Royce Turner
Royce Turner was a candidate for an at-large seat on the Des Moines School Board in Iowa. The seat was up for general election on September 8, 2015. He was defeated by incumbent Cindy Elsbernd.[1][2]
Biography
Turner operates his own law firm, Turner Law Office, PLLC. He obtained his bachelor's degree in criminal justice from the University of Dubuque. He went on to earn his juris doctor at Drake University.[3]
Elections
2015
Four of the seven seats on the Des Moines Public Schools School Board were up for election on September 8, 2015. The available seats included an at-large seat with a four-year term, seats with four-year terms in Districts 1 and 3, and a seat with a two-year term in District 2.
Prior to 2013, all representatives on the school board represented the district at-large. Voters approved a proposal to incorporate four district representatives on the school board in 2011. In 2013, residents voted for representatives in District 2 and District 4. In 2015, residents voted for a representative in District 1 and District 3. Toussaint Cheatom won the election for the District 2 seat in 2013, but he resigned due to health concerns. Nathan Blake was appointed to the open seat. The District 2 seat was open in 2015 for a two-year term.[4]
Incumbent Cindy Elsbernd defeated Royce Turner for the at-large seat. Newcomers Heather Anderson and Shane Schulte ran for the one available seat in District 1. Anderson defeated Schulte. Dionna Langford defeated challengers Ed Linebach and Edgar Ortiz for the two-year term seat in District 2. In District 3, Rocio Hermosillo was defeated by Natasha Newcomb. Incumbents Nathan Blake, Bill Howard, and Pat Sweeney did not run for re-election.[5][6][7]
Results
This election was held September 8, 2015.
| Des Moines Public Schools, At-Large, 4-Year Term, General Election, 2015 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Cindy Elsbernd Incumbent |
67.7% | 3,202 |
| Royce Turner | 32.3% | 1,527 |
| Total Votes | 4,729 | |
| Source: Polk County Auditor's Office, "Regular School Election," accessed November 12, 2015 | ||
Funding
Turner reported $556.50 in contributions but no expenditures to the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board, which left his campaign with $556.50 on hand during the election.[8]
Endorsements
Turner received official endorsements from the South Central Iowa Federation of Labor, Iowa State Rep. Ruth Ann Gaines (D-32), Iowa State Rep. Ako Abdul-Samad (D-35) and the Des Moines Education Association.[9][10][11]
What was at stake?
2015
Three of the four seats up for election were replaced with newcomers. The only incumbent running for re-election was District 1 incumbent, Cindy Elsbernd. She defeated challenger Royce Turner. The school board is now separated into designated districts through a process that started in 2013. The election in 2015 completed the transition from an at-large board.
The district settled a lawsuit brought on by former superintendent Nancy Sebring regarding private emails that were released to the public.[12]
Issues in the district
Settlement reached with former superintendent
The district's former superintendent, Nancy Sebring, dropped a lawsuit against the school involving her personal privacy. Sebring served as the district's superintendent until 2012. She announced that she was set to become the superintendent of Omaha Public Schools, and then abruptly resigned in May 2012.
Local media uncovered sexually explicit emails in Seibring's district email account through an open records request. Sebring claims that a board member tipped the media off to the existence of these emails leading them to expand their open records request. She sued the district naming school board member Teree Caldwell-Johnson, director of communications Phil Roeder and district lawyer Patricia Lantz in the suit.
The district's insurance company settled with Sebring in August 2015. She and her lawyers received $350,000, and the district was not required to admit any wrongdoing. The settlement payment did not come out of the district's budget, since the board did have an insurance policy to protect the district from lawsuits. The district did pay a $50,000 deductible to the insurance company.[13][12]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Royce Turner Des Moines Public Schools. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Des Moines Public Schools, Iowa
- Des Moines Public Schools elections (2015)
- Newcomers and incumbents share the victories in Iowa's largest school district elections (September 9, 2015)
- Analysis of incumbency advantage in the 2014 school board elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Polk County Auditor's Office, "Regular School Election," accessed September 8, 2015
- ↑ Des Moines Public Schools, "2015 School Board Candidates," accessed August 3, 2015
- ↑ Turner Law Office, PLLC., "Attorney Profiles," accessed August 18, 2015
- ↑ Des Moines Public School, "School Board Election Information," accessed March 27, 2015
- ↑ Polk County Auditor's Office, "Regular School Election," accessed September 8, 2015
- ↑ Des Moines Public Schools, "2015 School Board Candidates," accessed August 3, 2015
- ↑ Office of the Polk County Auditor, "Candidate Guide," accessed March 11, 2015
- ↑ Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board, "IECDB State/Local Campaign Disclosure Reports," accessed February 2, 2016
- ↑ Iowa Labor News, "South Central Iowa Federation of Labor makes election endorsements," August 13, 2015
- ↑ Facebook, "Des Moines Education Association," September 1, 2015
- ↑ Facebook, "Royce Turner for School Board," September 4, 2015
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 WHO 13, "Insurance Company for Des Moines Public Schools Settles Nancy Sebring Lawsuit," August 10, 2015
- ↑ The Des Moines Register, "Des Moines Schools’ insurer settles Sebring lawsuit," August 10, 2015
| 2015 Des Moines Public Schools Elections | |
| Polk County, Iowa | |
| Election date: | September 8, 2015 |
| Candidates: | At-large: Incumbent, Cindy Elsbernd • Royce Turner District 1: Heather Anderson • Shane Schulte |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
