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Stockton Unified School District elections (2016)
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Three of the seven seats on the Stockton Unified School District Board of Education were up for by-district general election on November 8, 2016. Five newcomers filed for the Trustee Area 1 seat that was left open due to term limits: Berniece Spivey Bass, Cecilia Mendez, Jennifer Kuan, Ramiro Reyes, and Minerva Garcia. Mendez won election to the seat. In Trustee Area 3, board incumbent Kathleen Garcia defeated challengers Alicia Rico, Martin Rodriguez, and Ytzel Gonzalez Arroyo to win another term. Four newcomers—Lange Luntao, Carmen Garcia, Douglas Vigil, and Regina Varela—ran for the open Trustee Area 4 seat, and Luntao won the election.[1][2][3]
Elections
Voter and candidate information
The Stockton Unified Board of Education consists of seven members elected to four-year terms. Elections are held by district on a staggered basis every November of even-numbered years. Four seats were up for election on November 4, 2014, and three seats were up for election on November 8, 2016. There was no primary election.[4]
To get on the ballot, school board candidates had to register with the county elections office by August 12, 2016. If incumbents did not file by that deadline, the filing deadline was extended for non-incumbent candidates until August 17, 2016. In order to qualify as candidates, they had to be at least 18 years old, citizens of California, residents of the school district, registered voters, and "not legally disqualified from holding civil office," according to the bylaws of the Stockton Unified Board of Education. Once they took office, school board members could not be employed by the school district.[5][6]
To vote in this election, residents of the school district had to register by October 24, 2016.[7] Photo identification was not required to vote in this election.[8]
Candidates and results
Trustee Area 1
Results
| Stockton Unified School District, Trustee Area 1 General Election, 4-year term, 2016 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Cecilia Mendez |
44.88% | 2,302 |
| Minerva Garcia | 18.02% | 924 |
| Berniece Spivey Bass | 16.32% | 837 |
| Jennifer Kuan | 10.63% | 545 |
| Ramiro Reyes | 9.88% | 507 |
| Write-in votes | 0.27% | 14 |
| Total Votes | 5,129 | |
| Source: San Joaquin County Registrar of Voters, "November 8, 2016 Official Final Results," accessed December 5, 2016 | ||
Candidates
| Berniece Spivey Bass | Minerva Garcia | Jennifer Kuan | |||
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Cecilia Mendez 
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Ramiro Reyes | ||
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Trustee Area 3
Results
| Stockton Unified School District, Trustee Area 3 General Election, 4-year term, 2016 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Kathleen Garcia Incumbent |
52.11% | 2,376 |
| Ytzel Gonzalez Arroyo | 21.62% | 986 |
| Martin Rodriguez | 13.93% | 635 |
| Alicia Rico | 12.00% | 547 |
| Write-in votes | 0.35% | 16 |
| Total Votes | 4,560 | |
| Source: San Joaquin County Registrar of Voters, "November 8, 2016 Official Final Results," accessed December 5, 2016 | ||
Candidates
| Kathleen Garcia
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Ytzel Gonzalez Arroyo | ||
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| Alicia Rico | Martin Rodriguez | ||
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Trustee Area 4
Results
| Stockton Unified School District, Trustee Area 4 General Election, 4-year term, 2016 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Lange Luntao |
42.03% | 3,461 |
| Douglas Vigil | 26.57% | 2,188 |
| Carmen Garcia | 19.16% | 1,578 |
| Regina Varela | 11.86% | 977 |
| Write-in votes | 0.38% | 31 |
| Total Votes | 8,235 | |
| Source: San Joaquin County Registrar of Voters, "November 8, 2016 Official Final Results," accessed December 5, 2016 | ||
Candidates
| Carmen Garcia | Lange Luntao
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| Regina Varela | Douglas Vigil | ||
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Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: California elections, 2016
The district's school board election shared the ballot with a number of bond measures for Stockton, a number of statewide ballot measures, and elections for the following offices:[9][10]
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Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for California school board elections in 2016:[11][12]
| Deadline | Event |
|---|---|
| August 1, 2016 | Semi-annual campaign finance report due |
| August 10, 2016 - November 8, 2016 | 24-hour campaign contribution reporting period |
| August 12, 2016 | Candidate filing deadline |
| August 17, 2016 | Extended filing deadline for non-incumbent candidates for open seats |
| September 29, 2016 | First pre-election campaign finance report due |
| October 24, 2016 | Voter registration deadline |
| October 27, 2016 | Second pre-election campaign finance report due |
| November 8, 2016 | Election Day |
