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Portland Public Schools elections (2015)

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2015 Portland Public Schools Elections

General Election date:
May 19, 2015
Table of Contents
About the district
Method of election
Elections
What was at stake?
Key deadlines
Additional elections
External links
See also
Oregon
Portland Public Schools
Multnomah County, Oregon ballot measures
Local ballot measures, Oregon
Flag of Oregon.png

Four seats on the Portland Public Schools Board of Education were up for general election on May 19, 2015. All of the seats were elected at-large, meaning all voters in the district were eligible to vote for every seat up for election.

Zone 1 incumbent Ruth Adkins, Zone 2 incumbent Matt Morton, Zone 3 incumbent Bobbie Regan and Zone 7 incumbent Greg Belisle's seats were up for election, but Regan was the only incumbent to file to seek re-election. He faced three challengers, Amy Carlsen Kohnstamm, Gretchen Hollands and Wes Soderback, and was defeated by Kohnstamm.

Julie Esparza Brown defeated Andrew Davidson in the race for the open Zone 1 seat. Four candidates, Paul Anthony, José González, Emma Russac Williams and John Sweeney, filed for the open Zone 2 race. Anthony triumphed over his three fellow challengers in that race. Mike Rosen won the open Zone 7 seat unopposed.

See also: What was at stake in Portland Public Schools' 2015 Board of Education election?

About the district

See also: Portland Public Schools, Oregon
Portland Public Schools is located in Multnomah County, Ore.

Portland Public Schools is based in Portland, the county seat of Multnomah County, in northeastern Oregon. The county was home to an estimated 766,135 residents in 2013, according to the United States Census Bureau.[1] Portland Public Schools was the largest school district in the state serving 46,930 students in the 2011-2012 school year.[2]

Demographics

Multnomah County outperformed Oregon as a whole in terms of higher education achievement and median household income while it underperformed in terms of poverty rate in 2013. The United States Census Bureau found that 39.9 percent of county residents aged 25 years and older had earned a bachelor's degree or higher compared to 29.7 percent of residents statewide. The median household income in the county was $52,511 while it was $50,229 for the state. The percentage of persons below the poverty line in Multnomah County was 17.8 percent in comparison to 16.2 percent for the entirety of Oregon.[1]

Racial Demographics, 2013[1]
Race Multnomah County (%) Oregon (%)
White 80.8 88.1
Black or African American 5.7 2.0
American Indian and Alaska Native 1.5 1.8
Asian 7.0 4.1
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 0.6 0.4
Two or More Races 4.4 3.5
Hispanic or Latino 11.1 12.3

Presidential Voting Pattern, Multnomah County[3]
Year Democratic Vote Pacific Green Vote Libertarian Vote Republican Vote Other Vote
2012 274,887 5,954 4,695 75,302 3,884
2008 279,696 1,207 1,195 75,171 7,441
2004 259,585 1,100 1,202 98,439 2,368

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.

Voter and candidate information

The Portland Board of Education consists of seven members who are elected at-large to four-year terms. While elected at-large, each seat on the board has a zone number associated with it, and candidates must live in the zone they run for. The seat numbers correlate to geographic areas in the district. They serve to separate the elections for each seat on the board into its own race. Candidates filed to run for a specific seat in the zone of their residence, but all voters in the school district were eligible to vote for both seats up for election. There was no primary election, and the general election for Zones 1, 2, 3 and 7 was May 19, 2015.

Candidates were required to file for the election by March 19, 2015. Voters were required to register by April 28, 2015, in order to vote in this election.

Elections

2015

Candidates

Zone 1

Julie Esparza Brown Green check mark transparent.png Andrew Davidson

Julie Esparza Brown.jpg

  • Associate professor, Portland State University
  • Doctoral degree, Portland State University
  • School psychology training, San Diego State University
  • Master's degree, University of San Diego
  • Bachelor's degree, Willamette University

Andrew Davidson Oregon.jpg

  • Student, Portland State University
  • Former student representative, Portland Board of Education, 2013-2014

Zone 2

Paul Anthony Green check mark transparent.png José González

Paul Anthony.jpg

  • CFO, Shannon Pratt Valuations
  • MBA, Portland State University
  • B.A., Whitman College

Jose Gonzalez.jpg

  • Founder and executive director, Miracle Theatre Group
  • MFA, UCLA
  • B.A., Santa Clara University
Emma Russac Williams John Sweeney

Emma Russac Williams.jpg

  • Senior program coordinator, Metro Regional Government's Historic Cemetery Program

