Russell Joki
Russell Joki was the Zone 5 member of the West Ada Board of Trustees in Idaho.[1] He was first elected to the seat in the general election on May 19, 2015, and he served until his resignation on April 5, 2016.[2]
Despite resigning, Joki's name appeared on the recall election ballot on May 17, 2016, as his announcement came too close to the election date to change the ballots. He resigned from the board a week after a judge ruled against an injunction he had filed against the recall election. He said he was leaving the board for personal reasons not related to the recall.[2][3]
Joki was targeted for recall along with Zone 1 Trustee Tina Dean, Zone 3 Trustee Carol Sayles, and Zone 4 Trustee Julie Madsen. The recall effort was started by the group Concerned Citizens of West Ada School District for Trustee Recall. Supporters of the recall questioned the board's transparency and how members treated former Superintendent Linda Clark, who resigned from her position on October 23, 2015.[4]
Biography
Joki earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Idaho. He went on to obtain his master's degree in education from Whitmore College. He later returned to the University of Idaho to obtain a doctorate degree in educational leadership and administration. He is a former teacher and superintendent for the Nampa School District. He works as an adjunct professor at Northwest Nazarene University. He also operates his own educational consulting firm, Kiva Partners.[5]
Joki was involved in a class action lawsuit against the state of Idaho regarding the state's public education funding system. He claimed that any fees associated with academic classes or textbooks were unconstitutional.[6] A judge ruled that the case had to be filed against the school system as opposed to the entire state.[7] Once the defendant was listed as the school district, a district judge ruled in favor of Joki in November 2015.[8]
Elections
2016
An effort to recall three members of the West Ada School District Board of Trustees in Idaho was on the ballot on May 17, 2016.[9] Tina Dean, Carol Sayles, and Russell Joki were successfully recalled from their positions as Zone 1, 3, and 5 representatives, respectively.[10] The effort originally targeted four members, but one resigned before the election.[11] Joki also resigned from the board, but his name still appeared on the ballot as the ballots had already been finalized.[2][12] A second effort to recall the fifth member of the board was abandoned in January 2016.[13]
The effort against the four members was launched in November 2015 by a group called Concerned Citizens of West Ada School District for Trustee Recall. They targeted Dean, Sayles, Joki, and Zone 4 member Julie Madsen.[14] Madsen decided to resign from her position rather than face the recall election.[11] Dean, Sayles, and Joki announced that they would face the recall election and let the voters decide.[15] Sayles and Joki filed a lawsuit seeking an injunction to stop the recall election, but the judge ruled against them, allowing the recall to continue to the ballot.[9][16] A week after the court ruling, Joki announced his resignation from the board for personal reasons. Because the ballots had already been sent to absentee voters, his name still appeared on the recall election ballot.[2][12]
A separate group launched an effort against the fifth member of the board, Zone 2 trustee Mike Vuittonet, in November 2015, but it was dropped in January 2016. The group, called Veterans for the Recall of Mike Vuittonet, said the district needed to focus on other things, such as its new leadership under Superintendent Mary Ann Ranells. The group also said they agreed with the Idaho-Press Tribune's editorial that called the recall attempts "misguided."[13][17]
Concerned Citizens of West Ada School District for Trustee Recall questioned the board's transparency and how members treated former Superintendent Linda Clark, who resigned from her position on October 23, 2015.[14] The group that initially targeted Vuittonet also questioned the board's transparency. They accused Vuittonet of violating the Idaho Open Meeting Law. They also objected to Vuittonet's support of the recall movement against other members of the board.[17]
Madsen and Joki were first elected to the board on May 19, 2015. Madsen defeated incumbent Anne Ritter for her seat, and Joki won an open seat against three other challengers. Their resignations meant the newest members of the board were appointed rather than elected. Vuittonet was re-elected to his fifth term on the board in the same election. All three of them were supposed to serve until 2019, but only Vuittonet remained on the board as of April 2016. Dean and Sayles were elected in 2013. Their terms would have expired in 2017 if they had not been recalled.[2][18][19][20]
Results
| Russell Joki, Zone 5 Board Member, West Ada School District | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
 Recall | 1558 | 55.54% | ||
| Retain | 1247 | 44.46% | ||
| Election results via: Ada County, "Official Primary Election Results," accessed June 1, 2016 | ||||
2015
Three of the five seats on the West Ada Board of Trustees were up for election in the general election on May 19, 2015. The seats represent five geographical zones.
