Everything you need to know about ranked-choice voting in one spot. Click to learn more!

St. Landry Parish School Board elections (2014)

From Ballotpedia
Jump to: navigation, search
School Board badge.png
2014 St. Landry Parish School Board Elections
Primary Election Date
November 4, 2014
General Election Date
December 6, 2014
Table of Contents
About the district
Method of election
Elections
What was at stake?
Key deadlines
Additional elections
External links
See also
Louisiana
St. Landry Parish School Board
St. Landry Parish, Louisiana ballot measures
Local ballot measures, Louisiana
Flag of Louisiana.png

Thirteen seats on the St. Landry School Board were up for election on November 4, 2014. Incumbents for all districts were up for re-election. The qualifying period for candidates ran from August 20, 2014, to August 22, 2014. Candidates who were unopposed at the end of the filing period were considered elected without opposition as of that date. A general election for District 12 was held December 6, 2014, as no candidate garnered a majority vote in the primary election.[1]

Louisiana elections use the Louisiana majority-vote system. All candidates compete in the same primary, and a candidate can win the election outright by receiving more than 50% of the vote. If no candidate does, the top two vote recipients from the primary advance to the general election, regardless of their partisan affiliation.

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.

Six of the districts saw contested races. In District 1, incumbent Anthony Standberry (D) defeated challenger Armond "Rocky" Declouette (D). Allen Guillory Sr. (D) filled to run in District 1, but later withdrew. Darlene Smith-St. Romain (D) lost to District 5 incumbent Candy B. Gerace (D). District 9 incumbent Randy Wagley (I) defeated challenger Ricky Julien Sr. (D). District 13 incumbent Harry B. Fruge (D) lost his re-election bid to challenger Mary Ellen Donatto (D).[2]

Just after winning the District 10 seat in a special election on May 2, 2014, Hazel McCrea-Sias (D) faced Ceasar Veazie Jr. (D) and Matthew Washington (D) in the primary election. McCrea-Sias defeated Washington in the May election, and won the full-term in the primary election.[2]

District 12 had the greatest number of candidates. Incumbent Josie Frank (D) did not file to run for re-election. Donna Baltakis (D), Albert "Al" Hayes Jr. (D), Roland Miller (R) and Will "La Will" Stevens (D) ran for the open seat.[2] Hayes defeated Miller in the general election.

The remaining seven seats were retained by incumbents who were re-elected without opposition. They were Charles W. Ross (D) in District 2, Milton "Coach" Ambres (D) in District 3, Raymond P. Cassimere (D) in District 4, Donnie Perron (I) in District 6, Huey Wyble (D) in District 7, Kyle C. Boss (D) in District 8 and Roger Young (R) in District 11.[2]

Prior to the election, the board's partisan composition was 10 Democrats, 2 Republicans and 1 independent. The Democrats were guaranteed to keep nine seats while the Republicans and independents were guaranteed one seat each. With only two seat's partisanship up for grabs, the board retained a Democratic majority for four more years.

See also: What was at stake in the St. Landry Parish School Board election?

About the district

See also: St. Landry Parish School Board, Louisiana
St. Landry Parish School Board is located in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana.

St. Landry Parish School Board is located in south-central Louisiana. Opelousas is the seat of the parish government. St. Landry Parish was home to approximately 83,454 residents according to 2013 estimates by the United States Census Bureau. In the 2011-2012 school year, St. Landry was the 14th-largest school district in Louisiana and served 14,922 students.[3]

Demographics

St. Landry Parish underperformed compared to the rest of Louisiana in terms of higher education achievement in 2012. The United States Census Bureau found that 13.2 percent of St. Landry Parish residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree compared to 21.4 percent for Louisiana as a whole. The median household income for the parish was $36,183 compared to $44,673 statewide. The poverty rate in the parish was 26.4 percent compared to 18.7 percent for the entire state.[3]

Racial Demographics, 2013[3]
Race St. Landry Parish (%) Louisiana (%)
White 56.7 63.5
Black or African American 41.3 32.4
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.4 0.8
Asian 0.5 1.7
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander >0.5 0.1
Two or More Races 1.2 1.5
Hispanic or Latino 1.8 4.7

Presidential Voting Pattern, St. Landry Parish[4]
Year Democratic Vote Republican Vote
2012 19,668 21,475
2008 20,268 21,650
2004 18,166 18,315
2000 15,843 20,421

