Scranton School District elections (2017)
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Four seats on the Scranton School District school board in Pennsylvania were up for at-large general election on November 7, 2017. A partisan primary election was held on May 16, 2017.
Board incumbents Robert Casey, Mark McAndrew, and Bob Sheridan cross-filed to appear on both the Democratic and Republican primary election ballots. Challengers Barbara Dixon, Katherine Gilmartin, Kevin O’Shea Sr., Christopher Phillips, and Michael Williams also cross-filed to run in the primary. Challengers Joseph Matyjevich, Chantal Rich, and Robert Waldeck filed to run as Democrats in the primary. Gilmartin, McAndrew, and Dixon won both Democratic and Republican nominations and advanced to the general. Casey won the fourth Democratic nomination, and Phillips won the fourth Republican nomination, and both moved on to the general.[1][2]
Upon moving out of the county, Phillips' name was removed from the general ballot. He was replaced by Republican candidate Frank Torquato. In the general election, Gilmartin, McAndrew, Dixon, and Casey defeated Torquato to win election.[3] O'Shea's name did not appear on the primary ballot, and although Cynthia Baldwin originally filed for the race, she withdrew her candidacy on March 29, 2017.[4][5]
These candidates could have faced independent candidates in the general election. However, no independent candidate filed by the August 1, 2017, deadline to get on the ballot.[6]
Elections
Voter and candidate information
The Scranton school board is composed of nine at-large members serving four-year, staggered terms. Five seats were up for election on November 3, 2015, and four seats were up for election on November 7, 2017.
Cross-filing
Pennsylvania permits school board candidates to cross-file in primary elections. This means that a candidate may file to run in the primary election for both the Democratic and Republican parties. A cross-filed candidate can advance to the general election by winning one or both of the partisan primaries. This maximizes a candidate’s chances of advancing to the general as they have two ways to win in the primary round. If the candidate wins only one, they face the winner of the other primary in the general election. Cross-filers who win both primaries may still face independent candidates in the general election.
General candidate requirements
To run for a school board in Pennsylvania, one must be a U.S. citizen, at least 18 years old, and a resident of the school district for at least one year before the election date. To run in this 2017 school board election, partisan candidates had to file for office by March 7, 2017, and independent candidates had to file by August 1, 2017.[7][8]
Voter requirements
To vote in Pennsylvania, a resident must be a U.S. citizen for at least one month and a resident of the district in which he or she is registering for at least 30 days before the election. A voter must be at least 18 years of age by the next election date. The deadline to register to vote before the primary election was April 17, 2017, and the deadline to register to vote before the general election was October 10, 2017.[9]
- See also: Voting in Pennsylvania and Voter identification laws by state
Candidates and results
At-Large general election
Results
| Scranton School District, At-Large General Election, 4-year terms, 2017 |
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| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic/Republican |  Katherine Gilmartin |
25.81% | 10,093 | |
| Democratic/Republican | Mark McAndrew Incumbent |
21.96% | 8,586 | |
| Democratic/Republican | Barbara Dixon |
20.68% | 8,086 | |
| Democratic | Robert Casey Incumbent |
18.13% | 7,090 | |
| Republican | Frank Torquato | 12.86% | 5,028 | |
| Write-in votes | 0.57% | 223 | ||
| Total Votes | 39,106 | |||
| Source: Lackawanna County, "NOVEMBER 7, 2017 UNOFFICIAL MUNICIPAL GENERAL ELECTION RESULTS," accessed November 8, 2017 These election results are unofficial and will be updated after official vote totals are made available. | ||||
Candidates
 Robert Casey 
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 Mark McAndrew
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Barbara Dixon
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| Katherine Gilmartin
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 Frank Torquato
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At-Large primary election
Democratic results
| Scranton School District, At-Large Democratic Primary Election, 4-year terms, 2017 |
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| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Katherine Gilmartin |
17.80% | 4,557 | |
| Democratic | Mark McAndrew Incumbent |
14.85% | 3,803 | |
| Democratic | Robert Casey Incumbent |
13.81% | 3,535 | |
| Democratic | Barbara Dixon |
10.41% | 2,664 | |
| Democratic | Christopher Phillips | 10.07% | 2,578 | |
| Democratic | Michael Williams | 9.40% | 2,406 | |
| Democratic | Bob Sheridan Incumbent | 8.45% | 2,163 | |
| Democratic | Robert Waldeck | 6.81% | 1,743 | |
| Democratic | Joseph Matyjevich | 5.68% | 1,453 | |
| Democratic | Chantal Rich | 2.53% | 647 | |
| Write-in votes | 0.21% | 54 | ||
| Total Votes | 25,603 | |||
| Source: Lackawanna County, "Official Municipal Primary Election Results," accessed June 21, 2017 | ||||
Republican results
| Scranton School District, At-Large Republican Primary Election, 4-year terms, 2017 |
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| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Katherine Gilmartin |
19.00% | 1,172 | |
| Republican | Mark McAndrew Incumbent |
16.57% | 1,022 | |
| Republican | Barbara Dixon |
13.35% | 823 | |
| Republican | Christopher Phillips |
12.84% | 792 | |
| Republican | Robert Casey Incumbent | 12.18% | 751 | |
| Republican | Michael Williams | 12.16% | 750 | |
| Republican | Bob Sheridan Incumbent | 10.41% | 642 | |
| Write-in votes | 3.49% | 215 | ||
| Total Votes | 6,167 | |||
| Source: Lackawanna County, "Official Municipal Primary Election Results," accessed June 21, 2017 | ||||
Defeated in primary
| Bob Sheridan
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Michael Williams
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Joseph Matyjevich
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| Robert Waldeck
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Chantal Rich
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Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: Pennsylvania elections, 2017
The Scranton School District general election shared the ballot with elections for:[6]
- State judges
- Local trial court judges
- District attorney
- Sheriff
- Recorder of deeds
- Register of wills
- City council
- Mayor
- Tax collector
The Scranton School District primary election shared the ballot with primary elections for state judges and Lackawanna County district attorney, sheriff, recorder of deeds, and register of wills.[2]
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for this Pennsylvania school board election in 2017:[10]
| Deadline | Event |
|---|---|
| March 7, 2017 | Partisan candidate filing deadline |
| April 17, 2017 | Deadline to register to vote before the primary election |
| May 16, 2017 | Primary election day |
| August 1, 2017 | Independent candidate filing deadline |
| October 10, 2017 | Deadline to register to vote before the general election |
| November 7, 2017 | General election day |
Endorsements
Do you know of an official or organization that endorsed a candidate in this race? Let Ballotpedia know by email at editor@ballotpedia.org.
