Tuscaloosa City Schools elections (2017)
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A total of 19 candidates sought the eight seats up for election on the Tuscaloosa City Schools Board of Education in Alabama on March 7, 2017. Four years after allegations of voter fraud in the 2013 Tuscaloosa City Schools elections, District 4 incumbent Cason Kirby did not seek re-election to his seat. In addition to Kirby, three other incumbents did not file to run for re-election. In the races for three seats, no candidate received at least 50 percent of the vote necessitating a runoff election that was held on April 18, 2017.
In District 1, Matthew Wilson defeated LaQuishia Chandler in the runoff election after defeating candidates Tony Humphries and Earnestine Young in the general election. In the District 2 runoff race newcomer Kendra Williams defeated incumbent Earnestine Tucker and challenger. The third candidate, Paul Sanders Sr., did not receive enough votes to advance to the runoff election. In the District 5 general election, incumbent Harry Lee was defeated by challengers Erica Grant and Beth Cleino Allaway. Grant defeated Allaway in the runoff election. Incoming board chairman Eric Wilson and District 3 candidate Guy May ran unopposed and were automatically elected to their seats. Patrick Hamner defeated Zoe Winston in the race for District 4, incumbent Marvin Lucas defeated challenger Andrew Robertson in District 6, and Erskine Simmons defeated LaQuetta Peoples in District 7.[1][2]
Elections
Voter and candidate information
Seven members of the Tuscaloosa City Schools Board of Education represent specific geographic districts and are elected by district to serve four-year terms, while the chair is elected at large to a four-year term. All eight seats are up for election every four years.[3]
To vote in the election, a voter must be a resident of the city of Tuscaloosa, at least 18 years old, and have no felony convictions. Also, the voter may not have been declared mentally incompetent by a court of law.[4]
Candidates and results
Chair
Results
Eric Wilson was automatically elected due to lack of opposition.
Candidates
Eric Wilson 
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District 1 general election
Results
| Tuscaloosa City Schools, District 1 General Election, 4-year term, 2017 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Matthew Wilson |
36.99% | 448 |
| LaQuishia Chandler |
29.56% | 358 |
| Earnestine Young | 26.67% | 323 |
| Tony Humphries | 6.77% | 82 |
| Total Votes | 1,211 | |
| Source: City of Tuscaloosa, "Tuscaloosa City Council Reconvened Meeting Agenda," March 14, 2017 | ||
Candidates
| LaQuishia Chandler
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Tony Humphries | ||
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| Matthew Wilson
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Earnestine Young | ||
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District 1 runoff election
Results
| Tuscaloosa City Schools, District 1 Runoff Election, 4-year term, 2017 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Matthew Wilson |
55.20% | 382 |
| LaQuishia Chandler | 44.80% | 310 |
| Total Votes | 692 | |
| Source: City of Tuscaloosa, "Tuscaloosa City Council Reconvened Meeting Agenda," April 25, 2017 | ||
Candidates
| LaQuishia Chandler | Matthew Wilson
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District 2
Results
| Tuscaloosa City Schools, District 2 General Election, 4-year term, 2017 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Earnestine Tucker Incumbent |
47.97% | 613 |
| Kendra Williams |
29.81% | 381 |
| Paul Sanders Sr. | 22.22% | 284 |
| Total Votes | 1,278 | |
| Source: City of Tuscaloosa, "Tuscaloosa City Council Reconvened Meeting Agenda," March 14, 2017 | ||
Candidates
| Paul Sanders Sr. | Earnestine Tucker
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Kendra Williams
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District 2 runoff election
Results
| Tuscaloosa City Schools, District 2 Runoff Election, 4-year term, 2017 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Kendra Williams |
55.85% | 272 |
| Earnestine Tucker Incumbent | 44.15% | 215 |
| Total Votes | 487 | |
| Source: Tuscaloosa City, "Tuscaloosa City Council Reconvened Meeting Agenda," April 25, 2017 | ||
Candidates
| Earnestine Tucker | Kendra Williams
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District 3
Results
Guy May was automatically elected due to lack of opposition.
