Walnut Valley Unified School District elections (2015)
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Two seats on the Walnut Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees were up for general election on November 3, 2015.[1][2] The seats held by incumbents Larry Redinger and Phillip Chen were on the ballot.[3] The two incumbents defeated challenger S. Sean Monemi.[4][5]
See how this race compared to past school board elections in both the district and the state in the "Election trends" section.
About the district
Walnut Valley Unified School District is located in Los Angeles County in southwestern California. The county seat is Los Angeles.[6] Los Angeles County was home to 10,116,705 residents in 2014, according to the United States Census Bureau.[7] During the 2012-2013 school year, Walnut Valley Unified School District was the 111th-largest school district by enrollment in California and served 14,661 students.[8]
Demographics
Los Angeles County underperformed compared to the rest of California in terms of higher education achievement in 2013. The United States Census Bureau found that 29.7 percent of county residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree, compared to 30.7 percent for California as a whole. The median household income for Los Angeles County was $55,909, compared to $61,094 for the entire state. The percentage of people below poverty level was 17.8 percent, compared to 15.9 percent statewide.[7]
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Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.
Voter and candidate information
The Walnut Valley Unified Board of Education consists of five members elected at-large to four-year terms. Board members are elected on a staggered basis every November of odd-numbered years. There are no primary elections. Three seats were up for election on November 5, 2013, and two seats were on the ballot on November 3, 2015.[1][3]
School board candidates had to be at least 18 years old, residents of the school district and qualified voters. They could not be employees of the school district while in office.[10] To get on the ballot, candidates had to file their declaration of candidacy with the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk by August 7, 2015.[11]
To vote in this election, residents of the district had to register by October 19, 2015. Voters could cast vote-by-mail ballots from October 24, 2015, through Election Day.[11] Photo identification was not required to vote in California.
Elections
2015
Candidates
At-large
Phillip Chen 
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Larry Redinger
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S. Sean Monemi | |||
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Election results
| Walnut Valley Unified School District, At-large, General Election, 2015 | ||
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Phillip Chen Incumbent |
37.9% | 2,676 |
| Larry Redinger Incumbent |
35.2% | 2,487 |
| S. Sean Monemi | 26.8% | 1,894 |
| Total Votes | 7,057 | |
| Source: Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, "NOVEMBER 03, 2015 - LOCAL AND MUNICIPAL CONSOLIDATED ELECTIONS: Final Official Election Returns," accessed November 24, 2015 | ||
Endorsements
Incumbent Phillip Chen was endorsed by the Hispanic 100 Political Action Committee.[12] Challenger S. Sean Monemi was endorsed by the community organization Evolve.[13]
Campaign finance
At the time of this election, the Los Angeles Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk did not publish school board candidate campaign finance reports online. Ballotpedia staffers requested this information, but the only free method of viewing the files was at their office.
The Los Angeles Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk targeted the end of 2018 to make school board candidate campaign finance reports available online for free. From that point forward, Ballotpedia began including campaign finance data for Los Angeles County school board candidates.[14][15][16]
Campaign finance reporting requirements in California vary depending on how much money candidates spend or raise. For candidates planning to raise or spend less than $1,000, an Officeholder and Candidate Campaign Statement Short Form (Form 470) must be filed with their county or city elections office. If candidates plan to spend up to $1,000, including their own funds, they must also file a Candidate Intention Statement (Form 501). "If a candidate does not raise any money and personal funds are used only to pay filing or ballot statement fees, the candidate is not required to file the Form 501," according to the Fair Political Practices Commission. If candidates raise money outside of their own funds, a separate campaign bank account must be established.[17]
Candidates raising or spending more than $1,000, including their personal funds, must file a Candidate Intention Statement (Form 501), file a Statement of Organization (Form 410) and establish a separate bank account for campaign funds. They must then file Recipient Committee Campaign Statements (Form 460) to disclose their contributions and expenditures throughout their campaigns. If they receive more than $1,000 from a single source within 90 days of the election, they must file a 24-hour Contribution Report (Form 497).[17]
If you have any information regarding the campaign finance disclosures in this race, please contact the school board elections team at editor@ballotpedia.org.
Past elections
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2013
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What was at stake?
2015
Election trends
- See also: 2013 school board elections
With two seats on the ballot on November 3, 2015, nearly half of the Walnut Valley Unified Board of Trustees had the potential to change hands. Both incumbents ran for re-election, and they faced one challenger, creating an average of 1.5 candidates per seat. Both incumbents won re-election.
Walnut Valley Unified's 2013 school board election had an average of 1.33 candidates run per seat. Two of the three incumbents ran to retain their seats, and they ran against two challengers. Both incumbents were re-elected to the board, and a newcomer took the third seat on the ballot.
