Become part of the movement for unbiased, accessible election information. Donate today.

Sequoia Union High School District elections (2015)

From Ballotpedia
Jump to: navigation, search
2018 →


School Board badge.png
2015 Sequoia Union High School District Elections
General Election date:
November 3, 2015
Table of Contents
About the district
Method of election
Elections
What was at stake?
Key deadlines
Additional elections
External links
See also
California
Sequoia Union High School District
San Mateo County, California ballot measures
Local ballot measures, California
Flag of California.png

Three seats on the Sequoia Union High School District Board of Trustees were up for general election on November 3, 2015.[1] The seats held by incumbents Allen Weiner, Laura Martinez and Carrie Du Bois were on the ballot.[2]

Du Bois and Weiner won re-election, and newcomer Georgia Jack joined the board. They defeated incumbent Martinez and challenger Noria Zasslow.[3][4]

See how this race compared to past school board elections in the state in the "Election trends" section.

About the district

See also: Sequoia Union High School District, California
Sequoia Union High School District is located in San Mateo County, Calif.

Sequoia Union High School District is located in San Mateo County in west-central California. The county seat is Redwood City. San Mateo County was home to 758,581 residents in 2014, according to the United States Census Bureau.[5] During the 2012-2013 school year, Sequoia Union High School District was the 183rd-largest school district by enrollment in California and served 9,247 students.[6]

Demographics

San Mateo County outperformed the rest of California in terms of higher education achievement in 2013. The United States Census Bureau found that 44.4 percent of San Mateo County residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree, compared to 30.7 percent for California as a whole. The median household income for San Mateo County was $88,202, compared to $61,094 for the statewide. The percentage of people below poverty level in San Mateo County was 7.6 percent, compared to 15.9 percent for the entire state.[5]

Racial Demographics, 2014[5]
Race San Mateo County (%) California (%)
White 62.5 73.2
Black or African American 3.0 6.5
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.9 1.7
Asian 27.7 14.4
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander 1.6 0.5
Two or more races 4.4 3.7
Hispanic or Latino 25.3 38.6

Presidential Voting Pattern,
San Mateo County[7]
Year Democratic Vote Republican Vote
2012 206,085 72,756
2008 222,826 75,057
2004 197,922 83,315
2000 166,757 80,296

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.

Voter and candidate information

The Sequoia Union High Board of Trustees consists of five members elected at-large to four-year terms. Board members are elected on a staggered basis every November of odd-numbered years. There are no primary elections. Two seats were up for election on November 5, 2013, and three seats were on the ballot on November 3, 2015.[1][8]

School board candidates had to be at least 18 years old, residents of the school district and qualified voters. They could not be employees of the school district while in office.[9] To get on the ballot, candidates had to file their declaration of candidacy with the San Mateo County Elections by August 7, 2015.[1]

To vote in this election, residents of the district had to register by October 19, 2015. Voters could cast vote-by-mail ballots from October 24, 2015, through Election Day.[10] Photo identification was not required to vote in California.

Elections

2015

Candidates

At-large
Carrie Du Bois Green check mark transparent.png Laura Martinez Allen Weiner Green check mark transparent.png

Carrie Du Bois.jpg

  • Incumbent
  • Member from 2011-2015

Laura Martinez.jpg

  • Incumbent
  • Appointed to the board in March 2015
  • Graduate, Whittier College
  • After school program director & family college resource center coordinator, East Palo Alto Phoenix Academy

Allen Weiner.jpg

  • Incumbent
  • Member from 2011-2015
  • Graduate, Harvard University and Stanford Law School
  • Law professor, Stanford Law School
Georgia Jack Green check mark transparent.png Noria Zasslow

Georgia Jack.jpg

  • University development, Stanford University

Placeholder image.png

Election results

Sequoia Union High School District, At-large, General Election, 2015
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.png Carrie Du Bois Incumbent 27.2% 21,189
Green check mark transparent.png Georgia Jack 23.2% 18,104
Green check mark transparent.png Allen Weiner Incumbent 22.9% 17,872
Laura Martinez Incumbent 20.9% 16,286
Noria Zasslow 5.7% 4,480
Total Votes 77,931
Source: San Mateo County, "November 3, 2015 Consolidated Municipal, School and Special District All-Mailed Ballot Election: Sequoia Union High School District Members, Governing Board," December 1, 2015

Endorsements

The following is a list of endorsements made in the 2015 Sequoia Union High School District elections:

