Runston Lewis
Runston Lewis was an at-large member of the Newburgh Enlarged City Board of Education in New York. He was first elected in 1990 and served on the board for 19 years before losing his re-election bid on May 19, 2009.[1] Lewis returned to the board after winning the election on May 18, 2010, but he lost re-election again on May 21, 2013.[2] He ran unsuccessfully to regain his seat in the general election on May 20, 2014.
Biography
Runston Lewis is a resident of Orange County, New York. Lewis earned his B.A. degree from the State University of New York at New Paltz and his M.A. degree from Fordham University. He is retired.[3]
Elections
2014
Runston Lewis, incumbents Dawn Fucheck, Mark Levinstein and Thomas Woodhull and six fellow challengers lost to newcomers Kenneth Copertino, Carole Mineo, William Swart and Darren Stridiron for the four at-large seats in the general election on May 20, 2014.
One of the seats up for election was vacated as a result of the death of board member Judith A. McAfee. Stridiron, the candidate who won election but received the fewest votes, received that seat, which carried an unexpired two-year term.[4]
Results
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan |  Carole Mineo |
14.1% | 1,601 | |
| Nonpartisan | Kenneth Copertino |
12.7% | 1,445 | |
| Nonpartisan | William Swart |
11.7% | 1,333 | |
| Nonpartisan | Darren Stridiron |
11.2% | 1,275 | |
| Nonpartisan | George Bowles, Jr. | 7.1% | 808 | |
| Nonpartisan | Dawn Fucheck Incumbent | 7% | 791 | |
| Nonpartisan | Sheila Murphy | 6.7% | 763 | |
| Nonpartisan | Mark Levinstein Incumbent | 6.3% | 716 | |
| Nonpartisan | Runston Lewis | 5.7% | 652 | |
| Nonpartisan | Thomas Woodhull Incumbent | 4.4% | 503 | |
| Nonpartisan | David Rein | 3.9% | 442 | |
| Nonpartisan | Robert Pagliaro | 3.8% | 427 | |
| Nonpartisan | Andres Arestin | 2.9% | 326 | |
| Nonpartisan | Nathan Vesely | 2.6% | 290 | |
| Total Votes | 11,372 | |||
| Source: Newburgh Enlarged City School District, "School & Library Budget Vote and School Board Election - 5/20/14," accessed July 10, 2014 | ||||
Funding
Lewis did not file a campaign finance report with the New York State Board of Elections during the election.[5][6]
Endorsements
Lewis did not receive any endorsements during the election.
2013
| Newburgh Enlarged City School District, At-Large General Election, 3-year term, 2013 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan | Susan Prokosch Incumbent |
22.9% | 1,447 | |
| Nonpartisan | Judith A. McAfee Incumbent |
19.7% | 1,247 | |
| Nonpartisan | R. Andrew Johnston |
16.2% | 1,023 | |
| Nonpartisan | Runston Lewis Incumbent | 15.2% | 960 | |
| Nonpartisan | Eric Motley | 10.2% | 645 | |
| Nonpartisan | John Eliadis | 8.4% | 534 | |
| Nonpartisan | Nathan Vesely | 7.5% | 472 | |
| Total Votes | 6,328 | |||
| Source: Newburgh Enlarged City School District, "2013-2014 Budget Information," accessed May 1, 2014 | ||||
Campaign themes
2014
In a survey conducted by the school district, Lewis stated that the following should be the district's top priority in 2014:
| “ | For the BOE to come together as a cohesive group to enable them to work on the many areas that need improvement.[7] | ” |
| —Newburgh Enlarged City School District candidate survey (2014)[3] | ||
Lewis and Sheila Murphy issued a joint public statement calling for the school district to hire more minority teachers. Challenger David Rein rejected their argument and stated, "I think all children can succeed as long as their parents are involved and they are energized by quality teachers. I find it offensive to suggest that black teachers and black board members are the answer to Newburgh's problems." Lewis responded, "Does he think we want unqualified teachers? No one is saying hire unqualified, uncertified teachers. All we're saying is give our teachers the same advantage as you give white teachers."[8]
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Runston + Lewis + Newburgh + Enlarged + City + School + District"
See also
- Newburgh Enlarged City School District, New York
- Newburgh Enlarged City School District elections (2014)
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ NewburghEdInfo, "Mid Hudson Times on Newburgh BOE Election Result," June 18, 2009
- ↑ Mid Hudson Times, "Newburgh voters pass budget; Lewis returns to board," May 19, 2010
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Newburgh Enlarged City School District, "2014-2015 Budget Information," accessed May 20, 2014
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia via phone call with the Newburgh Enlarged City School District administration on May 1, 2014.
- ↑ New York State Board of Elections, "Contribution Search," accessed May 20, 2014
- ↑ New York State Board of Elections, "Expenditure Search," accessed May 20, 2014
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Times Herald Record, "Newburgh school board candidate: Hire quality teachers," May 15, 2014
| 2014 Newburgh Enlarged City School District Elections | |
| Orange County, New York | |
| Election date: | May 20, 2014 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Incumbent, Dawn Fucheck • Incumbent, Mark Levinstein • Incumbent, Thomas Woodhull • Andres Arestin • George Bowles, Jr. • Kenneth Copertino • Runston Lewis • Carole Mineo • Sheila Murphy • Robert Pagliaro • David Rein • Darren Stridiron • William Swart • Nathan Vesely |
| Important information: | Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
