Pittsburgh Public Schools elections (2017)
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Five of the nine seats on the Pittsburgh School District school board in Pennsylvania were up for by-district general election on November 7, 2017. A partisan primary election was held on May 16, 2017, leaving one candidate running per seat. These candidates could have faced independent candidates in the general election. However, no independent candidate filed by the August 1, 2017, deadline to get on the ballot.[1]
In her bid for re-election, District 1 incumbent Sylvia Wilson filed as a Democrat and faced no opposition in the primary or general election. Two candidates filed as Democrats for the open District 3 seat. Sala Udin defeated James Myers, Jr. in the primary election and advanced to the general election. Udin won the general election with no opposition.
The District 5 incumbent Terry Kennedy cross-filed as a Democrat and Republican for re-election and was joined on the ballot by newcomer Ghadah Makoshi, who also cross-filed. Kennedy won both the Democratic and Republican nominations and proceeded to win the general election without opposition.
In her bid for re-election, District 7 incumbent Cynthia Falls cross-filed for another term on the board and faced Democratic challenger Joseph Conrad Kearfott Burns in the primary election. Falls won both the Democratic and Republican nominations and faced no opponent in the general election. District 9 incumbent Carolyn Klug filed as a Democrat for re-election, and was joined on the primary election ballot by challenger Veronica Edwards, who cross-filed in the race. Edwards defeated Klug for the Democratic nomination and won the Republican nomination as well. She advanced to the general election, which she won unopposed.[2][3][4]
Official vote totals showed that the District 1 and 3 seats on the primary Republican ballots received 10 and 16 write-in votes, respectively. These numbers were not high enough to qualify any write-in candidates to appear on the general Republican ballots for the seats, so no Republican candidates appeared on the general ballot.[5]
Elections
Voter and candidate information
The Pittsburgh School District school board is composed of nine member serving four-year terms. Four seats were up for election on November 3, 2015, and five seats were up for election on November 7, 2017.
Cross-filing
Pennsylvania permits school board candidates to cross-file in primary elections. This means that a candidate may file to run in the primary election for both the Democratic and Republican parties. A cross-filed candidate can advance to the general election by winning one or both of the partisan primaries. This maximizes a candidate’s chances of advancing to the general as they have two ways to win in the primary round. If the candidate wins only one, they face the winner of the other primary in the general election. Cross-filers who win both primaries may still face independent candidates in the general election.
General candidate requirements
To run for a school board in Pennsylvania, one must be a U.S. citizen, at least 18 years old, and a resident of the school district for at least one year before the election date. To run in this 2017 school board election, partisan candidates had to file for office by March 7, 2017, and independent candidates had to file by August 1, 2017.[6][7]
Voter requirements
To vote in Pennsylvania, a resident must be a U.S. citizen for at least one month and a resident of the district in which he or she is registering for at least 30 days before the election. A voter must be at least 18 years of age by the next election date. The deadline to register to vote before the primary election was April 17, 2017, and the deadline to register to vote before the general election was October 10, 2017.[8]
- See also: Voting in Pennsylvania and Voter identification laws by state
Candidates and results
District 1
General results
| Pittsburgh School District, District 1 General Election, 4-year term, 2017 |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Sylvia Wilson Incumbent (unopposed) |
99.22% | 4,825 | |
| Write-in votes | 0.78% | 38 | ||
| Total Votes | 4,863 | |||
| Source: Allegheny County, "Unofficial Election Night Final (with Absentees)," accessed November 8, 2017 These election results are unofficial and will be updated after official vote totals are made available. | ||||
Primary Democratic results
| Pittsburgh School District, District 1 Democratic Primary Election, 4-year term, 2017 |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Sylvia Wilson Incumbent (unopposed) |
98.48% | 3,634 | |
| Write-in votes | 1.52% | 56 | ||
| Total Votes | 3,690 | |||
| Source: Allegheny County, "2017 Primary Election Official Results," accessed June 21, 2017 | ||||
Candidates
 Sylvia Wilson
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District 3
General results
| Pittsburgh School District, District 3 General Election, 4-year term, 2017 |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Sala Udin (unopposed) |
98.60% | 4,518 | |
| Write-in votes | 1.4% | 64 | ||
| Total Votes | 4,582 | |||
| Source: Allegheny County, "Unofficial Election Night Final (with Absentees)," accessed November 8, 2017 These election results are unofficial and will be updated after official vote totals are made available. | ||||
Primary Democratic results
| Pittsburgh School District, District 3 Democratic Primary Election, 4-year term, 2017 |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Sala Udin |
58.08% | 2,344 | |
| Democratic | James Myers, Jr. | 41.70% | 1,683 | |
| Write-in votes | 0.22% | 9 | ||
| Total Votes | 4,036 | |||
| Source: Allegheny County, "2017 Primary Election Official Results," accessed June 21, 2017 | ||||
Candidates
| Sala Udin
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Defeated in primary
| James Myers, Jr.