Candidate endorsements
Endorsement Carrie Du Bois Laura Martinez Allen Weiner Georgia Jack Noria Zasslow
Political parties
Democratic Party San Mateo County Democratic Party[11]
{{{1}}}
Democratic Party Peninsula Young Democrats[12]
{{{1}}}
Democratic Party Peninsula Stonewall Democrats[11]
{{{1}}}
Democratic Party San Mateo County Democratic Families Club[12][11]
{{{1}}}
{{{1}}}
Organizations
Sequoia District Teachers Association[11]
{{{1}}}
San Mateo Labor Council[11]
{{{1}}}
Building & Construction Trades Council of San Mateo County[11]
{{{1}}}
Evolve[13]
{{{1}}}
{{{1}}}
Local media
The Daily Journal[14]
{{{1}}}
{{{1}}}
{{{1}}}
The Almanac[12]
{{{1}}}
The Daily Post[12]
{{{1}}}
National officials
Congresswoman Anna Eshoo (D)[12][15][16]
{{{1}}}
{{{1}}}
{{{1}}}
Congresswoman Jackie Speier (D)[15][11]
{{{1}}}
{{{1}}}
State officials
State Sen. Jerry Hill (D)[12][15][16]
{{{1}}}
{{{1}}}
{{{1}}}
State Assembly Member Rich Gordon (D)[12][15][16]
{{{1}}}
{{{1}}}
{{{1}}}
State Assembly Member Kevin Mullin (D)[12][15][16]
{{{1}}}
{{{1}}}
{{{1}}}
County officials
Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian[12]
{{{1}}}
San Mateo County Board Supervisor Don Horsley[12][16]
{{{1}}}
{{{1}}}
San Mateo County Board Supervisor Warren Slocum[12][16]
{{{1}}}
{{{1}}}
San Mateo County Board Supervisor Dave Pine[16][11]
{{{1}}}
{{{1}}}
San Mateo County Controller Juan Raigoza[12]
{{{1}}}
San Mateo County Superintendent of Schools Anne E. Campbell[15][16]
{{{1}}}
{{{1}}}
San Mateo County Board of Education Member Ted Lempert[15]
{{{1}}}
San Mateo County Board of Education Member Joe Ross[11]
{{{1}}}
Sequoia Union High Board of Trustees
Sequoia Union High School District Trustee Alan Sarver[12][16]
{{{1}}}
{{{1}}}
Sequoia Union High School District Trustee Chris Thomsen[12][16]
{{{1}}}
{{{1}}}
Sequoia Union High School District Trustee Allen Weiner[12]
{{{1}}}
Sequoia Union High School District Trustee Laura Martinez[16]
{{{1}}}

Campaign finance

Campaign Finance Ballotpedia.png
See also: List of school board campaign finance deadlines in 2015

Campaign finance reporting requirements in California vary depending on how much money candidates spend or raise. For candidates planning to raise or spend less than $1,000, an Officeholder and Candidate Campaign Statement Short Form (Form 470) must be filed with their county or city elections office. If candidates plan to spend up to $1,000, including their own funds, they must also file a Candidate Intention Statement (Form 501). "If a candidate does not raise any money and personal funds are used only to pay filing or ballot statement fees, the candidate is not required to file the Form 501," according to the Fair Political Practices Commission. If candidates raise money outside of their own funds, a separate campaign bank account must be established.[17]

Candidates raising or spending more than $1,000, including their personal funds, must file a Candidate Intention Statement (Form 501), file a Statement of Organization (Form 410) and establish a separate bank account for campaign funds. They must then file Recipient Committee Campaign Statements (Form 460) to disclose their contributions and expenditures throughout their campaigns. If they receive more than $1,000 from a single source within 90 days of the election, they must file a 24-hour Contribution Report (Form 497).[17]

Past elections

What was at stake?

2015

Election trends

School Board Election Trends Banner.jpg
See also: School boards in session: 2014 elections by the numbers

With three seats on the ballot on November 3, 2015, over half of the Sequoia Union High Board of Trustees had the potential to change hands. An average of 1.67 candidates ran per seat up for election. All three incumbents sought another term on the board, and they faced two challengers. Two of the incumbents were re-elected to the board, and one newcomer won the other seat.

The 2015 school board election in the Sequoia Union High School District had fewer candidates run per seat than the 2014 state average of 1.91 candidates per seat up for election in California's largest school districts. That year, just over 25 percent of board seats in those districts were unopposed, and 37.65 percent of seats went to newcomers.

Ballotpedia survey responses

Candidate Connection Logo - stacked.png
See also: Ballotpedia's school board candidate survey

One of the five candidates in this race participated in Ballotpedia's 2015 survey of school board candidates. The following sections display the responses to the survey questions from challenger Allen Weiner.

Top priorities

When asked what his top priority would be if elected, Weiner stated:

“ Common Core implementation: The District has made substantial progress in adopting new curricular materials that enable us to teach courses using the Common Core standards. Common Core is more than simply a set of curricular standards; if done well, it offers the promise of a new approach to classroom instruction that will foster deeper critical thinking and the development of analytical skills. Through the innovative in-house professional development program we have established in the District and teacher-led collaborations, we need to continue to focus on continual improvement in instructional practices so that we are able to realize the promise of Common Core instruction.[18] ”
—Allen Weiner, (2015)[19]
Ranking the issues

The candidate was asked to rank the following issues by importance in the school district, with 1 being the most important and 7 being the least important. This table displays the candidate's rankings:

Issue importance ranking
Issue Weiner's ranking
Expanding arts education
6
Expanding career-technical education
5
Balancing or maintaining the district's budget
3
Improving college readiness
2
Closing the achievement gap
1
Improving education for special needs students
4
Expanding school choice options
7
Positions on the issues

The candidate was asked to answer 10 multiple choice and short answer questions from Ballotpedia regarding significant issues in education and the school district. A link to the candidate's responses can be found below.