John sweeney.jpg

  • Retired, cable TV co-host
  • A.S., Portland Community College
  • United States Army Reserve/Oregon Army National Guard, 1956-1985

Zone 3

Bobbie Regan Amy Carlsen Kohnstamm Green check mark transparent.png

Bobbi Regan.jpg

  • Incumbent, first elected in 2003

Amy Carlsen Kohnstamm.jpg

  • Co-chair, Portland Schools Foundation
  • B.A., Macalester College
Gretchen Hollands Wes Soderback

Gretchen Hollands.jpg

  • Facilities planning project manger, Portland Public Schools
  • M.A., Portland State University
  • B.A, University of Colorado

Wes Soderback.jpg

  • Systems integrator, Soderback Associates

Zone 7

Mike Rosen

Mike Rosen.jpg

  • Environmental manager, Portland Bureau of Environmental Services Watershed Divison
  • Ph.D., Oregon Graduate Center
  • B.A., State University of New York

District map

While candidates had to reside in the zone they were running for, all of the seats were voted upon at-large. The map below outlines the geographic zones in which the candidates were required to reside to run for the respective seats. Portland Public Schools map.jpeg

Election results

Zone 1
Portland Public Schools,
Zone 1 General Election, 4-year term, 2015
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Nonpartisan Green check mark transparent.pngJulie Esparza Brown 77.5% 39,230
     Nonpartisan Andrew Davidson 22% 11,135
     Nonpartisan Write-in votes 0.5% 276
Total Votes 50,641
Source: Washington County Elections Divsion, "Official Summary Report: Special District Election May 19, 2015," June 4, 2015, Multnomah County, Oregon, "May 2015 Special Election Results," June 3, 2015, and Clackamas County, Oregon, "Specail District Election May 19, 2015, Official Results for Election," accessed June 9, 2015
Zone 2
Portland Public Schools,
Zone 2 General Election, 4-year term, 2015
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Nonpartisan Green check mark transparent.pngPaul Anthony 54.1% 27,471
     Nonpartisan José González 28.3% 14,356
     Nonpartisan Emma Russac Williams 11.4% 5,808
     Nonpartisan John Sweeney 5.7% 2,900
     Nonpartisan Write-in votes 0.4% 219
Total Votes 50,754
Source: Washington County Elections Divsion, "Official Summary Report: Special District Election May 19, 2015," June 4, 2015, Multnomah County, Oregon, "May 2015 Special Election Results," June 3, 2015, and Clackamas County, Oregon, "Specail District Election May 19, 2015, Official Results for Election," accessed June 9, 2015
Zone 3
Portland Public Schools,
Zone 3 General Election, 4-year term, 2015
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Nonpartisan Green check mark transparent.pngAmy Carlsen Kohnstamm 44.2% 23,412
     Nonpartisan Bobbie Regan Incumbent 40.7% 21,526
     Nonpartisan Gretchen Hollands 9.9% 5,232
     Nonpartisan Wes Soderback 4.8% 2,524
     Nonpartisan Write-in votes 0.5% 240
Total Votes 52,934
Source: Washington County Elections Divsion, "Official Summary Report: Special District Election May 19, 2015," June 4, 2015, Multnomah County, Oregon, "May 2015 Special Election Results," June 3, 2015, and Clackamas County, Oregon, "Specail District Election May 19, 2015, Official Results for Election," accessed June 9, 2015
Zone 7
Portland Public Schools,
Zone 7 General Election, 4-year term, 2015
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Nonpartisan Green check mark transparent.pngMike Rosen 97.6% 39,283
     Nonpartisan Write-in votes 2.4% 981
Total Votes 40,264
Source: Washington County Elections Divsion, "Official Summary Report: Special District Election May 19, 2015," June 4, 2015, Multnomah County, Oregon, "May 2015 Special Election Results," June 3, 2015, and Clackamas County, Oregon, "Specail District Election May 19, 2015, Official Results for Election," accessed June 9, 2015

Endorsements

The Oregonian endorsed Julie Esparza Brown, Paul Anthony, Amy Carlsen Kohnstamm and Mike Rosen for Zones 1, 2, 3 and 7, respectively.[4] The Portland Association of Teachers shared the paper's endorsements for all races except Zone 3. The teacher's union endorsed Bobbie Regan for that seat, instead.[5]

Campaign finance

See also: List of school board campaign finance deadlines in 2015
Campaign Finance Ballotpedia.png