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 St. Landry Parish School Board consists of 13 partisan members. Members are elected to represent specific zones or districts of the parish for four-year terms. Starting January 1, 2015, board members will be limited to three consecutive terms.[5]

The primary election was held on November 4, 2014. Louisiana does not conduct typical primary elections. Instead, all candidates running for a local, state, or federal office appear on the same ballot in either October (in odd-numbered years) or November (in even-numbered years), regardless of their partisan affiliations. If a candidate wins a simple majority of all votes cast for the office (i.e., 50 percent, plus one vote), he or she wins the election outright. If no candidate meets that threshold, the top two finishers advance to a second election in either November (in odd-numbered years) or December (in even-numbered years), regardless of their partisan affiliations. In that election, the candidate who receives the greatest number of votes wins. Ballotpedia refers to Louisiana's electoral system as the Louisiana majority-vote system. It is also commonly referred to as a jungle primary. Because it is possible for a candidate to win election in the first round of voting, Louisiana's nominating contest is not a traditional primary.

Note: Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry (R) signed HB17 into law by on Jan. 22, 2024, creating closed partisan primaries and primary runoffs for Congress, the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, the Louisiana Public Service Commission and Louisiana Supreme Court beginning in 2026.


School board candidates were required to file a Notice of Candidacy or Qualifying Form during the qualifying period which ran from August 20, 2014, to August 22, 2014. At the same time, they were required to either pay a qualifying fee of $600 or submit a nominating petition with 1,000 valid signatures.[6][7]

To vote in the primary election, voters were required to register by October 6, 2014. Early voting ran between October 21, 2014, and October 28, 2014. Voters were required to register by November 5, 2014, to vote in the general election. The general election early voting period ran from November 22, 2014, to November 29, 2014.[8]

Elections

2014

Candidates

District 1

Democratic Party Anthony Standberry Green check mark transparent.png

  • Incumbent, first elected in 2006
  • Bachelor's degree from Southern University (1975)
  • Retired classroom teacher

Democratic Party Armond "Rocky" Declouette
Democratic Party Allen Guillory Sr. - Withdrew

District 2

Democratic Party Charles W. Ross Green check mark transparent.png

  • Incumbent, first elected 2010

District 3

Democratic Party Milton "Coach" Ambres Green check mark transparent.png

  • Incumbent, first elected in 2013

District 4

Democratic Party Raymond P. Cassimere Green check mark transparent.png

  • Incumbent, first elected in 2010

District 5

Democratic Party Candy B. Gerace Green check mark transparent.png

  • Incumbent, first elected in 2006

Democratic Party Darlene Smith-St. Romain

District 6

Grey.png Donnie Perron Green check mark transparent.png

  • Incumbent, first appointed in 2013
  • First elected as a Democrat in 2013

District 7

Democratic Party Huey Wyble Green check mark transparent.png

  • Incumbent, first elected in 1992

District 8

Democratic Party Kyle C. Boss Green check mark transparent.png

  • Incumbent

District 9

Independent Randy Wagley Green check mark transparent.png

  • Incumbent, first elected 2012
  • Opelousas Catholic School (1976)
  • Business degree from Northwestern State University of Louisiana (1981)

Democratic Party Ricky Julien Sr.

District 10

Democratic Party Hazel McCrea-Sias Green check mark transparent.png

Democratic Party Ceasar Veazie Jr.
Democratic Party Matthew Washington

District 11

Republican Party Roger Young Green check mark transparent.png

  • Incumbent, first elected in 1998

District 12

Democratic Party Albert "Al" Hayes Jr. Green check mark transparent.png

  • Charles Drew High School
  • A.A. from Louisiana State University Eunice
  • B.S. in education and a M.Ed. from Louisiana State University Baton Rouge
  • Behavioral specialist for Acadia Parish Schools

Republican Party Roland Miller

  • Eunice City Council, Ward 1 representative, 2010-2014

Candidates defeated in the primary election:
Democratic Party Donna Baltakis

  • Director of Keep Eunice Beautiful
  • Manager of Louisiana State University at Eunice's performing arts series
  • Member of St. Landry and Evangeline United Way Board of Directors

