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Tom Benton
Tom Benton was the District 1 representative on the Wake County Public School System school board in North Carolina. Benton lost a re-election bid in the general election on November 8, 2016. Benton was appointed to the board in February 2013, and he won re-election on October 8, 2013.
Elections
2016
When state legislation created new school board district boundaries for the Wake County Public School System, a group of voters disputed the change in court.
- See also: Issues in the election
District 1 incumbent Tom Benton filed for re-election and faced challengers Donald Agee, Mary Beth Ainsworth, and Sheila Ellis. Agee defeated the incumbent. In District 2, incumbent Monika Johnson-Hostler filed for an additional term on the board and successfully defended her seat against challenger Peter Hochstaetter. Mark Ivey initially filed in the race but withdrew his candidacy in September 2016. Because of the late withdrawal, his name still appeared on the ballot. Sole newcomer Roxie Cash filed for the District 3 seat and won. District 4 incumbent Keith Sutton filed for re-election and faced single challenger Heather Elliott. Sutton won another term on the board. In their bids for re-election, District 5, 6, and 7 incumbents Jim Martin, Christine Kushner, and Zora Felton were unopposed and won additional terms on the board. However, Felton passed away unexpectedly shortly after the general election, leaving the District 7 seat vacant.
District 8 saw three newcomers file for the seat: Gary Lewis, Gil Pagan, and Lindsay Mahaffey, with Mahaffey winning the seat. In District 9, incumbent Bill Fletcher won the race against challenger Michael Tanbusch. There was no primary.[1][2]
After Judge Dever announced that the candidates who originally filed in this school board race were disqualified and would have to file again during a new filing window that ran from August 11, 2016, to August 17, 2016, three dropped out and two newcomers filed. Former candidates Beverley Clark, James McLuckie, and Donald Mial did not appear on the revised candidate list. District 7 incumbent Zora Felton and District 9 challenger Michael Tanbusch entered the race after the new deadline was set.[1]
Results
| Wake County Public School System, District 1 General Election, 2-year term, 2016 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Donald Agee |
35.20% | 17,445 |
| Tom Benton Incumbent | 33.96% | 16,830 |
| Mary Beth Ainsworth | 16.64% | 8,244 |
| Sheila Ellis | 13.78% | 6,829 |
| Write-in votes | 0.41% | 205 |
| Total Votes (100) | 49,553 | |
| Source: North Carolina State Board of Elections, "11/08/2016 Official General Election Results," accessed December 5, 2016 | ||
Funding
Benton reported $7,805.00 in contributions and $1,300.97 in expenditures to the Wake County Board of Elections, leaving his campaign with $6,982.13 cash on hand as of November 4, 2016.[3]
School board candidates in North Carolina were required to file campaign finance reports to their county's board of elections unless the candidate:
(1) Did not receive more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) in contributions, and
(2) Did not receive more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) in loans, and
(3) Did not spend more than one thousand dollars ($1,000).[4]
The third quarter campaign finance deadline was October 31, 2016, and the fourth quarter deadline was January 11, 2017.[5]
Endorsements
Benton was endorsed by the Wake County Democratic Party.[6]
2013
Benton defeated Don McIntyre for the District 1 seat on October 8, 2013.
| Wake County Public School System General Election, 4-year term, District 1, 2013 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan | Tom Benton |
52% | 4,211 | |
| Nonpartisan | Don McIntyre | 48% | 3,889 | |
| Total Votes | 8,100 | |||
| Source: WNCN These results are unofficial | ||||
Endorsements
Benton was endorsed by Russell Killen (Mayor of Knightdale), Bill Fisher (former district principal and former school board member) and many district 1 residents.[7]
Campaign finance
Benton raised a total of 7,741.72 in campaign contributions.[8]
| Candidate | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Benton | $7,741.72 | $1,637.72 | $6,578.00 |
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Tom Benton Wake County Public School System. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Wake County Public School System, North Carolina
- Wake County Public School System elections (2016)
- Wake County Public School System elections (2013)
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Wake County Board of Elections, "Wake Board of Elections Candidate Detail List," August 17, 2016
- ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "11/08/2016 Unofficial General Election Results," accessed November 8, 2016
- ↑ Wake County, "Campaign Finance Reports," accessed November 4, 2016
- ↑ General Assembly of North Carolina, "Chapter 163: Elections And Election Laws, Article 22A - Regulating Contributions and Expenditures in Political Campaigns," accessed February 11, 2016
- ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Reporting Schedules," accessed October 11, 2016
- ↑ News & Observer, "Political parties make Wake County school board endorsements," October 3, 2016
- ↑ Tom Benton for School Board, "Endorsements," accessed October 2, 2013 (dead link)
- ↑ Wake County Board of Elections, "Wake County Campaign Finance Reports," accessed October 2, 2013
| 2016 Wake County Public School System Elections | |
| Election date: | November 8, 2016 |
| Candidates: | District 1: Incumbent, Tom Benton • Donald Agee • Mary Beth Ainsworth • Sheila Ellis District 2: Incumbent, Monika Johnson-Hostler • Peter Hochstaetter • Mark Ivey District 4: Incumbent, Keith Sutton • Heather Elliott District 5: Incumbent, Jim Martin District 6: Incumbent, Christine Kushner District 7: Incumbent, Zora Felton District 8: Gary Lewis • Gil Pagan • Lindsay Mahaffey |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
| ||||||||||
