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Taryn Bowman
Taryn Bowman (Republican Party) ran for election to the Georgia House of Representatives to represent District 40. She lost in the general election on November 3, 2020.
Bowman ran for the District 4 seat on the Atlanta Public Schools Board of Education in a general election on November 5, 2013.
Biography
Bowman was born in Athens, GA, and moved to Atlanta in 1975, at the age of six. She graduated with a B.A. from SMU in Dallas, TX, where she studied business accounting and communications. Her first job was in the Turner legal department helping plan for the 1990 Goodwill Games. She also helped run the low-first camera at the Braves games and acted as floor director for "Good News" at Turner Sports. Bowman's career path has included working at the Babbitt & Reiman advertising agency, working at Dorsey-Alston as a real estate agent, teaching 1st grade in an Atlanta school in Buckhead, working as the youth director at the Pacific Palisades Community United Methodist Church in CA, working for the Georgia Department of Labor in its Distance Learning Center, acting in films such as "Kingpin" and "Me, Myself, and Irene" out of Los Angeles where she earned her Screen Actors Guild (SAG) membership, working in the production and locations departments on the TV show "Nash Bridges" in San Francisco during its final seasons, working in the production accounting department for several big budget films shot in Atlanta including "Drumline" and "We Are Marshall," starting her own film production company, and writing a computer program specifically for Atlanta tax incentives, payroll, and set budgeting in the film industry. She also has her real estate broker's license. Bowman serves on the PTA where she is in her fourth year of chairing the annual publication of the school's art & literary magazine. She also implemented and runs an APS sponsored spirit club for the students to focus on student spirit, confidence, ownership, and leadership. Bowman is presently serving as the membership chairman on the board of the Mt. Paran-Northside Citizen's Association and is a member of the Church of the Apostles. She is married to Pete Bowman and has three children.[1]
Elections
2020
See also: Georgia House of Representatives elections, 2020
General election
General election for Georgia House of Representatives District 40
Incumbent Erick Allen defeated Taryn Bowman in the general election for Georgia House of Representatives District 40 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Erick Allen (D) | 58.4 | 20,716 |
 | Taryn Bowman (R) | 41.6 | 14,773 | |
| Total votes: 35,489 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Georgia House of Representatives District 40
Incumbent Erick Allen advanced from the Democratic primary for Georgia House of Representatives District 40 on June 9, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Erick Allen | 100.0 | 9,072 |
| Total votes: 9,072 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Georgia House of Representatives District 40
Taryn Bowman advanced from the Republican primary for Georgia House of Representatives District 40 on June 9, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Taryn Bowman | 100.0 | 4,815 |
| Total votes: 4,815 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2018
General election
General election for Georgia House of Representatives District 40
Erick Allen defeated Matt Bentley in the general election for Georgia House of Representatives District 40 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Erick Allen (D) | 54.7 | 15,719 |
 | Matt Bentley (R) | 45.3 | 13,029 | |
| Total votes: 28,748 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Sandra Bullock (D)
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Georgia House of Representatives District 40
Sandra Bullock defeated Erick Allen in the Democratic primary for Georgia House of Representatives District 40 on May 22, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Sandra Bullock | 58.1 | 2,260 | |
| Erick Allen | 41.9 | 1,633 | |
| Total votes: 3,893 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Justin Gorman (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Georgia House of Representatives District 40
Matt Bentley defeated Taryn Bowman in the Republican primary for Georgia House of Representatives District 40 on May 22, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Matt Bentley | 65.8 | 2,808 |
| Taryn Bowman | 34.2 | 1,457 | |
| Total votes: 4,265 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2013
- See also: Atlanta Public Schools elections (2013)
Taryn Bowman ran for the District 4 seat against Nancy M. Meister on November 5, 2013.