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District 5
General results
| Pittsburgh School District, District 5 General Election, 4-year term, 2017 |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic/Republican | Terry Kennedy Incumbent (unopposed) |
99.14% | 4,284 | |
| Write-in votes | 0.86% | 37 | ||
| Total Votes | 4,321 | |||
| Source: Allegheny County, "Unofficial Election Night Final (with Absentees)," accessed November 8, 2017 These election results are unofficial and will be updated after official vote totals are made available. | ||||
Democratic primary results
| Pittsburgh School District, District 5 Democratic Primary Election, 4-year term, 2017 |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Terry Kennedy Incumbent |
65.04% | 2,251 | |
| Democratic | Ghadah Makoshi | 34.79% | 1,204 | |
| Write-in votes | 0.17% | 6 | ||
| Total Votes | 3,461 | |||
| Source: Allegheny County, "2017 Primary Election Official Results," accessed June 21, 2017 | ||||
Republican primary results
| Pittsburgh School District, District 5 Republican Primary Election, 4-year term, 2017 |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Terry Kennedy Incumbent |
71.65% | 187 | |
| Republican | Ghadah Makoshi | 27.59% | 72 | |
| Write-in votes | 0.77% | 2 | ||
| Total Votes | 261 | |||
| Source: Allegheny County, "2017 Primary Election Official Results," accessed June 21, 2017 | ||||
Candidates
 Terry Kennedy
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Defeated in primary
| Ghadah Makoshi
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District 7
General results
| Pittsburgh School District, District 7 General Election, 4-year term, 2017 |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic/Republican | Cynthia Falls Incumbent (unopposed) |
98.79% | 3,195 | |
| Write-in votes | 1.21% | 39 | ||
| Total Votes | 3,234 | |||
| Source: Allegheny County, "Unofficial Election Night Final (with Absentees)," accessed November 8, 2017 These election results are unofficial and will be updated after official vote totals are made available. | ||||
Democratic primary results
| Pittsburgh School District, District 7 Democratic Primary Election, 4-year term, 2017 |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Cynthia Falls Incumbent |
72.52% | 1,961 | |
| Democratic | Joseph Conrad Kearfott Burns | 26.74% | 723 | |
| Write-in votes | 0.74% | 20 | ||
| Total Votes | 2,704 | |||
| Source: Allegheny County, "2017 Primary Election Official Results," accessed June 21, 2017 | ||||
Republican primary results
| Pittsburgh School District, District 7 Republican Primary Election, 4-year term, 2017 |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Cynthia Falls Incumbent (unopposed) |
97.66% | 209 | |
| Write-in votes | 2.34% | 5 | ||
| Total Votes | 214 | |||
| Source: Allegheny County, "2017 Primary Election Official Results," accessed June 21, 2017 | ||||
Candidates
| Cynthia Falls
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Defeated in primary
| Joseph Conrad Kearfott Burns
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District 9
General results
| Pittsburgh School District, District 9 General Election, 4-year term, 2017 |
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| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic/Republican | Veronica Edwards (unopposed) |
98.70% | 4,192 | |
| Write-in votes | 1.3% | 55 | ||
| Total Votes | 4,247 | |||
| Source: Allegheny County, "Unofficial Election Night Final (with Absentees)," accessed November 8, 2017 These election results are unofficial and will be updated after official vote totals are made available. | ||||
Democratic primary results
| Pittsburgh School District, District 9 Democratic Primary Election, 4-year term, 2017 |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Veronica Edwards |
55.83% | 1,930 | |
| Democratic | Carolyn Klug Incumbent | 43.48% | 1,503 | |
| Write-in votes | 0.69% | 24 | ||
| Total Votes | 3,457 | |||
| Source: Allegheny County, "2017 Primary Election Official Results," accessed June 21, 2017 | ||||
Republican primary results
| Pittsburgh School District, District 9 Republican Primary Election, 4-year term, 2017 |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Veronica Edwards (unopposed) |
96.96% | 255 | |
| Write-in votes | 3.04% | 8 | ||
| Total Votes | 263 | |||
| Source: Allegheny County, "2017 Primary Election Official Results," accessed June 21, 2017 | ||||
Candidates
| Veronica Edwards
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Defeated in primary
| Carolyn Klug
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Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: Pennsylvania elections, 2017
The Pittsburgh School District general election shared the ballot with elections for:[9]
- State judges
- Local trial court judges
- Sheriff
- Pittsburgh inspector of elections
- City council
- Mayor
The Pittsburgh School District primary election shared the ballot with primary elections for state judges, local court elections, county office elections, and City of Pittsburgh mayor and city council.
