Steve Ferguson
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Steve Ferguson is an at-large member of the Burbank Unified School District Board of Education in California. He was first elected to the board in the nonpartisan primary election on February 24, 2015, when he received enough votes to get elected to the board outright without advancing to the general election.[1][2][3]
Ferguson ran unsuccessfully for a seat on the school board in 2013. Though he made it through the primary, he lost in the general election. He also ran and lost in the 2009 Burbank City Council race.[4][5]
Biography
Ferguson was born and raised in Burbank, Calif. He is the school board's first openly gay member. At the age of 18, he briefly volunteered for Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign in Iowa. Upon his return to Burbank, he started his own campaign for a seat on the city council in the 2009 election. He lost that election but went on to run for a seat on the school board in 2013, which he also lost.[4]
Ferguson is a partner of a political and media strategy company. He also serves on Burbank Unified School District’s Local Control Accountability Plan Committee, Guidance Master Plan Committee and on the board of the Burbank-Burroughs Alumni Association. He has also served as an elected member of the Los Angeles County Democratic Central Committee and was Burbank's youngest city commissioner in 2007.[4][6][7]
Elections
2015
Three of the five seats on the Burbank Unified School District Board of Education were up for general election on April 14, 2015. A primary election was held on February 24, 2015.
Incumbents Dave Kemp and Ted Bunch did not file to run for re-election, leaving incumbent Roberta Grande Reynolds to run against the following five challengers in the primary election: Armond Aghakhanian, Steve Ferguson, Vahe Hovanessian, Gregory Sousa and Jesse Tangkhpanya.
Grande, Aghakhanian, Ferguson and Sousa received the most votes in the primary election. Grande and Ferguson won election to the board outright as they received more than 50 percent of the ballots cast in the primary. Aghakhanian and Sousa had to advance to the general election on April 14, 2015.
Aghakhanian defeated Sousa in the general election to gain a seat on the board.
Results
| Burbank Unified School District, At-Large Primary Election, 4-year term, 2015 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan |  Roberta Grande Reynolds Incumbent |
24.3% | 5,362 | |
| Nonpartisan | Steve Ferguson |
23.1% | 5,107 | |
| Nonpartisan | Armond Aghakhanian |
16.8% | 3,710 | |
| Nonpartisan | Gregory Sousa |
13.8% | 3,049 | |
| Nonpartisan | Vahe Hovanessian | 13.5% | 2,971 | |
| Nonpartisan | Jesse Tangkhpanya | 8.5% | 1,886 | |
| Total Votes | 22,085 | |||
| Source: Burbank City Clerk's Office, "Final Results are Tabulated for Burbank’s 2015 Primary Nominating Election," accessed March 9, 2015 | ||||
Funding
Ferguson reported $4,679.00 in contributions and $4,148.68 in expenditures to the Burbank City Clerk’s Office, which left his campaign with $530.32 as of February 18, 2015.[8]
Endorsements
Ferguson received endorsements from the following organizations and public officials:[9][10][11]
- Los Angeles County Democratic Party
- Burbank Teachers Association
- California School Employee Association Burbank Chapter 674
- Armenian National Committee of America-Burbank
- Burbank Mayor David Gordon
- Former Mayor Mary Lou Howard
- Former Mayor Anja Reinke
2013
General election
| Burbank Unified School District, At-Large General Election, 4-year term, 2013 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan | Larry Applebaum Incumbent |
32.2% | 5,882 | |
| Nonpartisan | Charlene “Char” Tabet |
27.2% | 4,967 | |
| Nonpartisan | Steve Ferguson | 25.3% | 4,616 | |
| Nonpartisan | David Dobson | 15.4% | 2,814 | |
| Total Votes | 18,279 | |||
| Source: Burbank City Clerk's Office, "Final Results are Tabulated for Burbank’s 2013 General Municipal Election," accessed January 13, 2015 | ||||
Primary election
| Burbank Unified School District, At-Large Primary Election, 4-year term, 2013 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan | Larry Applebaum Incumbent |
27.8% | 4,473 | |
| Nonpartisan | Charlene Tabet |
18.8% | 3,026 | |
| Nonpartisan | Steve Ferguson |
18.7% | 3,013 | |
| Nonpartisan | David Dobson |
17.7% | 2,854 | |
| Nonpartisan | Armond Aghakhanian | 17.1% | 2,749 | |
| Total Votes | 16,115 | |||
| Source: The Burbank Leader, "Aghakhanian fails to move to Burbank school board general election," March 1, 2013 | ||||
Campaign themes
2015
Burbank Leader questionnaire
On December 22, 2014, the Burbank Leader published a candidate profile of Ferguson. That profile contained the following questionnaire. The Burbank Leader's questions are bolded to provide clarification. The full candidate profile can be found here.
| “ | Have you run for office previously?