Results
| Atlanta Public Schools, District 4 General Election, 4-year term, 2013 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan |  Nancy Meister Incumbent |
65.2% | 5,748 | |
| Nonpartisan | Taryn Bowman | 34.7% | 3,063 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in | 0.1% | 11 | |
| Total Votes | 8,822 | |||
| Source: Fulton County Board of Election, "Election Results," accessed October 30, 2017 | ||||
Funding
Bowman reported $17,624.00 in contributions and $17,499.34 in expenditures to the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission , which left her campaign with $174.66 on hand.[2]
Endorsements
Bowman received endorsements from The Buckhead Coalition PAC, Atlanta Progressive News, American Federation of Teachers, and a number of district residents.[3]
Campaign themes
2020
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Taryn Bowman did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
2013
Bowman identified the following campaign themes for 2013:[4]
Immediate hiring of new superintendent
|
Hire a new superintendent that is a strong leader. We need a superintendent immediately who puts the interests of children, families, communities, and teachers first. This person needs to have the strong leadership ability, vision, and a desire for excellence that will bring the school system to a new level. |
Budget transformation to control property tax increase
|
I plan to work closely with the board and the new superintendent in transforming the budget. The APS budget is in utter shambles at present. The APS reserve has dropped from approximately $200 million in 1997 to roughly $20 million today. It will soon be gone unless we act now. Money is going unreported, and no one is being held accountable for unnecessary spending. We, as taxpayers, deserve to know where every dollar, quarter, dime, nickel, and PENNY of our money is going. APS must be held accountable to the people they serve, you and me...US! |
Localize the budget to give each district its own money
|
By localizing the money, we allow every district to control its own budget, thus instilling a sense of ownership to the local school, community, parents, teachers, and students. Who knows better what they need than the local schools themselves? We cannot let a central office continue to tell us what they "think" we need and throw our money away on their own agenda when we know exactly what our community schools need. By localizing the money, we empower our community schools to make important budgetary decisions themselves, thus taking the power away from the downtown bureaucracy who is not in the field with us on a day-to-day basis. |
Smaller class sizes
|
Smaller class sizes, especially at the elementary school level, are known to increase learning and to help bridge the achievement gap between ethnic and racial groups. Not only do smaller class sizes improve the quality of teaching, they also reduce the rate at which students repeat grades, which translates into financial savings. Teachers get to know the student better. I will advocate reducing class sizes to the state maximum or below. |
Increase graduation rates
|
With a 51% overall APS graduation rate and a 60% graduation rate at North Atlanta High School right here in our community, we clearly have opportunities to improve APS schools. |
Student retention through early learn and vocational training
|
"Effective learning in the early childhood years leads to better outcomes in academic achievement, economic productivity, responsible citizenship, lifelong health, and successful parenting of the next generation."Center on the Developing Child, Harvard University. We need to give all children the chance to take advantage of this type of opportunity. I believe if we retain children in the early learning phase and install in them the love of learning at this young age, then we instill an extraordinary value in them that will carry them through life. Not every student plans to attend college for many reasons involving socio-economic backgrounds and personal preferences. I strongly believe that this group of students needs to be equipped through our public school system with vocational training that will allow them to become contributing members of our society. |
Teacher satisfaction and retention
|
I believe that APS should empower every principal to be able to pick his or her own staff within the budget he or she is given. This would promote a more united and thriving school atmosphere. To teach effectively, teachers must feel a sense of ownership, community, and security that is lacking in the system today. |
21st century learning
|
The world is changing and, with the effects of social media and the ability to have information instantly, it is changing rapidly. The classroom must keep up with this fast pace by implementing the life and career skills along with the information, media, and technology skills that keep our students relevant and competitive in today’s culture. Our students need the learning and innovation skills that will prepare them for the increasingly complex life and work environments in the world today. |
Parent involvement and community based education
|
A school with parental involvement is a school that is involved! Parental involvement is essential to the overall success of a school and its students. Parental involvement has the ability to take a school from mediocre to excellent. Top down reform tends to cast blame and involve too many politics. I would work hard to help create parent, teacher, and community groups that focus on creating a cycle of involvement, improvement, and renewed investment. |
Reducing bullying in all APS schools and buses
|
Although we have a no-tolerance policy, the enforcement of this policy is not at the level it should be. There is no excuse for violence or bullying in our schools or on our buses in any way. There must be a stronger system put into place for reporting incidences [sic] and having these reports be taken at the highest level of seriousness. |
Implementation
|
As a board member seat is not a political district position, an APS board member must work as a team with fellow board members in implementing changes instead of trying to pursue a self-centered business or political agenda. A board member must also listen every constituent not just a select few and promote transparency by keeping the community well informed on a regular basis through all forms of social media including regular online blogs. I am fully prepared to do this with no hidden agenda. If elected to serve District 4, I pledge to serve my community, its children, its families, its teachers, and its schools. To do this effectively, I pledge to contribute to the board with service not politics. As an Atlanta School Board member, I will focus on the real issue at hand...our children. The only way to help this community is by working in concert with the board and, in doing so, gain their support. As a board member, I also pledge to hold the superintendent accountable to our community. |
Note: The above quote is from the candidate's website, which may include some typographical or spelling errors.
See also
2020 Elections
External links
Footnotes
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