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for this Pennsylvania school board election in 2017:[10]
| Deadline | Event |
|---|---|
| March 7, 2017 | Partisan candidate filing deadline |
| April 17, 2017 | Deadline to register to vote before the primary election |
| May 16, 2017 | Primary election day |
| August 1, 2017 | Independent candidate filing deadline |
| October 10, 2017 | Deadline to register to vote before the general election |
| November 7, 2017 | General election day |
Endorsements
Sylvia Wilson, Sala Udin, Terry Kennedy, Cynthia Falls, and Carolyn Klug received official endorsements from the Allegheny County Democratic Committee.[11]
Wilson, Udin, Kennedy, and Klug were endorsed by the Steel City Stonewall Democrats.[12]
Udin, Kennedy, Falls, and Klug received endorsements from the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers.[13]
Wilson and Kennedy were endorsed by the 14th Ward Independent Democratic Club.[14]
Udin and Kennedy were endorsed by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.[15]
For a complete list of endorsements for each candidate, please visit their candidate profile pages.
Do you know of an official or organization that endorsed a candidate in this race? Let Ballotpedia know by email at editor@ballotpedia.org.
Campaign finance
Reports
District 1
Sylvia Wilson filed exemption from campaign finance reporting in the primary election.[16]
District 3
| Candidate | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| James Myers, Jr.[16] | $4,790.00 | $3,148.25 | $1,641.75 |
| Sala Udin[16] | $25,465.00 | $10,177.20 | $15,287.80 |
District 5
| Candidate | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Terry Kennedy[16] | $2,529.90 | $1,894.05 | $635.85 |
| Ghadah Makoshi[16] | $435.09 | $444.75 | $-9.66 |
District 7
No candidates in this race had filed campaign finance reports as of June 21, 2017.[16]
District 9
| Candidate | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carolyn Klug[16] | $3,045.00 | $00.00 | $3,045.00 |
| Veronica Edwards[16] | $5,212.12 | $4,832.51 | $389.61 |
General guidelines
| 2017 Campaign Finance Deadlines in Pennsylvania[17] | |
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| Date | Deadline |
| May 5, 2017 | 2nd Friday Pre-Primary report due |
| June 15, 2017 | 30-Day Post-Primary report due |
| October 27, 2017 | 2nd Friday Pre-Election report due |
| December 7, 2017 | 30-Day Post-Election report due |
School board candidates in Pennsylvania were required to report their campaign finance activity. Those who spent or received more than $250 in a reporting period had to file full reports. Those below the threshold had to file forms to declare they were exempt from reporting. Candidates could have, but were not required to, form committees to handle campaign finance transactions. They were not required to have separate bank accounts for campaign purposes.[18]
The table to the left details the four campaign finance deadlines in 2017.[17]
Past elections
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2015Region 2
Region 4
Region 6
Region 8
2013This race had a primary election. In the state of Pennsylvania, candidates can cross-file as a Democrat and a Republican. This allows them to run in both parties' primary elections.
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What was at stake?
A+ Schools launches to increase voter turnout in Pittsburgh
An education advocacy group in Pittsburgh called A+ Schools launched a website in March 2017 with the goal of increasing voter turnout and raising awareness of the district's elections. The group started in response to the 20 percent voter turnout in the 2015 school board election, according to the Pittsburgh City Paper. The website, Vote School Board First!, has detailed information on the candidates who ran in the race, including their answers to a candidate questionnaire and a recording of a forum held by the group. A+ Executive Director James Fogarty stated the following about the project:[19]
| “ | We're going to try to close the information gap with this website. We want to help you understand where the candidates stand on policy issues and transparency. ... When you go talk to these candidates, you should be able to ask them, 'What are you going to do about Weil [K-5]? What's going on at UPrep [6-12]? How are you going to make those schools better and what are you going to do to ensure kids in those buildings have access to a high-quality education?'[20] | ” |
| —A+ Executive Director James Fogarty (2017)[19] | ||
Report a story for this election
Ballotpedia researches issues in school board elections across the United States, but information availability is a challenge for us in many school districts. Please contact us about the issues that impact your local school district. Note that not all submissions may meet Ballotpedia's coverage requirements for inclusion.