Democratic Party Will "La Will" Stevens

District 13

Democratic Party Harry B. Fruge

  • Incumbent, first elected in 2002
  • Eunice High School
  • B.A. in secondary education and M.Ed. in educational media from McNeese State University
  • 30 credit hours of graduate work at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge
  • Vietnam War Veteran
  • Deputy sheriff of St. Landry Parish
  • Louisiana School Board Association, memeber
  • Association of Secondary Curriculum Developers, member

Democratic Party Mary Ellen Donatto Green check mark transparent.png

  • B.Ed. and an M.Ed. in elementary education
  • M.Ed. in supervision and administration
  • Classroom teacher for 13 years
  • Instructional specialist for 13 years
  • Principal of East Elementary for 14 years
    • Louisiana State Elementary Principle of the Year, 2005-2006 and 2010-2011

Election results

District 1
St. Landry Parish School Board, District 1 Primary Election, 4-year term, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngAnthony Standberry Incumbent 79.2% 1,526
     Democratic Armond "Rocky" Declouette 20.8% 401
Total Votes 1,927
Source: Louisiana Secretary of State, "Official Results," accessed December 2, 2014
District 2

Charles W. Ross (D) was re-elected without opposition to a second term on August 22, 2014.

District 3

Milton "Coach" Ambres (D) was re-elected without opposition to serve his first full term on August 22, 2014.

District 4

Raymond P. Cassimere (D) was re-elected without opposition to his second term on August 22, 2014.

District 5
St. Landry Parish School Board, District 5 Primary Election, 4-year term, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngCandy B. Gerace Incumbent 51.1% 1,247
     Democratic Darlene Smith-St. Romain 48.9% 1,192
Total Votes 2,439
Source: Louisiana Secretary of State, "Official Results," accessed December 2, 2014
District 6

Donnie Perron (I) was re-elected without opposition to serve his first full term on August 22, 2014.

District 7

Huey Wyble (D) was re-elected to a fifth full term without opposition on August 22, 2014.

District 8

Kyle C. Boss (D) was re-elected without opposition on August 22, 2014.

District 9
St. Landry Parish School Board, District 9 Primary Election, 4-year term, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Independent Green check mark transparent.pngRandy Wagley Incumbent 72% 2,069
     Democratic Ricky Julien Sr. 28% 804
Total Votes 2,873
Source: Louisiana Secretary of State, "Official Results," accessed December 2, 2014
District 10
St. Landry Parish School Board, District 10 Primary Election, 4-year term, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngHazel McCrea-Sias Incumbent 52.1% 1,128
     Democratic Ceasar Veazie Jr. 25.5% 552
     Democratic Matthew Washington 22.4% 484
Total Votes 2,164
Source: Louisiana Secretary of State, "Official Results," accessed December 2, 2014
District 11

Roger Young (R) was re-elected without opposition on August 22, 2014.

District 12

General election:

St. Landry Parish School Board, District 12 General Election, 4-year term, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngAlbert "Al" Hayes Jr. 56.4% 1,007
     Republican Roland Miller 43.6% 778
Total Votes 1,785
Source: Louisiana Secretary of State, "Official Results," accessed December 30, 2014

General:

St. Landry Parish School Board, District 12 Primary Election, 4-year term, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngAlbert "Al" Hayes Jr. 32.9% 689
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngRoland Miller 32.9% 689
     Democratic Will "La Will" Stevens 19% 398
     Democratic Donna Baltakis 15.1% 316
Total Votes 2,092
Source: Louisiana Secretary of State, "Official Results," accessed December 2, 2014
District 13
St. Landry Parish School Board, District 13 Primary Election, 4-year term, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngMary Ellen Donatto 58.6% 1,221
     Democratic Harry B. Fruge Incumbent 41.4% 862
Total Votes 2,083
Source: Louisiana Secretary of State, "Official Results," accessed December 2, 2014

Past elections

What was at stake?

All thirteen seats' incumbents on the St. Landry School Board were up for general election on November 4, 2014. Prior to the election, the board's partisan composition was 10 Democrats, 2 Republicans and 1 independent. The Democrats were guaranteed to keep nine seats while the Republicans and independents were guaranteed one seat each. Donnie Perron, the District 6 incumbent, switched his party affiliation from Democratic to independent and was re-elected without opposition. With only two seat's partisanship up for grabs, the board retained a Democratic majority for four more years. The District 9 and 12 races determined the new composition of the board.

While the board's party split was not greatly affected by the election, terms won this year were the first to be affected by the term limits approved by voters in 2012.

