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Ricky Castaneda
Ricky Castaneda (Democratic Party) ran for election to the New Jersey General Assembly to represent District 20. He lost in the Democratic primary on June 8, 2021. Castaneda unofficially withdrew from the race but appeared on the primary election ballot on June 8, 2021.
Biography
Castaneda graduated from Elizabeth High School in 2016. After graduating high school, he began attending Rutgers University-Newark.[1]
Elections
2021
See also: New Jersey General Assembly elections, 2021
General election
General election for New Jersey General Assembly District 20 (2 seats)
Incumbent Annette Quijano and Reginald W. Atkins won election in the general election for New Jersey General Assembly District 20 on November 2, 2021.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Annette Quijano (D) | 50.8 | 26,276 |
| ✔ |  | Reginald W. Atkins (D) | 49.2 | 25,477 |
| Total votes: 51,753 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for New Jersey General Assembly District 20 (2 seats)
The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for New Jersey General Assembly District 20 on June 8, 2021.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Annette Quijano | 36.8 | 8,785 |
| ✔ | | Reginald W. Atkins | 34.0 | 8,105 |
| Diane Murray-Clements | 12.6 | 3,015 | ||
| Christian Veliz | 11.6 | 2,778 | ||
 | Ricky Castaneda (Unofficially withdrew) | 2.6 | 615 | |
| Aissa Heath (Unofficially withdrew) | 2.4 | 563 | ||
| Total votes: 23,861 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2017
Three of the nine seats on the Elizabeth Public Schools school board in New Jersey were up for at-large general election on November 7, 2017. Board member Maria Z. Carvalho and newcomers Jerry Jacobs and Rosa Moreno Ortega defeated incumbent Paul Perreira and Ricky Castaneda, Sima Farid, Christina Moreira, Armando Da Silva, and Rosa Moreno Ortega.[2]
Carvalho, Moreno Ortega, and Jacobs ran in this election together as a slate called One Team One Dream. Perreira, Da Silva, and Farid ran together as a slate called Children First. Castaneda and Moreira ran together as a slate called Putting Kids First.
Results
| Elizabeth Public Schools, At-large General Election, 3-year terms, 2017 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Maria Z. Carvalho Incumbent |
22.66% | 5,103 |
| Jerry Jacobs |
19.55% | 4,401 |
| Rosa Moreno Ortega |
19.11% | 4,302 |
| Christina Moreira | 10.46% | 2,354 |
| Paul Perreira Incumbent | 10.06% | 2,266 |
| Armando Da Silva | 8.11% | 1,826 |
| Ricky Castaneda | 5.47% | 1,231 |
| Sima Farid | 4.41% | 994 |
| Write-in votes | 0.17% | 38 |
| Total Votes | 22,515 | |
| Source: Union County, "General Election, November 7, 2017: Official Results," accessed March 22, 2018 | ||
Funding
Castaneda did not report campaign contributions or expenditures in this election as of October 17, 2017, according to the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission.[3]
2016
Three of the nine seats on the Elizabeth Public Schools school board were up for at-large general election on November 8, 2016. Incumbents Stanley Neron and Jose Rodriguez, along with Diane Barbosa, defeated incumbent Carlos Trujillo, Ricky Castaneda, Christina Moreira, Maria Medeiros DaRassi, Sima Farid, Maria Lorenz, and former candidate Virginia San Pedro for the three seats up for election.[4]
Results
| Elizabeth Public Schools, At-Large General Election, 3-year terms, 2016 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Diane Barbosa |
25.33% | 11,330 |
| Jose Rodriguez Incumbent |
21.62% | 9,669 |
| Stanley Neron Incumbent |
21.59% | 9,656 |
| Carlos Trujillo Incumbent | 10.67% | 4,774 |
| Christina Moreira | 7.33% | 3,277 |
| Sima Farid | 3.96% | 1,773 |
| Maria Lorenz | 3.92% | 1,753 |
| Ricky Castaneda | 2.23% | 999 |
| Maria Medeiros DaRassi | 1.79% | 799 |
| Virginia San Pedro | 1.44% | 642 |
| Write-in votes | 0.13% | 56 |
| Total Votes | 44,728 | |
| Source: Union County Clerk, "Official Results," accessed December 1, 2016 | ||
Funding
Castaneda reported no contributions or expenditures to the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission in the election.[5]
Campaign themes
2021
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Ricky Castaneda did not complete Ballotpedia's 2021 Candidate Connection survey.
2016
Ballotpedia survey responses
Ricky Castaneda participated in Ballotpedia's 2016 survey of school board candidates. In response to the question "What do you hope to achieve if elected to the school board?" the candidate stated on August 6, 2016:
| “ | Get PARCC out. Increase relationship with student body, faculty and parents.[6][7] | ” |
Ranking the issues
The candidate was asked to rank the following issues based on how they should be prioritized by the school board, with 1 being the most important and 7 being the least important. Each ranking could only be used once.
| Education policy |
|---|
 |
Click here to learn more about education policy in New Jersey. |
| Education on the ballot |
| Issue importance ranking | |
|---|---|
| Candidate's ranking | Issue |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
| Improving post-secondary readiness | |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Improving relations with teachers | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
| Expanding school choice options | |
| “ | Maintain the budget without raising taxes.[7] | ” |
| —Ricky Castaneda (August 6, 2016) | ||
Positions on the issues
The candidate was asked to answer nine questions from Ballotpedia regarding significant issues in education and the school district. The questions are highlighted in blue and followed by the candidate's responses. Some questions provided multiple choices, which are noted after those questions. The candidate was also provided space to elaborate on their answers to the multiple choice questions.
| Should new charter schools be approved in your district? (Not all school boards are empowered to approve charter schools. In those cases, the candidate was directed to answer the question as if the school board were able to do so.) |
|---|
| No. |
| Which statement best describes the ideal relationship between the state government and the school board? The state should always defer to school board decisions, defer to school board decisions in most cases, be involved in the district routinely or only intervene in severe cases of misconduct or mismanagement. |
| The state should defer to school board decisions in most cases. |
| Are standardized tests an accurate metric of student achievement? |
| No. |
| What is your stance on the Common Core State Standards Initiative? |
| Against It |
| How should the district handle underperforming teachers? Terminate their contract before any damage is done to students, offer additional training options, put them on a probationary period while they seek to improve or set up a mentorship program for the underperforming teacher with a more experienced teacher in the district? |
| Put them on a probationary period while they seek to improve. Set up a mentorship program for the underperforming teacher with a more experienced teacher in the district. |
| Should teachers receive merit pay? |
| Yes. They should but their performance will also factor their merit. |
| Should the state give money to private schools through a voucher system or scholarship program? |
| No. |
| How should expulsion be used in the district? |
| Case-by-case basis |
| What's the most important factor for success in the classroom: student-teacher ratio, the curriculum, teachers, parent involvement or school administration? |
| Teachers |
See also
2021 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Ballotpedia's Biographical Information Submission Form, "Ricky Castaneda's responses," August 5, 2016
- ↑ Elisabeth Moore, "Email exchange with Lisa Bobish-Hugelmeyer, Union County Elections Supervisor," August 4, 2017
- ↑ New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, "Filings," accessed October 17, 2017
- ↑ Mandy Gillip, "Email communication with Lisa Bobish, Union County Election Supervisor," July 26, 2016
- ↑ New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, "Public Information," accessed December 12, 2016
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2016, "Ricky Castaneda's responses," August 6, 2016
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