Candidate survey
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About the district
- See also: Pittsburgh School District, Pennsylvania
The Pittsburgh School District is located in Allegheny County in western Pennsylvania. The seat of county government is Pittsburgh. Allegheny County was home to an estimated 1,225,365 residents between 2010 and 2016, according to the United States Census Bureau. The district was the second-largest school district in the state in the 2014-2015 school year and served 24,657 students.[21][22]
Demographics
Allegheny County outperformed Pennsylvania as a whole in terms of higher education attainment from 2011 to 2015. According to the United States Census Bureau, 37.8 percent of county residents obtained a bachelor's degree or higher, compared to 28.6 percent of state residents. The median household income in the county was $53,040, compared to $53,599 for the entire state. County residents lived below the poverty level at a rate of 12.2 percent, while that rate was 13.2 percent for all state residents.[22]
| Racial Demographics, 2015[22] | ||
|---|---|---|
| Race | Allegheny County (%) | Pennsylvania (%) |
| White | 80.7 | 82.6 |
| Black or African American | 13.4 | 11.7 |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Asian | 3.6 | 3.4 |
| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander | 0.0 | 0.1 |
| Two or More Races | 2.1 | 1.9 |
| Hispanic or Latino | 2.0 | 6.8 |
Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Pittsburgh School District Pennsylvania election. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Pittsburgh School District | Pennsylvania | School Boards |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Allegheny County, "Candidates," accessed October 25, 2017
- ↑ Allegheny County, PA, "2017 Primary Election," May 17, 2017These election results are unofficial and will be updated after official vote totals are made available.
- ↑ Allegheny County, "Running for Office-List of Candidates," accessed March 31, 2017
- ↑ Allegheny County, "Unofficial Election Night Final (with Absentees)," accessed November 8, 2017
- ↑ Elisabeth Moore, "Phone conversation with an Allegheny County elections official," June 21, 2017
- ↑ Pennsylvania School Boards Association, "How to Run for School Board," accessed March 21, 2017
- ↑ Pennsylvania Department of State, "2017 Election Calendar," accessed March 21, 2017
- ↑ VotesPA, "How to Register," accessed June 10, 2014
- ↑ Allegheny County, "Candidates," accessed November 1, 2017
- ↑ Pennsylvania Department of State, "2017 Election Calendar," accessed March 30, 2017
- ↑ Allegheny County Democratic Committee, "Announcing our 2017 Endorsed Candidates," March 5, 2017
- ↑ Steel City Stonewall Democrats, "2017 Endorsed Candidates," accessed May 11, 2017
- ↑ Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, "Pittsburgh teachers union endorses Sala Udin for school board seat," March 23, 2017
- ↑ The 14th Ward Independent Democratic Club, "2017 endorsements," April 23, 2017
- ↑ Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, "For city school board: Udin brings gravitas; Kennedy on right track," May 10, 2017
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4 16.5 16.6 16.7 Allegheny County, "Document Portal," accessed June 21, 2017
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Pennsylvania Department of State, "2017 Election Calendar," accessed April 19, 2017
- ↑ Pennsylvania Department of State, "Campaign Finance Reporting Law," accessed January 15, 2014
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 Pittsburgh City Paper, "A+ Schools launch Vote School Board First campaign," March 23, 2017
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, "Common Core of Data, file ccd_lea_052_1414_w_0216161a, 2014-2015," accessed November 16, 2016
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 United States Census Bureau, "Allegheny County," accessed March 23, 2017
| Pittsburgh School District elections in 2017 | |
| Allegheny County, Pennsylvania | |
| Election date: | Primary: May 16, 2017 General: November 7, 2017 |
| Candidates: | District 1: Incumbent, Sylvia Wilson (D) District 3: James Myers, Jr. (D) • Sala Udin (D) |
| Important information: | What's at stake? |
