Rene Bernal
Rene Bernal was a candidate for at-large representative on the Tucson Unified School District Governing Board in Arizona. He was defeated in the general election on November 4, 2014.
While the board is a nonpartisan political body, Bernal is a Democrat.[1]
Elections
2014
Incumbents Michael Hicks and Adelita Grijalva faced a wide field of challengers in the November 4, 2014, general election. Don Cotton, Jen Darland, Betts Putnam-Hidalgo, Debe Campos-Fleenor, Francis Saitta, Rene Bernal and Miguel Cuevas ran to unseat the at-large board members.[2]
Results
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan |  Adelita Grijalva Incumbent |
19.5% | 34,347 | |
| Nonpartisan | Michael Hicks Incumbent |
16.3% | 28,708 | |
| Nonpartisan | Jen Darland | 16% | 28,191 | |
| Nonpartisan | Don Cotton | 10.7% | 18,944 | |
| Nonpartisan | Debe Campos-Fleenor | 10% | 17,647 | |
| Nonpartisan | Betts Putnam-Hidalgo | 9.6% | 16,927 | |
| Nonpartisan | Rene Bernal | 8.7% | 15,424 | |
| Nonpartisan | Miguel Cuevas | 6.6% | 11,581 | |
| Nonpartisan | Francis Saitta | 2.2% | 3,952 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in votes | 0.3% | 585 | |
| Total Votes | 176,306 | |||
| Source: Pima County Elections, "Official Results," accessed December 30, 2014 | ||||
Funding
As of October 28, 2014, Bernal had reported $255.00 in contributions and $109.13 in expenditures according to the Pima County Elections Department, which left his campaign with $145.87 on hand.[3]
Endorsements
Bernal did not receive any official endorsements
Campaign themes
2014
Bernal provided the following statement in English and Spanish to the Pima County School Superintendent's office:
| “ | As a native Tucsonian, a product of TUSD, and the only engineer in aerospace applying for a position on TUSD school board, I would like to provide a new, logical perspective to help guide TUSD and the community into a better area.
I was trained in science and engineering at the University of Arizona, and raised by two parents, one a lifetime teacher/librarian who recently retired from TUSD and the other one who worked in administrative offices and advocated for the community. It is because of these two, that I saw many students struggle though personal issues while getting though school, and communities rally together to make something better. As a result, I have a natural desire to provide my input and give back to the community. I’ve spent many years encouraging youth to find excitement in science, math and engineering. We all do what we can to best support and raise our children. More than half of the current board, and candidates running for this election, have children in TUSD schools. There should be more support on the board for teachers because they are the ones who value our children as much their parents. I am the only candidate who has a parent who taught their entire career in public education. I want to be that voice for teachers on the TUSD school board. State funding should for public schools be increased, yet in the meantime, what resources are available for students should be shared and utilized effectively. Community input should also be the first resource to provide guidance for where resources could best be used. Only as a strong community can we provide the best resources for all our students. The best decisions are made when all the information is available and present. To prove this, I am the only candidate whose website provides unbiased information and links on the other candidates’ websites. TUSD works best when it works as a team, so choose the best team.[4] |
” |
| —Rene Bernal candidate statement (2014)[5] | ||
| “ | Como una tucsonense nativo, un producto del TUSD y el único ingeniero aeroespacial solicitando un puesto en la junta escolar del TUSD, me gustaría proporcionar una nueva y lógica perspectiva para ayudar a guiar al TUSD y a la comunidad a una mejor área.
