Sean Connell
Sean Connell was a candidate for at-large representative on the Fall River Public Schools school board in Massachusetts. Connell was defeated in the at-large primary election on September 12, 2017.
Connell previously ran for a seat on the school committee and was defeated in the general election on November 3, 2015.
Biography
Connell earned bachelor's degrees in political science and women's and gender studies from the University of Massachusetts at Lowell. He worked as a community organizer for Coalition for Social Justice after graduating from college. Connell went on to work as a teacher with YouthBuild Fall River.[1]
Elections
2017
Six seats on the Fall River Public Schools School Committee in Massachusetts were up for general election on November 7, 2017. Incumbents Paul Coogan, Mark Costa, and Joseph Martins won their re-election bids along with challengers Kevin Aguiar, Joshua Hetzler, and Thomas Khoury. Challengers Amy M. Blanchette, David Cowen Jr., Susan Gancarski Dunse, Kristen Gauvin, Crystal Stone, and Jessica Wong were defeated in the general election on November 7, 2017. Challenger Sean Connell was defeated in the primary election on September 12, 2017.[2][3] Wong unofficially withdrew from the race in October 2017, but her name still appeared on the ballot.[4][5]
All seven seats on the school committee were up for election. The seventh seat was held by the mayor of Fall River, but was not covered by Ballotpedia as the city fell outside of municipal elections coverage.[2]
Results
| Fall River Public Schools, At-large Primary Election, 2-year terms, 2017 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Kevin Aguiar |
13.12% | 4,106 |
| Paul Coogan Incumbent |
12.84% | 4,018 |
| Joseph Martins Incumbent |
11.47% | 3,592 |
| Mark Costa Incumbent |
11.23% | 3,515 |
| Joshua Hetzler |
8.74% | 2,737 |
| Thomas Khoury |
8.47% | 2,650 |
| Kristen Gauvin |
6.34% | 1,986 |
| Amy M. Blanchette |
6.09% | 1,908 |
| Jessica Wong |
5.57% | 1,743 |
| Crystal Stone |
5.10% | 1,598 |
| Susan Gancarski Dunse |
4.28% | 1,339 |
| David Cowen Jr. |
3.43% | 1,073 |
| Sean Connell | 3.32% | 1,040 |
| Total Votes | 31,305 | |
| Source: Abbey Smith, “Email communication with Elizabeth Camara, Fall River Elections," October 6, 2017 | ||
Funding
The City of Fall River does not publish and freely disclose school board candidate campaign finance reports. If you have any information regarding the campaign finance disclosures in this race, please contact the school board elections team at editor@ballotpedia.org.
2015
Six seats on the Fall River School Committee were up for election on November 3, 2015. Incumbents Joseph Martins, Melissa Karam Panchley, Mark Costa, and Gabriel Andrade won re-election, while newcomers Paul Coogan and Edward Costar joined the board. All of the six incumbents on the board — Andrade, Costa, Martins, Panchley, Paul Hart, and Robert Maynard — sought re-election. Hart, Maynard, and challenger Sean Connell were defeated in the election.[6]
Results
| Fall River School Committee, At-large, General Election, 2015 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Paul Coogan |
14.0% | 7,474 |
| Joseph Martins Incumbent |
12.7% | 6,770 |
| Melissa Karam Panchley Incumbent |
12.4% | 6,618 |
| Mark Costa Incumbent |
12.3% | 6,556 |
| Edward Costar |
12.0% | 6,442 |
| Gabriel Andrade Incumbent |
10.7% | 5,727 |
| Paul Hart Incumbent | 10.4% | 5,558 |
| Robert Maynard Incumbent | 8.4% | 4,477 |
| Sean Connell | 7.1% | 3,815 |
| Write-in votes | 0.07% | 35 |
| Total Votes | 53,472 | |
| Source: Nick Katers, "Email exchange with Fall River Board of Elections Chair Elizabeth Camara," January 5, 2016 | ||
Funding
The Fall River City Clerk does not publish and freely disclose school board candidate campaign finance reports. If you have any information regarding the campaign finance disclosures in this race, please contact the school board elections team at editor@ballotpedia.org.
Endorsements
Connell received an official endorsement from the Green-Rainbow Party.[7]
Campaign themes
2017
Connell highlighted the following issues on his campaign website:
| “ | My name is Sean Connell and I am a candidate for the Fall River School Committee. I want to tell you about who I am, why I’m running, and what I see as solutions to some of the troubles that ail our schools.
