Three newcomers win school board seats outright in Pasadena primary
March 11, 2015
By Abbey Smith
Three newcomers will join the Pasadena Unified Board of Education after they won their seats outright in the primary election on March 10, 2015. Challengers Roy Boulghourjian, Patrick Cahalan and Lawrence Torres won the District 2, 4 and 6 seats, respectively, by receiving more than 50 percent of the votes in their district's primary race.[1][2]
All three newcomers work in some field of education. Boulghourjian is a professor at Mt. Sierra College.[3] Cahalan works as the manager of technical operations at the California Institute of Technology, and Torres is a teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District.[4][5] Both Boulghourjian and Torres were endorsed by the Los Angeles County Democratic Party and the California Teachers Association.[6][7] The United Teachers of Pasadena endorsed all three winning candidates.[8]
None of the incumbents up for election in 2015 ran for re-election, leaving the three seats open to newcomers. In the District 2 race, Boulghourjian faced two fellow challengers, teacher Evan Dagger and university professor Marcela Rojas. Cahalan ran against Sheryl Turner, the director of the nonprofit Pasadena YouthBuild, for the District 4 seat, and in District 6, Torres ran against realtor Sandra J. Siraganian, who was endorsed by the Los Angeles County Republican Party.[2][9][10]
This election was the first time the seats from Districts 2, 4 and 6 were elected by district. Prior to 2012, board members represented a specific seat but were elected at-large. The seats from Districts 1, 3, 5 and 7 switched to by-district elections in 2013.[1]
Candidates
Note: An (i) next to a candidate's name indicates incumbent status.
Pasadena Unified School District
District 2
☑ Roy Boulghourjian
☐ Evan Dagger
☐ Marcela Rojas
District 4
☑ Patrick Cahalan
☐ Sheryl Turner
District 6
☐ Sandra J. Siraganian
☑ Lawrence Torres
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 City of Pasadena Election Department, "Election Information: Board of Education," accessed December 16, 2014
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Pasadena City Clerk, "CITY OF PASADENA AND PASADENA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT MARCH 10, 2015 PRIMARY NOMINATING ELECTION," accessed March 11, 2015
- ↑ Roy Boulghourjian for Pasadena School Board, "About Roy," accessed February 10, 2015
- ↑ Cahalan for School Board 2015, "About," accessed February 10, 2015
- ↑ Smart Voter, "Board Member; Pasadena Unified School District; District 6 Voter Information," accessed February 11, 2015
- ↑ Los Angeles County Democratic Party, "Endorsements," accessed February 11, 2015
- ↑ Pasadena Star News, "Thousands spent on Pasadena council, school board races," March 6, 2015
- ↑ United Teachers of Pasadena, "UTP Recommends Mayoral, City Council, and School Board Candidates," January 27, 2015
- ↑ City of Pasadena Department of Elections, "Election Information: Nominations Papers Issued," accessed December 19, 2014
- ↑ Los Angeles County Republican Party, "Endorsements," accessed February 10, 2015
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