Ray St. Pierre
Ray St. Pierre was the Republican District 3 representative on the Jefferson Parish School Board in Louisiana. He was first elected on October 5, 2002, and served until he passed away on July 29, 2017.[1]
Biography
St. Pierre grew up and attended school in the Jefferson Parish Public Schools system. He retired from coaching and teaching math in the system. He held a master's degree in education.[2]
Elections
2014
Nine seats on the Jefferson Parish School Board were up for election on November 4, 2014. Candidates who were unopposed at the end of the filing period were considered elected as of that date. Two districts advanced to a general election on December 6, 2014.
Eight of the district seats saw contested races. District 2 incumbent Etta Licciardi (R) filed to run in the District 3 contest, but later withdrew. Newcomers Rickeem Jackson (D), Ricky Johnson (D) and April Williams (D) ran to fill the open seat. Jackson and Johnson advanced to the general election. District 3 incumbent Ray St. Pierre (R) faced Raymond "Ray" Griffin Jr. (R) in his re-election bid. Phillip Huskey (D) also filed for the race, but was disqualified. District 4 incumbent Pat Tovrea (R) did not file to run for re-election. Melinda Bourgeois (R) and Glenn Mayeaux (R) vied for the open seat.[3]
Karen M. Barnes (D) and Sharlayne Jackson-Prevost (D) challenged District 5 incumbent Cedric Floyd (D). Meladie Munch (D) ran against District 6 incumbent Larry Dale (R). District 7 incumbent Mark Jacobs (R) faced challengers Melinda Doucet (R) and Jo Ann Scott (L). Deborah Armstrong (D) had filed for the District 7 seat, but later withdrew. Jacobs and Doucet advanced to the general election.[3]
Mike Delesdernier (R), the District 8 incumbent, faced Marion "Coach" Bonura (R). Denise Carpenter (R) also filed for the race, but later withdrew. Eugene "Gene" Katsanis (R) and incumbent Sandy Denapolis-Bosarge (R) faced one another for the second election in a row for the District 9 seat. Connie Montgomery (R) also filed to run in District 9, but later withdrew.[3]
In the only uncontested race, District 1 incumbent Mark Morgan (I) was re-elected without opposition after his opponent, Charles "Ken" Bradley (R), withdrew from the race.[3]
Results
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican |  Ray St. Pierre Incumbent |
64.7% | 7,529 | |
| Republican | Raymond "Ray" Griffin Jr. | 35.3% | 4,105 | |
| Total Votes | 11,634 | |||
| Source: Louisiana Secretary of State, "Official Results," accessed November 4, 2014 | ||||
Funding
St. Pierre began the race with an existing account balance of $24,799.54 from his previous campaign. As of October 29, 2014, he had reported $17,816.56 in receipts and $31,860.99 in disbursements to the Louisiana Ethics Administration Program, which left his campaign with $10,755.11 on hand. AFT Committee for School Board Accountability in Jefferson Parish supported St. Pierre and four other candidates. The committee received a total of $446,150.00 and spent a total of $165,488.50 as of October 16, 2014.[4]
Endorsements
St. Pierre was endorsed by the Jefferson Federation of Teachers.[5]
2010
St. Pierre ran unopposed to keep his District 3 seat in 2010.[6]
What was at stake?
2014
With all nine seats of the board up for election, the 2014 election was an opportunity for a shift in the board's partisan balance. Prior to the election, the board was comprised of seven Republicans and two Democrats. Democratic District 1 incumbent Mark Morgan switched parties to run as an independent, where he was re-elected without opposition. Due to redistricting, Republican District 2 incumbent Etta Licciardi was moved into District 3. Only Democratic candidates ran for the open seat. This left the board with a guaranteed three Republicans, two Democrats and one independent.
Beyond potential shifts in board partisanship, the election was also affected by residency challenges and redistricting.
Issues in the election
Redistricting
The 2014 elections were the first to be affected by the redistricting plan approved by the school board in December 2012. The redistricting plan, which was developed by Redistricting LLC, was accepted with one modification. The board choose to keep the city of Westwego unified under District 1. There had been discussion of moving one predominately African-American precinct in Westwego to District 5, but it was ultimately decided against.[7] The map on the right shows the district boundaries for the 2014 election.
Candidate residency challenges
Two candidates faced challenges over whether or not they had met the residency requirements. Both Rickeem Jackson (D) in District 2 and Phillip Huskey (D) in District 3 had their candidacies challenged on this basis. The courts ruled in favor of Jackson and disqualified Huskey from the election.[8][9]
In Jackson's case, opponents to his candidacy cited the state law requiring candidates to live in the state for two years prior to their election. Jackson had been attending college in Pennsylvania, but argued in court that his intention had always been to return to Louisiana. He returned to Louisiana after graduating from college in May 2013. His attorney pointed out that he is the executive director of a local foundation started by his father, as well as an officer and director at his father's meat packing plant. The judge allowed Jackson to continue as a candidate in the race.[8]
Huskey, however, did not receive court approval for his candidacy. His opponents challenged him on the basis of not having domiciled in the district he was seeking election to, District 3, for the past year. Huskey's notice of candidacy and recent homestead exemptions demonstrated that he resides in District 1. While he did not appear in court to contest the challenge, Huskey later said that he had been asked by several people to drop out of the race after he qualified. He also claimed that it was a clerk of court official who told him that he should run in District 3. An attorney for the clerk of court responded to the claim by stating that the office does not give advice to candidates.[9]
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Ray + St + Pierre + Jefferson + Parish + Public + Schools"
See also
External links
- Jefferson Parish Public Schools
- Campaign website (paid for by AFT Committee for School Board Accountability in Jefferson Parish)
- LinkedIn profile
Footnotes
- ↑ The Times-Picayune, "UNO alum Tiffany Kuhn becomes Jefferson's interim school board member," August 16, 2017
- ↑ Jefferson Parish Public Schools, "Board Members: District III," accessed September 15, 2014
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Louisiana Secretary of State, "Candidate Inquiry," accessed September 3, 2014
- ↑ Louisiana Ethics Administration Program, "Louisiana Campaign Finance Reports," accessed October 29, 2014
- ↑ Jefferson Federation of Teachers, "Jefferson Parish School Board Endorsements," accessed October 29, 2014
- ↑ NOLA.com, "Jefferson Parish School Board members report campaign finances," March 29, 2012
- ↑ The Times-Picayune, "Jefferson Parish School Board approves redistricting plan, new turnaround network," January 10, 2012
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 The Times-Picayune, "Rickeem Jackson allowed to run for Jefferson Parish School Board, judge rules," September 2, 2014
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 The Times-Picayune, "Phillip Huskey disqualified by judge from Jefferson Parish School Board race," August 29, 2014
| 2014 Jefferson Parish Public Schools Elections | |
| Jefferson Parish, Louisiana | |
| Election date: | November 4, 2014 |
| Candidates: | District 1: • Incumbent, Mark Morgan • Charles "Ken" Bradley District 2: • Rickeem Jackson • Ricky Johnson • April Williams |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