| January 31, 2017 | Semi-annual campaign finance report due |
Endorsements
The San Joaquin County Democratic Party endorsed Trustee Area 3 incumbent Kathleen Garcia and Trustee Area 4 candidate Lange Luntao.[13] The community organization Evolve also endorsed Luntao as well as Trustee Area 1 candidate Cecilia Mendez and Trustee Area 4 candidate Douglas Vigil.[14] The Stockton Record endorsed Kathleen Garcia, Luntao, and Trustee Area 1 candidate Minerva Garcia.[2]
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
Candidates in this race were required to file two pre-election reports. The first was due on September 29, 2016, and the second was due on October 27, 2016. If candidates received more than $1,000 from a single source between August 10, 2016, and November 8, 2016, they had to file a campaign finance report within 24 hours of receiving the contribution.[12]
Candidates who did not raise or spend more than $2,000 on their campaigns had to file an exemption form by September 29, 2016. They did not have to file additional campaign finance reports.[12]
Candidates who had a remaining balance from previous campaigns or who had raised or spent money on their campaigns prior to the candidate filing deadline had to file a semi-annual campaign finance report by August 1, 2016. The next semi-annual campaign finance report was due January 31, 2017.[12]
Reports
Candidates received a total of $41,869.74 and spent a total of $33,489.88 as of November 4, 2016, according to the San Joaquin County Registrar of Voters.[15]
Trustee Area 1
| Candidate | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Berniece Spivey Bass | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Minerva Garcia | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Jennifer Kuan | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Cecilia Mendez | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Ramiro Reyes | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
Trustee Area 3
| Candidate | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kathleen Garcia | $3,000.00 | $3,475.00 | ($475.00) |
| Ytzel Gonzalez Arroyo | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Alicia Rico | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Martin Rodriguez | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
Trustee Area 4
| Candidate | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carmen Garcia | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Lange Luntao | $36,519.92 | $28,817.42 | $7,702.50 |
| Regina Varela | $1,595.00 | $457.42 | $1,137.58 |
| Douglas Vigil | $754.82 | $740.04 | $14.78 |
Past elections
Information about earlier elections can be found by clicking [show] at the right. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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2014Trustee Area 2
Trustee Area 5
Trustee Area 6
Trustee Area 7
2012Trustee Area 1
Trustee Area 3
Trustee Area 4
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What was at stake?
2016
Election trends
- See also: School board elections, 2014
With one of the three incumbents whose seats were on the ballot running for another term, the other two seats up for election in the 2016 Stockton Unified Board of Education race were guaranteed to go to newcomers. The one incumbent who ran for re-election won another term.
It was not unusual for new members to be elected to the board. In the district's 2014 school board election, newcomers took three of the four seats on the ballot. Two of those newcomers won open seats, but one defeated an incumbent to gain a seat on the board. In 2012, newcomers defeated two incumbents to win all but one of the seats up for election.
| School board election trends | |||||
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| Year | Candidates per seat | Unopposed seats | Incumbent success rate | Seats won by newcomers | |
| Stockton Unified School District | |||||
| 2016 | 4.33 | 0.00% | 100.00% | 66.67% | |
| 2014 | 3.25 | 0.00% | 33.33% | 75.00% | |
| 2012 | 2.00 | 0.00% | 33.33% | 66.67% | |
| California | |||||
| 2014 | 1.91 | 25.18% | 79.00% | 38.14% | |
| United States | |||||
| 2014 | 1.89 | 32.57% | 81.31% | 38.24% | |
Issues in the district
New superintendent joins district
Eliseo Dávalos started his new position as superintendent of the Stockton Unified School District on July 1, 2016. He replaced Julie Penn, who served as the district's interim superintendent from August 2014 to June 2016.[16][17]
Prior to joining the district, Dávalos served as the assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction and accountability for the San Bernardino City Unified School District. He also worked as a high school classroom teacher, a migrant education resources teacher, and a professor at a community college.[16]
Candidate survey
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Ballotpedia invites school board candidates to participate in its annual survey. |
Survey responses
One candidate in this race participated in Ballotpedia's 2016 survey of school board candidates. The following sections display the responses to the survey questions from Trustee Area 4 candidate Douglas Vigil.