Yes, I have previously run for political office: 2009-City Council-Lost Why are you running? I am running for the Board of Education to provide additional perspective and diligence to the team of individuals who are charged with preparing our students for success in an increasingly competitive, complex and technological world. What is the most important issue facing BUSD? A little over 40% of our students are graduating from Burbank Schools meeting A-G (college readiness) requirements and vocational offerings are limited. I believe that it is imperative that we do more to ensure that more students are ready for their college or career upon graduation. Name a recent issue or policy the current board has decided that you agree with. Why? The Board of Education has done a great job overseeing the implementation of the Local Control Funding Formula for Burbank Unified. The new state-mandated Local Control Accountability Plan has effectively incorporated the goals of the district and has identified and planned for areas that have required additional attention. This is a complicated process that has been executed, to date, in an exceptional manner. Name a recent issue or policy the current board has decided that you disagree with. Why? I would like to see the Board of Education more involved in the development of comprehensive steps to improve the number of students who are college and career-ready. What is the best thing about how BUSD is currently run? I believe that the people who work for Burbank Unified go to work every day trying to do what is in the best interests of the students. And where disagreements arise, civil discourse tends to follow. What is the worst thing about how BUSD is currently run? I believe that the School Board and the Superintendent can do more to establish a clear vision of what the future educational experience of a BUSD student will look like. I believe that Burbank schools should be innovative in their programmatic offerings and district leaders should establish a vision for the future that our community can rally around and support. What programs or areas do you believe deserve priority or additional spending? Why? I believe that vocational programming needs a great deal of attention and support. Many of our students will choose not to attend college and we need to do more to get these students career-ready. We must expand the number of vocational programs available and ensure the existing programs have articulation agreements with trade schools, apprenticeship programs and colleges so that classes can count toward certification or training. What qualities should BUSD's next superintendent have? While the current Board of Education will likely appoint thenext Superintendent before the new board membersassume their seats, I believe that the next Superintendent should be an effective listener and a long-term thinker.[12] |
” |
| —Burbank Leader[9] | ||
Candidate website
Ferguson highlighted the following statement on his campaign website:
| “ | I was born and raised in Burbank and I am a proud product of Burbank schools.
Our world is changing at a fast pace. New state mandates and the advancement of technology place significant strains on our limited district resources. I am running to provide additional perspective and diligence to the team of individuals who will be charged with navigating these challenges. I am committed to doing more to get our students ready for college AND the workforce. Not every student will choose to go to college and we must do more to make certain that our technical and building trade students are equally prepared for the workforce by revitalizing and expanding vocational programming. I currently serve as a member of the District’s Local Control Accountability Plan Committee, Guidance Master Plan Committee and on the board of the Burbank-Burroughs Alumni Association. Previously, I have served the community for close to 15-years, including on the City of Burbank’s Park, Recreation and Community Services Board and the Mayor’s Youth Task Force, working to ensure safe campus environments for all of our students. I ask for your support![12] |
” |
| —Steve Ferguson's campaign website (2015)[6] | ||
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Steve + Ferguson + Burbank + Unified + School + District"
- All stories may not be relevant to this page due to the nature of the search engine.
See also
- Burbank Unified School District, California
- Burbank Unified School District elections (2015)
- First openly gay official elected to Burbank school board, two candidates advance to April election (February 25, 2015)
- April school board elections in California and South Dakota see increase in voter turnout (April 15, 2015)
External links
- Burbank Unified School District
- Office website
- Campaign website
- Campaign Facebook page
- Twitter page
- 2013 Smart Voter profile
Footnotes
- ↑ Burbank City Clerk's Office, "Candidates Information," accessed January 13, 2015
- ↑ Burbank City Clerk's Office, "2015 Election Results," accessed February 24, 2015
- ↑ Burbank Leader, "Reynolds, Ferguson elected to school board," February 25, 2015
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 The Burbank Leader, "Burbank Unified school board candidate Steve Ferguson says he's just what the city needs," March 22, 2013
- ↑ Burbank City Clerk's Office, "Final Results are Tabulated for Burbank’s 2013 General Municipal Election," accessed January 13, 2015
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Ferguson for Burbank School Board 2015, Facebook, "About," accessed January 15, 2015
- ↑ Smart Voter, "Steve Ferguson: Candidate for Member of the Board of Education; Burbank Unified School District," accessed January 15, 2015
- ↑ Burbank City Clerk's Office, "STEVE FERGUSON," accessed February 23, 2015
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Burbank Leader, "BUSD Candidate: Steve Ferguson," December 22, 2014
- ↑ Los Angeles County Democratic Party, "Endorsements," accessed February 10, 2015
- ↑ My Burbank, "Burbank Teachers Association Endorses Three Candidates," January 6, 2015
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
| 2015 Burbank Unified School District Elections | |
| Los Angeles County, California | |
| Election date: | Primary election - February 24, 2015 General election - April 14, 2015 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Incumbent, Roberta Grande Reynolds • Armond Aghakhanian • Steve Ferguson • Vahe Hovanessian • Gregory Sousa • Jesse Tangkhpanya |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