Campaign finance
| 2017 Campaign Finance Deadlines in Pennsylvania[11] | |
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| Date | Deadline |
| May 5, 2017 | 2nd Friday Pre-Primary report due |
| June 15, 2017 | 30-Day Post-Primary report due |
| October 27, 2017 | 2nd Friday Pre-Election report due |
| December 7, 2017 | 30-Day Post-Election report due |
School board candidates in Pennsylvania were required to report their campaign finance activity. Those who spent or received more than $250 in a reporting period had to file full reports. Those below the threshold had to file forms to declare they were exempt from reporting. Candidates could have, but were not required to, form committees to handle campaign finance transactions. They were not required to have separate bank accounts for campaign purposes.[12]
The table to the left details the four campaign finance deadlines in 2017.[11]
Past elections
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What was at stake?
Report a story for this election
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About the district
- See also: Scranton School District, Pennsylvania
Scranton School District is located in Lackawanna County in north-eastern Pennsylvania. The seat of county government is Scranton. Lackawanna County was home to an estimated 211,321 residents between 2010 and 2016, according to the United States Census Bureau. The district was the 17th-largest school district in the state in the 2014-2015 school year and served 10,009 students.[13][14]
Demographics
Lackawanna County underperformed compared to Pennsylvania as a whole in terms of higher education attainment from 2011 to 2015. The United States Census Bureau found that 25.9 percent of county residents aged 25 years and older had obtained their bachelor's degree or higher, compared to 28.6 percent of all state residents. The median household income in the county was $46,271, compared to $53,599 for the entire state. County residents lived below the poverty level at a rate of 15.3 percent, while that rate was 13.2 percent for all state residents.[14]
| Racial Demographics, 2015[14] | ||
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| Race | Lackawanna County (%) | Pennsylvania (%) |
| White | 92.2 | 82.6 |
| Black or African American | 3.4 | 11.7 |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Asian | 2.4 | 3.4 |
| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Two or More Races | 1.6 | 1.9 |
| Hispanic or Latino | 6.6 | 6.8 |
Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Scranton School District Pennsylvania election. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Scranton School District | Pennsylvania | School Boards |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Lackawanna County, "Unofficial Municipal Primary Election Results," accessed May 16, 2017
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lackawanna County, "Candidates List 5-16-17," accessed April 4, 2017
- ↑ The Times-Tribune, "Scranton School Board candidates to face tough decisions," October 15, 2017
- ↑ The Times-Tribune, "School board candidate withdraws from race," March 29, 2017
- ↑ Lackawanna County, "NOVEMBER 7, 2017 UNOFFICIAL MUNICIPAL GENERAL ELECTION RESULTS," accessed November 8, 2017
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Lackawanna County, "Department of Elections," accessed October 25, 2017
- ↑ Pennsylvania School Boards Association, "How to Run for School Board," accessed March 21, 2017
- ↑ Pennsylvania Department of State, "2017 Election Calendar," accessed March 21, 2017
- ↑ VotesPA, "How to Register," accessed June 10, 2014
- ↑ Pennsylvania Department of State, "2017 Election Calendar," accessed March 30, 2017
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Pennsylvania Department of State, "2017 Election Calendar," accessed April 19, 2017
- ↑ Pennsylvania Department of State, "Campaign Finance Reporting Law," accessed January 15, 2014
- ↑ U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, "Common Core of Data, file ccd_lea_052_1414_w_0216161a, 2014-2015," accessed November 16, 2016
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 United States Census Bureau, "Lackawanna County," accessed March 24, 2017
| Scranton School District elections in 2017 | |
| Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania | |
| Election date: | Primary: May 16, 2017 General: November 7, 2017 |
| Candidates: | At-Large: Incumbent, Robert Casey (D) • Incumbent, Mark McAndrew (D)(R) • Incumbent, Bob Sheridan (D)(R) • Barbara Dixon (D)(R) • Christopher Phillips (R) • Michael Williams (D)(R) • Kevin O’Shea Sr. (D)(R) • Katherine Gilmartin (D)(R) • Joseph Matyjevich (D) • Robert Waldeck (D) • Chantal Rich (D) • Frank Torquato (R) |
| Important information: | What was at stake? |
