Puyallup School District elections (2013)

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2013 Puyallup School District Elections
General Election date:
November 5, 2013
Table of Contents
About the district Method of election Election history What was at stake? Key deadlines Additional elections External links References
See also
Washington Puyallup School District

Two seats were up for election on the Puyallup School Board on November 5, 2013. Seats in Positions 1 and 4 were on the general election ballot. Pat Donovan defeated Noreen Wolfe to win the Position 1 seat while Kathy Yang overcame Karen Edwards to win the Position 4 seat. Issues facing the board include limited district funds and debates over renovations of school facilities.

About the district

See also: Puyallup School District, Washington

Puyallup School District is located in Pierce County, Washington

The City of Puyallup is located in Pierce County in northwestern Washington. The population of Puyallup was 37,022 according to the 2010 U.S. Census.

Demographics

Puyallup lags behind the state averages for higher education achievement while outperforming averages for median income and poverty rate. The percentage of city residents over 25 years old with undergraduate degrees (22.4%) is below the state average (31.4%). The 2010 U.S. Census calculated Puyallup's median income at $61,099 while the state median income was $58,890. Tacoma had a poverty rate of 9.1% in the 2010 U.S. Census while the state rate was 12.5%.

Racial Demographics, 2012
Race	Puyallup (%)	Washington (%)
White	84.4	77.3
Black or African American	2.1	3.6
American Indian and Alaska Native	1.4	1.5
Asian	3.8	7.2
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander	0.7	0.6
Two or More Races	5.5	4.7
Hispanic or Latino	6.9	11.2

Presidential Voting Pattern
Year	Democratic Vote (%)	Republican Vote (%)
2012	54.4	43.3
2008	54.9	42.8
2004	50.4	48.0
2000	51.4	44.0

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.

Method of board member selection

The Puyallup School Board consists of five members elected to four-year terms. There was a primary election on August 6, 2013 in Position 4 while Position 1 did not have a primary because only two candidates filed for election.

Elections in Washington require candidates to pay filing fees equal to 1% of a position's annual salary. Board members in Puyallup can be reimbursed up to $4,800 for district activities but do not receive salaries, which eliminates the filing fee. Candidates were required to file nominating petitions by May 17, 2013 to qualify for the November ballot. Each candidate could also submit a photo and statement of 100 words or less by August 14, 2013 for the county's local voter pamphlet.

Position 1

• Pat Donovan
  • Incumbent
  • Firefighter
• Noreen Wolfe

Position 4

• Karen Edwards
  • Graduate, Florida State University and University of Washington
  • Grant coordinator, University of Washington Medical Center
  • Veteran, U.S. Army
• Kathy Yang
  • Graduate, Northwestern University and University of Washington
  • Assistant Operations Manager for Dreamline Construction, LLC

Results

General election

Puyallup School Board, Four-year term, Position 1, 2013
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Pat Donovan Incumbent	73.9%	16,808
	Nonpartisan	Noreen Wolfe	25.5%	5,811
	Nonpartisan	Write-in votes	0.6%	135
Total Votes				22,754
Source: Pierce County Elections, "November 5, 2013 General Election," November 25, 2013

Puyallup School Board, Four-year term, Position 4, 2013
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Kathy Yang	50.9%	11,988
	Nonpartisan	Karen Edwards	48.5%	11,421
	Nonpartisan	Write-in votes	0.6%	137
Total Votes				23,546
Source: Pierce County Elections, "November 5, 2013 General Election," November 25, 2013

Primary

A primary was held on August 6, 2013 for the Position 4 seat on the board. Kathy Yang and Karen Edwards advanced from the primary to the November 5, 2013 general election.

Puyallup School Board, Position 4, August 6 Primary, 2013
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Kathy Yang	47.5%	5,622
	Nonpartisan	Karen Edwards	37.4%	4,424
	Nonpartisan	Margie Silver	15.1%	1,792
Total Votes				11,838
Source: Pierce County Elections, "August 6, 2013 Primary," August 20, 2013

Endorsements

The Bellingham Herald endorsed Pat Donovan and Karen Edwards for the November 5, 2013 board election. Edwards also received the endorsement of the Pierce County Democrats on October 15, 2013.

Campaign finance

Candidates received a total of $16,378.09 and spent a total of $15,997.58 during the election, according to the Washington Public Disclosure Commission.

In the Position 1 race, no contributions or expenditures were reported during the election.

In the Position 4 race, candidates received a total of $16,378.09 and spent a total of $15,997.58.

Candidate	Contributions	Expenditures	Cash on hand
Karen Edwards	$10,096.35	$9,928.50	$167.85
Kathy Yang	$6,281.74	$6,069.08	$212.66

Past elections

2011

Puyallup School Board, Position 2, November 8, 2011
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Dane Looker	56.2%	16,159
	Nonpartisan	Therese Ngo Pasquier	43.8%	12,595
Total Votes				28,754
Source: Pierce County Elections, "November 8, 2011," November 29, 2011

Puyallup School Board, Position 3, November 8, 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

Puyallup School Board, Position 5, November 8, 2011
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Chris Ihrig	51.2%	13,589
	Nonpartisan	Kathy Uphaus	48.8%	12,956
Total Votes				26,545
Source: Pierce County Elections, "November 8, 2011," November 29, 2011

What was at stake?

Incumbent Pat Donovan won a second full term in Position 1 against challenger Noreen Wolfe. The Position 4 race included Kathy Yang and Karen Edwards, who advanced from the August 6th primary against third-place finisher Margie Silver.

Issues

The district cut overall expenditures by $1.7 million from 2011 to 2012 while enrollment only decreased by 0.5% in those years. In the District 4 primary, Yang, Edwards and Silver discussed the need for additional funding to anticipate enrollment growth. In February 2013, voters in Puyallup School District did not pass the 60% threshold for a new bond worth $279.6 million.

Key deadlines

The following dates were key deadlines for the Puyallup School Board election in 2013:

Deadline	Event
April 29, 2013	First day to file nominating petitions by mail
May 13, 2013	First day to file nominating petitions online or in-person
May 17, 2013	Last day to file nominating petitions
August 6, 2013	Primary day
August 14, 2013	Last day to submit candidate materials for voter pamphlet
November 5, 2013	Election day
November 26, 2013	Certification of vote results

Additional elections on the ballot

The Puyallup School District elections shared the November 5, 2013 ballot with other citywide measures. Residents of Puyallup chose a municipal court judge and three members of the city council. An unexpired one-year term in the District 26 of the Washington State Senate was also on the ballot.

See also

• Washington
• Washington school districts
• Puyallup School District, Washington
• Financial policies, education standards at stake in November school board elections
• School board election wrap-up: Incumbents re-elected overwhelmingly in November 5 elections
• School board elections review: Voters opt for experience over new blood in nation's largest school districts

External links

Suggest a link

• District website
• Pierce County Elections page