, Phyllis Strickler • Gordon Comfort • Donald Todd |
| Important information: | Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