Candidates received a total of $411,806.09 and spent a total of $407,272.45 in this election, according to the Oregon Secretary of State. These totals include in-kind contributions and expenditures. The "cash on hand" column in the table below additioanlly includes prior campaign account balances that were rolled into candidates' 2015 campaigns and outstanding loans, personal expenditures and accounts payable.[6]

Candidate Receipts Disbursements Cash on hand
Zone 1
Julie Esparza Brown $8,856.07 $8,561.26 $294.81
Andrew Davidson $6,485.00 $4,033.00 $2,802.00
Zone 2
Paul Anthony $35,224.27 $33,767.01 -$9,674.71
José González $36,075.03 $32,040.90 $4,023.73
Emma Russac Williams $0.00 $0.00 $0.00
John Sweeney $0.00 $0.00 $0.00
Zone 3
Bobbie Regan $180,037.74 $184,209.93 -$42,073.07
Amy Carlsen Kohnstamm $129,595.48 $127,930.17 $1,505.49
Gretchen Hollands $0.00 $0.00 $0.00
Wes Soderback $0.00 $216.50 -$2,476.89
Zone 7
Mike Rosen $15,532.50 $16,730.18 $911.77

Candidates whose committees expected to receive or spend more than $3,500 in a calendar year were required to file campaign finance reports according to the following rules:[7]

  • Transactions occurring before March 7, 2015, were required to be filed by the 30th day after the date of the transaction.
  • Transactions between March 8, 2015, and April 6, 2015, were required to be filed on April 14, 2015.
  • Transactions between April 7, 2015, and May 19, 2015, were required to be filed by the seventh day after the date of the transaction.

Committees who did not expect to surpass the expenditure or contribution threshold were allowed to file a "Certificate of Limited Contributions and Expenditures". If they later surpassed the limit, they were then required to file all transactions from the calendar year.[7]

Past elections

What was at stake?

2015

Issues in the election

The 2015 election for the Portland Public Schools Board of Education was the most competitive out of the district's most recent elections. In 2011, the district's elections averaged 2.5 candidates per seat up for election. That number dropped to just 1.67 in the 2013 election. By contrast, an average of 2.75 candidates filed for each seat up for election in the district on the 2015 ballot.

Just one incumbent sought re-election in 2015, which was down from two in both 2011 and 2013. Of the four incumbents who sought re-election in those two years, three retained their seats for a retention rate of 75 percent.

The 2015 election was on par with other recent elections for the number of unopposed races. In 2011, 2013 and 2015, one seat up for election saw only one official candidate file for it. This made for an average unopposed race percentage of 27.27 percent over the three elections.

Issues in the district

Common Core debate: opt-outs and opposition from teacher's union

Conflict over Common Core standards, heatedly debated nationwide, came to the surface in Portland Public Schools as the first year of testing to the new standards took effect. Opposition from teachers and parents led to higher opt-out rates in Portland than in its neighboring districts.[8]

As of April 10, 2015, approximately 5 percent of students at Portland Public Schools had opted out of Common Core testing. This was higher than other local school districts, such as Hillsboro, Beaverton and North Clackamas. Oregon only allowed children to be opted out from testing due to disabilities or religious beliefs.[8]

The opt-outs also came on the heels of the Portland Association of Teachers publicly decrying the "Smarter Balanced" tests, which are based on the Common Core standards, in February 2015. According to the Oregon Department of Education, the district's overall rating could be affected if less than 95 percent of students in particular categories, such as English language learners, do not participate in the testing.[8]

Key deadlines

The following dates were key deadlines for the 2015 Oregon school board elections:[9][7]

Deadline Event
February 7, 2015-
March 19, 2015
Candidate filing period
March 19, 2015 Deadline for candidates to withdraw
March 23, 2015 Candidate statements for voters' pamphlet deadline
April 7, 2015-
May 19, 2015
Seven day campaign finance reporting period
April 14, 2015 Campaign finance report due
April 28, 2015 Voter registration deadline
May 5, 2015 Last day to mail ballots
May 19, 2015 Election Day
June 8, 2015 Certified election results deadline
June 23, 2015 Last day to file recount demand
July 1, 2015 New school board terms begin

Additional elections on the ballot

See also: Oregon elections, 2015

Positions on the Multnomah Education Service District, Mount Hood Community College, water district and rural fire protection district were up for election on May 19, 2015, as well.[10]

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Portland Public Schools Oregon. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

See also

Portland Public Schools Oregon School Boards
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Seal of Oregon.png
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External links

Footnotes