Key deadlines

The following dates were key deadlines for the Sequoia Union High School District election in 2015:[1][20][21]

Deadline Event
June 8, 2015 - August 7, 2015 Candidate filing period
July 31, 2015 Semi-annual campaign finance report due
August 5, 2015 - November 2, 2015 24-hour campaign contribution reporting period
September 7, 2015 - October 20, 2015 Write-in candidate filing period
September 24, 2015 Pre-election campaign finance report due
October 19, 2015 Voter registration deadline
October 22, 2015 Pre-election campaign finance report due
October 24, 2015 First day voters can cast vote-by-mail ballots
November 3, 2015 Election Day
February 1, 2016 Semi-annual campaign finance report due

Additional elections on the ballot

See also: California elections, 2015

The Sequoia Union High School District election shared the ballot with municipal elections in Redwood City.[22]

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Sequoia Union High School District California. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Sequoia Union High School District elections (2015) - Google News

See also

Sequoia Union High School District California School Boards
School Board badge.png
Seal of California.png
School Board badge.png

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 2013 California Code, “CA Elec Code § 8403 (2013),” accessed January 29, 2015
  2. ↑ Sequoia Union High School District, "Trustees," accessed August 5, 2015
  3. ↑ San Mateo County Elections, "Consolidated Municipal, School & Special District Election Tuesday, November 3, 2015: Roster Of Candidates," accessed August 10, 2015
  4. ↑ San Mateo County, "November 3, 2015 Consolidated Municipal, School and Special District All-Mailed Ballot Election: Sequoia Union High School District Members, Governing Board," December 1, 2015
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 United States Census Bureau, "San Mateo County, California," accessed September 29, 2015
  6. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "ELSI Table Generator," accessed April 29, 2015
  7. ↑ San Mateo County Elections, "Election Results Archive," accessed August 6, 2014
  8. ↑ Sequoia Union High School District, "Board of Trustees: General Overview," accessed August 10, 2015
  9. ↑ Sequoia Union High School District, "BB 9220 Board Bylaws: Board of Trustees Elections," accessed August 10, 2015
  10. ↑ San Mateo County Elections, “Election Calendar November 3, 2015 Consolidated Municipal, School and Special District Election,” accessed August 7, 2015
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 11.6 11.7 11.8 Georgia Jack, "Endorsements," accessed October 30, 2015
  12. ↑ 12.00 12.01 12.02 12.03 12.04 12.05 12.06 12.07 12.08 12.09 12.10 12.11 12.12 12.13 12.14 Vote Laura Martinez for Sequoia Union High School District, "Endorsements," accessed October 30, 2015
  13. ↑ Evolve, "2015 Endorsements: November 03, 2015 Election," accessed October 27, 2015
  14. ↑ The Daily Journal, "Editorial:Du Bois, Jack, Weiner for Sequoia," October 14, 2015
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 15.5 15.6 Carrie Du Bois, "Vote for Carrie Du Bois in November," accessed October 30, 2015
  16. ↑ 16.00 16.01 16.02 16.03 16.04 16.05 16.06 16.07 16.08 16.09 16.10 Re-elect Allen Weiner, "Key Endorsements," accessed October 30, 2015
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Fair Political Practices Commission, "Local Candidates, Superior Court Judges, Their Controlled Committees, and Primarily Formed Committees for Local Candidates: Campaign Disclosure Manual 2," accessed August 5, 2015
  18. ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  19. ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2015, "Allen Weiner responses," October 25, 2015
  20. ↑ California Election Code, "Section 8600-8606," accessed February 20, 2015
  21. ↑ Fair Political Practices Commission, "Filing Schedule for Candidates and Controlled Committees for Local Office Being Voted on November 3, 2015," accessed August 5, 2015
  22. ↑ San Mateo County Elections, "Regularly Scheduled Elections," accessed August 5, 2015
2015 Sequoia Union High School District Elections
San Mateo County, California
Election date:November 3, 2015
Candidates:At-large: • Incumbent, Carrie Du Bois • Incumbent, Laura Martinez • Incumbent, Allen Weiner • Georgia Jack • Noria Zasslow
Important information:What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot
Flag of California
v • e
State of California
Sacramento (capital)
Elections

What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2025 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures

Government

Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy

Retrieved from "https://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php?title=Sequoia_Union_High_School_District_elections_(2015)&oldid=7854323"