Top priorities
When asked what his top priorities would be if elected, Douglas Vigil stated:
| “ | Figure what option are available diversity of programs for students and teacher and parents communication and teacher need to update with recertified course special needed children communication in mainstream deaf and HOH sign language teacher that know ASL and get involve deaf culture communication shouldn't be barrier in elementary school through high...[18] | ” |
| —Douglas Vigil, (2016)[19] | ||
Ranking the issues
The candidates were 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 candidates' rankings:
| Issue importance ranking | ||
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| Issue | Vigil's responses | |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | ||
| Expanding arts education | ||
| Expanding school choice options | ||
| Expanding career-technical education | ||
| Improving college readiness | ||
| Closing the achievement gap | ||
| Improving education for special needs students | ||
Positions on the issues
The survey asked candidates to answer 10 multiple choice and short answer questions regarding significant issues in education and the school district. A link to the Vigil's responses can be found below.
About the district
The Stockton Unified School District is located in San Joaquin County in central California. The county seat is Stockton. San Joaquin County was home to 726,106 residents in 2015, according to the United States Census Bureau.[20] The district was the 19th-largest school district in the state in the 2013–2014 school year and served 39,486 students.[21]
Demographics
San Joaquin County underperformed compared California as a whole in terms of higher education achievement from 2010 to 2014. The United States Census Bureau found that 18.1 percent of county residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree, compared to 31 percent of state residents. The median household income for San Joaquin County was $53,253, compared to $61,489 for the entire state. The percentage of people in poverty in the county was 20.7 percent, while it was 16.4 percent statewide.[20]
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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 'Stockton Unified School District' 'California'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
| Stockton Unified School District | California | School Boards |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ San Joaquin County Registrar of Voters, "Contest/Candidate Proof List," accessed August 15, 2016
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 '"Stockton Record, "Record Endorsements, Stockton Unified: Incumbent, two newcomers deserve seats," October 13, 2016
- ↑ San Joaquin Registrar of Voters, "Registrar of Voters Department," accessed November 9, 2016
- ↑ Stockton Unified School District, "SUSD Board of Education Trustees," accessed August 11, 2016
- ↑ Stockton Unified School District, "BB 9220: Bylaws of the Board Governing Board Elections," accessed August 11, 2016
- ↑ California Elections Code, “Part 5, Section 10600-10604: School District And Community College District Governing Board Elections,” accessed June 15, 2016
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Voter Registration," accessed June 13, 2016
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "California Online Voter Registration," accessed June 13, 2016
- ↑ San Joaquin County Registrar of Voters, "Contest/Candidate Proof List: 2016 General Election," accessed September 26, 2016
- ↑ San Joaquin County Registrar of Voters, "Local Measures to be voted for in the November 8, 2016 Election," accessed September 26, 2016
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "November 8, 2016, General Election Calendar," accessed July 27, 2016
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 California Fair Political Practices Commission, "Filing Schedule for Candidates and Controlled Committees for Local Office Being Voted on November 8, 2016," accessed July 27, 2016
- ↑ San Joaquin County Democratic Party, "2016 Endorsements," accessed October 17, 2016
- ↑ Evolve, "Endorsements: November 8, 2016 General Election," accessed October 13, 2016
- ↑ San Joaquin County Registrar of Voters, "San Joaquin County Public Portal for Campaign Finance Disclosure," accessed November 4, 2016
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Recordnet.com, "SoCal educator approved as new SUSD superintendent," May 10, 2016
- ↑ Recordnet.com, "Stockton Unified moves forward on superintendent search," July 14, 2015
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2015, "Douglas Vigil responses," June 19, 2015
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 United States Census Bureau, "San Joaquin County, California," accessed August 11, 2016
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "ELSI Table Generator," accessed November 16, 2015
- ↑ San Joaquin County Registrar of Voters, "Election Results," accessed July 24, 2014
| 2016 Stockton Unified School District Elections | |
| San Joaquin County, California | |
| Election date: | November 8, 2016 |
| Candidates: | Trustee Area 1: • Berniece Spivey Bass • Minerva Garcia • Jennifer Kuan • Cecilia Mendez • Ramiro Reyes Trustee Area 3: • Incumbent, Kathleen Garcia • Ytzel Gonzalez Arroyo • Alicia Rico • Martin Rodriguez Trustee Area 4: • Carmen Garcia • Lange Luntao • Regina Varela • Douglas Vigil |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Additional elections on the ballot • Key deadlines |