Issues

Issues in the district

Term limits

Terms won in this election were the first to be affected by the imposition of term limits on school board members in the parish. On November 6, 2012, St. Landry Parish voters elected by a more than three-quarters majority to instate term limits.

The question appeared on the ballot as follows:

“ LOCAL OPTION ELECTION

Within St. Landry Parish School District: Shall the number of terms of office that any member of the school board may serve be limited to three consecutive four-year terms?[9]

”
—Louisiana Secretary of State's website (2014)[10]


Election results

Parishwide School District Proposition (2012)
ResultVotesPercentage
Approveda Yes 26301 77.77%
No751822.23%

Starting with terms that began on or after January 1, 2014, any member who, at the end of his or her term, has served more than two and one-half terms in the last three consecutive terms cannot be re-elected in the following term. However, they can be re-elected following the one term break. The limit does not apply retroactively to incumbents, thus allowing them to potentially serve up to 12 more years.[1][11]

Key deadlines

The following dates were key deadlines for the St. Landry Parish Public Schools election in 2014.[8][12]

Deadline Event
August 20-22, 2014 Qualifying period for candidates
October 5, 2014 30th day prior to election campaign finance report due
October 6, 2014 Last day to register to vote in the primary election
October 21, 2014 Early voting begins
October 25, 2014 10th day prior to election campaign finance report due
October 28, 2014 Early voting ends
November 4, 2014 Election Day
November 5, 2014 Last day to register to vote in general election
November 22, 2014 Early voting for general election begins
November 29, 2014 Early voting ends for general election
December 6, 2014 General election, if necessary
December 14, 2014 40th day after to election campaign finance report due

Additional elections on the ballot

See also: Louisiana elections, 2014

This election shared the ballot with primary elections for the United States Senate, the United States House of Representatives, two down ballot state executive positions, 14 statewide ballot measures and judicial elections.[6]

Recent news

This section links to a Google news search for the term "St. + Landry + Parish + School + Board + Louisiana"

St. Landry Parish School Board News Feed

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Louisiana Secretary of State, "HOW ARE CANDIDATES ELECTED?" accessed September 2, 2014
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Louisiana Secretary of State, "Candidate Inquiry," accessed September 16, 2014
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 United States Census Bureau, "St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, Quick Facts," accessed August 15, 2014
  4. ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, "Official Results," accessed August 15, 2014
  5. ↑ St. Landry Parish School Board, "Board Information," accessed August 15, 2014
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Louisiana Secretary of State, "2014 Elections," accessed August 15, 2014
  7. ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, "FEES/NOMINATING PETITIONS TO QUALIFY FOR OFFICE," accessed August 15, 2014
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 St. Landry Parish Registrar of Voters, "Election Dates," accessed August 15, 2014
  9. ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  10. ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, "Official Election Results," accessed September 17, 2014
  11. ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, "QUALIFICATIONS OF CANDIDATES," accessed September 2, 2014
  12. ↑ Louisiana Ethics Commission, "SCHEDULE OF REPORTING AND FILING DATES PROPOSITION ELECTION: NOVEMBER 4, 2014," accessed August 15, 2014
2014 St. Landry Parish School Board Elections
St. Landry Parish, Louisiana
Election date:November 4, 2014
Candidates:District 1: • Incumbent, Anthony Standberry • Armond "Rocky" Declouette • Allen Guillory Sr.

District 2: • Incumbent, Charles W. Ross
District 3: • Incumbent, Milton "Coach" Ambres
District 4: • Incumbent, Raymond P. Cassimere
District 5: • Incumbent, Candy B. Gerace • Darlene Smith-St. Romain
District 6: • Incumbent, Donnie Perron
District 7: • Incumbent, Huey Wyble
District 8: • Incumbent, Kyle C. Boss
District 9: • Incumbent, Randy Wagley • Ricky Julien Sr.
District 10: • Incumbent, Hazel McCrea-Sias • Ceasar Veazie Jr. • Matthew Washington
District 11: • Incumbent, Roger Young
District 12: • Donna Baltakis • Albert "Al" Hayes Jr. • Roland Miller • Will "La Will" Stevens

District 13: • Mary Ellen Donatto • Harry B. Fruge
Important information:What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot
Flag of Louisiana
v • e
State of Louisiana
Baton Rouge (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=St._Landry_Parish_School_Board_elections_(2014)&oldid=10512124"