I was born and raised here in Fall River. I attended Fall River Public Schools until I was 14 when I decided to leave our broken schools for Bristol County Agricultural High School. I was bullied relentlessly in middle school and neither the teachers nor administrators did anything to stop it. I felt I wouldn’t be safe at Durfee. After high school, I attended the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth where I received two bachelor’s degrees; one in Political Science and one in Women’s & Gender Studies. I was always active in extracurricular activities in high school and college and they helped me become the person I am today. I’ve organized walks for hunger and cancer, I’ve attended local, regional, and national conferences, and I was the President of several clubs throughout my time in school including student governments, activist groups, and academic organizations. Since graduating college, I worked with the Coalition for Social Justice as a community organizer (and later a steering committee member) fighting for working class issues such as raising the minimum wage and local issues such as the Fall River Charter Review Commission. I then became an AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteer in Service to America) at YouthBuild Fall River <YBFR>. When a teacher position became available at YBFR, the students and my coworkers thought I would be a great fit. I teach every HiSet (formerly GED) subject along with life skills, employment skills, and college readiness skills. I design my own curricula and I actively seek to get my students engaged in civics. Last year, I was even selected to be a Teacher Fellow to help set Education Policy for the larger YouthBuild network. It’s because of my time at YBFR that I am asking for your vote and support on Election Day. I see the kids who No Child Left Behind, left behind. I see the kids breathless trying to Race To The Top. I’ve seen sharp minds and brilliant students be defeated by a defunct and out of date education system bent on standardized testing as the only means of examining student AND teacher success. This is my biggest point of the three issues I’m raising. 1. We need to move away from standardized, corporate owned tests and put educational attainment back in the hands of educators and students – where it belongs. Standardized tests in no way prepare students for college level writing and they certainly do not transfer to any job skill. 2. We have to address bullying, in a real, meaningful way – not just make paper proclamations and call it a day. Too many kids are falling into depression or are too anxious to study simply because they cannot be themselves nor are they allowed to learn about it. We need communication skills, emotional literacy, and conflict resolution taught alongside the traditional subjects. 3. We must reign in spending and create new revenue streams to fund the necessary programs for tangible student success. Just 3 admins cost us $422,000 annually, with contracts going to those who haven’t fulfilled their obligations. The legalization of recreational marijuana (and ending the racist war on drugs) could create millions in new revenue to fund more teachers – not administrators –and more after school programs – particularly sports, arts, and sciences. My slogan is “Every Kid, Every School” because that’s who needs to come together to make Fall River the amazing place I know it to be. Listen to the students when they tell you: our classes (NOT TEACHERS) are boring, standardized tests make no sense because we are not standardized people, and the 21st century demands a new education system.[8] |
” |
| —Sean Connell (2017)[9] | ||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Sean Connell Fall River Public Schools school board. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Fall River Public Schools, Massachusetts
- Fall River Public Schools elections (2017)
- Fall River Public Schools elections (2015)
- Incumbency no guarantee of success in Nov. 3 school board elections (November 6, 2015)
- What happened in Nov.'s top board elections? (November 4, 2015)
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Facebook, "Sean Connell for Fall River School Committee," accessed October 21, 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 The Herald News, "Final day to file: Preliminary Fall River school board election is a go," August 8, 2017
- ↑ The Herald News, "Results of Fall River preliminary election," September 12, 2017
- ↑ The Herald News, "Wong removes herself from consideration for Fall River School Committee," October 17, 2017
- ↑ The Herald News, "Fall River City Election results 2017," November 7, 2017
- ↑ The Herald News, "Tuesday is final day for Fall River candidates to file certified nomination papers," August 17, 2015
- ↑ Green-Rainbow Party, "Up for Election: Green in 2015!" accessed October 19, 2015
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Facebook, "Sean Connell for Fall River School Committee: About page," accessed September 7, 2017
| Fall River Public Schools elections in 2017 | |
| Bristol County, Massachusetts | |
| Election date: | Primary election: September 12, 2017 • General election November 7, 2017 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Incumbent, Paul Coogan • Incumbent, Mark Costa • Incumbent, Joseph Martins • Kevin Aguiar • Amy M. Blanchette • Sean Connell • David Cowen Jr. • Susan Gancarski Dunse • Kristen Gauvin • Joshua Hetzler • Thomas Khoury • Crystal Stone • Jessica Wong |
| Important information: | What's at stake? • Additional elections on the ballot • Key deadlines |
| 2015 Fall River Public Schools Elections | |
| Bristol County, Massachusetts | |
| Election date: | November 3, 2015 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Incumbent, Gabriel Andrade • Incumbent, Mark Costa • Incumbent, Paul Hart • Incumbent, Joseph Martins • Incumbent, Robert Maynard • Incumbent, Melissa Karam Panchley • Sean Connell • Paul Coogan • Edward Costar |
| Important information: | Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