In Zone 2, incumbent Mike Vuittonet faced challenger Christine Bitler Whited. Zone 4 incumbent Anne Ritter faced challenger Julie Madsen. The Zone 5 incumbent, Janet Calinsky, did not file for re-election. The candidates for the open Zone 5 seat were Gregory Deitchler, Rosemary Demond, Russell Joki and Louis Pifher.[21][1]
Results
Zone 5
| West Ada School District, Zone 5 General Election, 4-year term, 2015 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan |  Russell Joki |
36.3% | 219 | |
| Nonpartisan | Rosemary Demond | 28.2% | 170 | |
| Nonpartisan | Louis Pifher | 19.1% | 115 | |
| Nonpartisan | Gregory Deitchler | 16.4% | 99 | |
| Total Votes | 603 | |||
| Source: Ada County, Idaho, "Consolidated Election May 19, 2015,," accessed June 2, 2015 | ||||
Funding
School board candidates in this election were not required to file any campaign finance reports, but the election in May 2015 was the last election for which there were no reporting requirements. On April 3, 2015, Gov. Butch Otter (R) signed SB 1072 into law which requires school board candidates in districts with an enrollment of 500 students or more to comply with campaign finance reporting requirements.[22] A majority of Idaho's school districts have an enrollment below this threshold. Of the 149 districts in the state tracked by the National Center for Education Statistics, 74 had an enrollment of 500 or greater in the 2012-2013 school year.[23] The law took effect on July 1, 2015.
Endorsements
Joki received no official endorsements for his campaign during the election.
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Russell Joki West Ada School District. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- West Ada School District, Idaho
- West Ada School District elections (2015)
- Embroiled incumbents see differing outcomes in May 19 school board elections across five states (May 21, 2015)
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Ada County, Idaho, "May 19, 2015 Consolidated Election," accessed May 27, 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Idaho Statesman, "West Ada Trustee Russ Joki resigns from school board," April 5, 2016
- ↑ Idaho Statesman, "West Ada recall: Shake-ups on school board before election, so what’s next?" April 6, 2016
- ↑ Idaho Statesman, "Group takes first step to recall four West Ada School District trustees," November 5, 2015
- ↑ LinkedIn, "Russell Joki," accessed April 29, 2015
- ↑ Huffington Post, "Russell Joki, Former Idaho School District Superintendent, Sues State Over Public School Fees," October 3, 2012
- ↑ The Spokesman Review, "Idaho dismissed from school lawsuit," March 14, 2013
- ↑ Idaho Statesman, "District judge finds West Ada school fees violate Idaho Constitution," November 17, 2015
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Idaho Statesman, "Judge rules against blocking West Ada recall," March 28, 2016
- ↑ Ada County Clerk's Office, "May 2016 Primary: Unofficial Results," accessed May 18, 2016
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Idaho Statesman, "West Ada school board rushes to fill trustee Madsen’s seat after resignation," February 19, 2016
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Idaho Statesman, "West Ada recall: Shake-ups on school board before election, so what’s next?" April 6, 2016
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Meridian Press, "Recall group drops efforts against West Ada Trustee Mike Vuittonet," January 22, 2016
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Idaho Statesman, "Group takes first step to recall four West Ada School District trustees," November 5, 2015
- ↑ KBOI, "West Ada trustees stand to fight recalls," February 24, 2016
- ↑ Idaho Statesman, "4 West Ada trustees face choice: resign or stand for recall," February 12, 2016
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 KIVI-TV ABC 6, "Group files for recall of West Ada School Board member," November 9, 2015
- ↑ Ada County, Idaho, "May 19, 2015 Consolidated Election," accessed May 27, 2015
- ↑ West Ada School District, "Board of Trustees," accessed December 27, 2014
- ↑ Idaho Statesman, "Campaign to recall four West Ada school board members begins," September 30, 2015
- ↑ West Ada School District, "West Ada School District Board of Trustees," accessed February 25, 2015
- ↑ Open States, "64th Legislature, 1st Regular Session (2015): Idaho Senate Bill 1072," accessed April 24, 2015
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "ELSI Table Generator," accessed April 24, 2015
| 2015 West Ada School District Elections | |
| Ada County, Idaho | |
| Election date: | May 19, 2015 |
| Candidates: | Zone 2: • Incumbent, Mike Vuittonet • Christine Bitler Whited Zone 4: • Incumbent, Anner Ritter • Julie Madsen |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