Fui entrenado en ciencias e ingeniería en la Universidad de Arizona, y criado por mis padres, uno bibliotecario / maestro de toda la vida que se ha jubilado recientemente del TUSD y la otra una que trabajó en oficinas administrativas y abogó por la comunidad. Es debido a ellos que vi a muchos estudiantes batallando con problemas personales mientras que pasaban por la escuela y a las comunidades reuniéndose para crear algo mejor. Como resultado, tengo un deseo natural de proporcionar mi opinión y de retribuir a la comunidad. He pasado muchos años animando a la juventud a entusiasmarse con las ciencias, matemáticas e ingeniería. Todos hacemos lo que podemos para apoyar mejor a nuestros niños. Más de la mitad de la junta actual y de los candidatos que se presentan en esta elección tienen hijos en las escuelas del TUSD . Debería de haber más apoyo en la junta a favor de los maestros porque son los que valoran a nuestros niños tanto como sus padres. Soy el único candidato que tiene un padre que enseño toda su carrera en la educación pública. Quiero ser esa voz a favor de los maestros en la junta escolar del TUSD. La financiación del estado deberá para las escuelas públicas ser aumentada, pero entretanto, los recursos que están disponibles para los estudiantes deberán ser compartidos y usados . Las opiniones de la comunidad deberán ser el primer recurso para proporcionar guía sobre dónde deberán ser mejor usados los recurso. Solamente como una comunidad sólida podemos proporcionar los mejores recursos a todos nuestros estudiantes. Las mejores decisiones se toman cuando toda la información esta disponible y presente. Para probar esto, yo soy el único candidato cuyo sitio Web proporciona información imparcial y se conecta con los sitios Web de los otros candidatos. El TUSD trabaja mejor cuando trabaja como un equipo, de manera que elija el mejor equipo.[4] |
” |
| —Rene Bernal candidate statement (2014)[5] | ||
What was at stake?
While the governing board is a nonpartisan political body, all nine candidates' political affiliations were known, with two Republicans, Michael Hicks and Debe Campos-Fleenor, and seven Democrats, Adelita Grijalva, Miguel Cuevas, Rene Bernal, Don Cotton, Jen Darland, Betts Putnam-Hidalgo and Francis Saitta.[1] Prior to the general election, Grijalva and Darland were leading the race in campaign finance contributions and expenditures.
Issues in the election
Proposition 420
In addition to voting on governing board members, residents of the school district voted upon Proposition 420 which would authorize the district to sell or lease nine schools that were closed in 2013. The proposition's official ballot language was as follows:
| “ |  [4]
|
” |
| —Office of the Pima County School Superintendent (2014)[6] | ||
Yard sign theft allegations
Adelita Grijalva, "Sign Thief Caught on Camera Targeting Adelita Grijalva For TUSD," October 27, 2014 |
Candidate Adelita Grijalva alleged that over $7,000 worth of yard signs for her campaign had been stolen as of October 27, 2014. Grijalva captured video of one her signs being stolen and posted it to YouTube on October 27, 2014.[7]
Campaign finance reports for activity through September 15, 2014, were available when the sign stealing was alleged. As of those reports, Grijalva had two expenditures explicitly for signs. One to The Gloo Factory on August 30, 2014, which was for the amount of $2,224.94 with a description of "INVOICE #0935, YARD SIGNS, h FRAMES, BUTTONS, BANNER." The other expenditure was to The Home Depot on the same day for $148.22, which was described as "SIGN SUPPLIES".[8] Grijalva had made an earlier expenditure to The Gloo Factory on March 17, 2014, for $108.60, which was described as "PALPAL PAYMENT." As of September 15, 2014, Grijalva had maximally spent $2,481.76 on yard signs.[9]
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Rene + Bernal + Tucson + Unified + School + District"
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Blog for Arizona, "5 of 7 Democratic TUSD board candidates to speak at DGT," September 13, 2014
- ↑ Pima County School Superintendent's Office, "Official list of 2014 governing board candidates," accessed August 18, 2014
- ↑ Pima County Elections Department, "Welcome to Campaign Finance Web," accessed October 28, 2014
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Pima County School Superintendent, "GOVERNING BOARD CANDIDATE STATEMENT TUCSON UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 1: RENÉ BERNAL," accessed September 30, 2014
- ↑ Pima County School Superintendent, "Voter Information Pamphlet: Tucson Unified School District No. 1 of Pima County, Arizona, Special Election, November 4, 2014," accessed October 29, 2014
- ↑ Tucson Weekly, "Who Is This Grijalva Campaign Sign Thief?" October 27, 2014
- ↑ Pima County Political Committee Campaign Finance Report, "Adelita Grijalva for TUSD: Post-Primary Report," September 25, 2014
- ↑ Pima County Political Committee Campaign Finance Report, "Adelita Grijalva for TUSD: June 30 Report," June 30, 2014
| 2014 Tucson Unified School District Elections | |
| Pima County, Arizona | |
| Election date: | November 4, 2014 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Incumbent, Michael Hicks • Incumbent, Adelita Grijalva • Don Cotton • Jen Darland • Betts Putnam-Hidalgo • Debe Campos-Fleenor • Francis Saitta • Rene Bernal • Miguel Cuevas |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
