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Tori Merritts
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This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates. |
Tori Merritts was a candidate for District 4 representative on the Jeffco Board of Education in Colorado. The general election was held on November 3, 2015.[1] She lost the election.[2]
This election provided the district with an entirely new board, something that had never happened before. Neither incumbent filed to run in the general election to retain their seats. In addition to those two seats, a recall election was held on November 3, 2015, for the other three incumbents on the board.[3]
Biography
Merritts has experience working for Jeffco Public Schools and serving on its school board. She worked for seven years as a teacher aid and served nine years on the school board. She also served on the PTA at the district, county and state level while her children were in school and served on school accountability committees at the district and state level. Merritts has served with The Jefferson Foundation/Jeffco Schools Foundation for 22 years, including as a volunteer, as a member of the board of directors and as the president. She has served on the Board of Directors of Kiwanis of Alameda West since 1998, and since 1999, she has served on the Youth Leadership Jefferson County Steering Committee. She and her husband have three sons, all of whom attended and graduated from Jeffco Public Schools. They have two grandchildren who will also attend school in the district.[4][5]
Elections
2015
- See also: Jeffco Public Schools elections (2015)
Two of the five seats on the Jeffco Public Schools Board of Education were up for general election on November 3, 2015. The election was held by district.
The seats of District 3 incumbent Jill Fellman and District 4 incumbent Lesley Dahlkemper were up for regular election.[6][7] Neither incumbent filed to run for re-election, which guaranteed two newcomers would join the board. Candidates Kim Johnson and Ali Lasell ran for the District 3 seat. The District 4 race included candidates Tori Merritts and Amanda Stevens.[1] Lasell and Stevens, both members of the "Clean Slate," won the election.[2]
A recall election was also on the ballot on November 3, 2015. The other three members on the board—Julie Williams, Ken Witt, and John Newkirk—were accused of wasting taxpayer money, violating open meeting laws, limiting public comments at board meetings, bullying parents and students, and trying to censor U.S. history classes.[8] Lasell and Stevens came out in support of the recall. They ran with a slate of candidates seeking to oust the targeted board members in the recall election. Johnson and Merritts said they did not support the recall.[9]
Results
| Jeffco Public Schools, District 4, General Election, 2015 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Amanda Stevens |
66.4% | 101,843 |
| Tori Merritts | 33.6% | 51,586 |
| Total Votes | 153,429 | |
| Source: Jefferson County, "Official County Results," November 20, 2015 | ||
Funding
Merritts reported $7,100.00 in contributions and $6,872.30 in expenditures to the Colorado Secretary of State, which left her campaign with $227.70 on hand as of the election.[10]
Jeffco school board candidates had to file a total of three campaign finance reports. The first was due October 13, 2015. The second was due October 30, 2015, and the final report had to be filed by December 3, 2015.[11]
Endorsements
Merritts received no official endorsements in this election.
Campaign themes
2015
Merritts highlighted the following goals on her campaign website:
| “ | Making Experience Matter Tori’s goal is to ensure that all JeffCo children and grandchildren are prepared for a bright, yet unknown future in a rapidly changing world. To do this we must ensure that we:
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” |
| —Tori Merritts' campaign website (2015)[13] | ||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Tori Merritts' 'Jeffco Public Schools'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Jeffco Public Schools, Colorado
- Jeffco Public Schools elections (2015)
- Incumbency no guarantee of success in Nov. 3 school board elections (November 6, 2015)
- What happened in Nov.'s top board elections? (November 4, 2015)
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Jeffco Public Schools, "Board of Education Election 2015," accessed August 31, 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Jefferson County, "Unofficial County Results," November 3, 2015
- ↑ Lakewood Sentinel, "Jefferson County School Board elections could force imminent change," October 6, 2015
- ↑ Tori Merritts for Jeffco, "About," accessed October 8, 2015
- ↑ Tori Merritts for Jeffco, "Experience," accessed October 8, 2015
- ↑ Jeffco Public Schools, "Board Members," accessed January 27, 2015
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "Colorado elections & campaign finance calendar," accessed January 27, 2015
- ↑ Jefferson County Elections, "Election Information - What's on the 2015 Coordinated Election Ballot?" accessed October 9, 2015
- ↑ Colorado Public Radio, "In JeffCo, Recall Vote Brings Years Of Turmoil To A Head," October 19, 2015
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "Candidate Information - Election Year 2015: Merritts, Tori," accessed December 7, 2015
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "2015 Jefferson County School Board Elections Calendar (Regular and Recall)," accessed October 7, 2015
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Tori Merritts for Jeffco, "Goals," accessed October 8, 2015
| 2015 Jeffco Public Schools General Election and Recall Election | |
| Jefferson County, Colorado | |
| Election date: | November 3, 2015 |
| Candidates: | General Election Candidates District 3: • Kim Johnson • Ali Lasell District 4: • Tori Merritts • Amanda Stevens Recall Election Candidates District 1: • Incumbent, Julie Williams • Brad Rupert District 2: • Incumbent, John Newkirk • Matt Dhieux • Susan Harmon District 5: • Incumbent, Ken Witt • Regan Benson • Ron Mitchell • Paula Noonan |
| Important information: | Issues in the general election • Recall supporters • Recall opponents • Key general election deadlines • Recall path to the ballot |