Candidates
| Guy May
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District 4
Results
| Tuscaloosa City Schools, District 4 General Election, 4-year term, 2017 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Patrick Hamner |
77.78% | 189 |
| Zoe Winston | 22.22% | 54 |
| Total Votes | 243 | |
| Source: City of Tuscaloosa, "Tuscaloosa City Council Reconvened Meeting Agenda," March 14, 2017 | ||
Candidates
| Patrick Hamner
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Zoe Winston | ||
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District 5 general election
Results
| Tuscaloosa City Schools, District 5 General Election, 4-year term, 2017 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Erica Grant |
40.05% | 511 |
| Beth Cleino Allaway |
23.67% | 302 |
| Lauren Wilson | 19.67% | 251 |
| Harry Lee Incumbent | 16.61% | 212 |
| Total Votes | 1,276 | |
| Source: City of Tuscaloosa, "Tuscaloosa City Council Reconvened Meeting Agenda," March 14, 2017 | ||
Candidates
| Beth Cleino Allaway
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Erica Grant
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| Harry Lee | Lauren Wilson | ||
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District 5 runoff election
Results
| Tuscaloosa City Schools, District 5 Runoff Election, 4-year term, 2017 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Erica Grant |
57.28% | 425 |
| Beth Cleino Allaway | 42.72% | 317 |
| Total Votes | 742 | |
| Source: Tuscaloosa City, "Tuscaloosa City Council Reconvened Meeting Agenda," April 25, 2017 | ||
Candidates
| Beth Cleino Allaway | Erica Grant
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District 6
Results
| Tuscaloosa City Schools, District 6 General Election, 4-year term, 2017 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Marvin Lucas Incumbent |
73.26% | 1,203 |
| Andrew Robertson | 26.74% | 439 |
| Total Votes | 1,642 | |
| Source: City of Tuscaloosa, "Tuscaloosa City Council Reconvened Meeting Agenda," March 14, 2017 | ||
Candidates
| Marvin Lucas
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Andrew Robertson | ||
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District 7
Results
| Tuscaloosa City Schools, District 7 General Election, 4-year term, 2017 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Erskine Simmons Incumbent |
54.69% | 536 |
| LaQuetta Peoples | 45.31% | 444 |
| Total Votes | 980 | |
| Source: City of Tuscaloosa, "Tuscaloosa City Council Reconvened Meeting Agenda," March 14, 2017 | ||
Candidates
| LaQuetta Peoples | Erskine Simmons
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Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: Alabama elections, 2017
The Tuscaloosa City Schools Board of Education election shared the ballot with elections for the mayor and city council for the city of Tuscaloosa.[5]
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for the Tuscaloosa City Schools Board of Education election in 2017:[6]
| Deadline | Event |
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| January 24, 2017 | Candidate filing deadline |
| February 13, 2017 | First campaign finance deadline |
| February 20, 2017 | Second campaign finance deadline |
| February 27, 2017 | Third campaign finance deadline |
| March 6, 2017 | Final campaign finance deadline |
| March 7, 2017 | General election date |
| April 18, 2017 | Runoff election date |
Endorsements
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
All candidates for office in the state of Alabama are required to file a campaign finance report if they receive contributions or make expenditures in excess of $1,000 according to the Fair Campaign Practices Act.[7]
Candidates for the Tuscaloosa City Schools Board of Education had to file their reports with the Office of the Tuscaloosa County Probate Judge on the following dates:[8]
- February 13, 2017
- February 20, 2017
- February 27, 2017
- March 6, 2017
Past elections
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Note: Cason Kirby's win over Kelly Horwitz was contested in court. For more information, see Tuscaloosa City School District, Cason Kirby voter fraud charges (2013–2016).
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What was at stake?
Report a story for this election
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About the district
- See also: Tuscaloosa City Schools, Alabama
Tuscaloosa City Schools is located in western Alabama in Tuscaloosa County. According to the United States Census Bureau, Tuscaloosa County was home to 203,976 residents in 2015.[9] The district was the 12th-largest school district in the state in the 2014-2015 school year and served 10,249 students.[10]
Demographics
Tuscaloosa County outperformed Alabama as a whole in terms of higher education achievement from 2011 to 2015. The United States Census Bureau found that 28.5 percent of county residents aged 25 years or older had attained a bachelor's degree, compared to 23.5 percent of state residents. The median household income for the county was $46,565, compared to $43,623 for the state as a whole. The percentage of people living below the poverty level for the county was 20 percent, while it was 18.5 percent for the entire state of Alabama.[9]
| Racial Demographics, 2015[9] | |||
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| Race | Tuscaloosa County (%) | Alabama (%) | |
| White | 65.6 | 69.5 | |
| Black or African American | 31.4 | 26.8 | |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.3 | 0.7 | |
| Asian | 1.5 | 1.4 | |
| Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander | 0.1 | 0.1 | |
| Two or more races | 1.1 | 1.6 | |
| Hispanic or Latino | 3.3 | 4.2 | |
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Tuscaloosa City Schools Alabama election. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Tuscaloosa City Schools | Alabama | School Boards |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Tuscaloosa News, "Three Tuscaloosa school board seats up in runoff election," March 7, 2017
- ↑ WBRC, "Results in for Tuscaloosa school board runoff elections," April 18, 2017
- ↑ City of Tuscaloosa, "City Elections," January 25, 2017
- ↑ Alabama Secretary of State, "Voter Guide," accessed January 25, 2017
- ↑ City of Tuscaloosa, "City Elections," January 25, 2017
- ↑ City of Tuscaloosa, "City Elections," January 25, 2017
- ↑ Alabama Secretary of State, "Candidate Filing Guidelines," accessed February 1, 2017
- ↑ Tiffany Rouse, "Email correspondence with Alabama Assistant Director of Elections Clay Helms," December 20, 2016
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 United States Census Bureau, "Quick Facts: Tuscaloosa County, Alabama," accessed January 25, 2017
- ↑ U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, "Common Core of Data, file ccd_lea_052_1414_w_0216161a, 2014-2015," accessed November 16, 2016