Both the 2013 and 2015 school board elections in the Walnut Valley Unified School District had fewer candidates run per seat than the 2014 state average of 1.91 candidates per seat up for election in California's largest school districts. That year, just over 25 percent of board seats in those districts were unopposed, and 37.65 percent of seats went to newcomers.
Issues in the election
Measure O
In addition to deciding who would serve as their next school board members on November 3, 2015, voters in the district were asked to pass Measure O, a package of general obligation bonds totaling $208 million. The measure failed to pass. A 55 percent supermajority vote was required for the approval of Measure O, and only 53.42 percent of voters cast ballots in favor of approving it.
District officials estimated that the property tax required to repay the bonds would be between $31 and $60 per $100,000 of assessed valuation. District officials estimated that the interest for the bond issue would amount to $277,866,750, resulting in a total cost to the taxpayers, with principal and interest, of $485,866,750.[18]
The measure appeared on the ballot as the following question:[19]
| “ | Walnut Valley Local School Improvement Measure. To upgrade facilities to maintain excellent education/college readiness by providing facilities/technology for advanced math, science, engineering, upgrading outdated classrooms, science labs, libraries, computer systems, improving school safety/security, and repairing, constructing/acquiring classrooms, facilities, equipment, shall Walnut Valley Unified School District issue $208 million in bonds at legal rates, with independent citizen oversight, no money for administrator salaries, and all funds used for neighborhood schools in/around Diamond Bar and Walnut?[20] | ” |
In 2007, district voters approved Measure S and Measure Y, a $64.6 million Academic Facilities bond measure and a $15.2 million Physical Education Facilities bond measure, respectively.[21]
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for the Walnut Valley Unified School District election in 2015:[11][22]
| Deadline | Event |
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| June 8, 2015 - August 7, 2015 | Candidate filing period |
| July 31, 2015 | Semi-annual campaign finance report due |
| August 5, 2015 - November 2, 2015 | 24-hour campaign contribution reporting period |
| September 7, 2015 - October 20, 2015 | Write-in candidate filing period |
| September 24, 2015 | Pre-election campaign finance report due |
| October 19, 2015 | Voter registration deadline |
| October 22, 2015 | Pre-election campaign finance report due |
| October 24, 2015 | First day voters can cast vote-by-mail ballots |
| November 3, 2015 | Election Day |
| February 1, 2016 | Semi-annual campaign finance report due |
Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: California elections, 2015
The Walnut Valley Unified School District election shared the ballot with elections for the Division 1, 4 and 5 seats on the Walnut Valley Water District Board of Directors and with Measure O.[19][23]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Walnut Valley Unified School District California. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Walnut Valley Unified School District | California | School Boards |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, “2015 Scheduled Elections,” accessed January 27, 2015
- ↑ Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, “Running for Office,” accessed January 27, 2015
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Walnut Valley Unified School District, "Board of Trustees," accessed January 29, 2015
- ↑ Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, "Candidate List Local And Municipal Consolidated Elections - 11/3/2015," accessed August 10, 2015
- ↑ Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, "NOVEMBER 03, 2015 - LOCAL AND MUNICIPAL CONSOLIDATED ELECTIONS: Semi-Final Official Election Returns," accessed November 9, 2015
- ↑ Geology.com, "California County Map with County Seat Cities," accessed July 1, 2014
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 United States Census Bureau, "Los Angeles County, California," accessed September 29, 2015
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "ELSI Table Generator," accessed April 29, 2015
- ↑ Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, "Past Election Results," accessed July 1, 2014
- ↑ Walnut Valley Unified School District, "Bylaws of the Board," accessed August 7, 2015
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, "Calendar of Events," accessed July 29, 2015
- ↑ Hispanic 100 Political Action Committee, "Endorsements," accessed October 30, 2015
- ↑ Evolve, "2015 Endorsements: November 03, 2015 Election," accessed October 27, 2015
- ↑ Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, "Campaign Finance Reports," accessed July 2, 2014
- ↑ Daniel Anderson, “Email communication with Brenda Duran, Los Angeles County Public Information Officer," October 7, 2016
- ↑ Abbey Smith, “Email communication with Brenda Duran, Los Angeles County Public Information Officer," January 2, 2018
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Fair Political Practices Commission, "Local Candidates, Superior Court Judges, Their Controlled Committees, and Primarily Formed Committees for Local Candidates: Campaign Disclosure Manual 2," accessed August 5, 2015
- ↑ Los Angeles County Elections Office, "Resolution calling for Measure O," accessed September 25, 2015
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 Los Angeles County Elections Office, “Measures appearing on the ballot on November 3, 2015,” accessed September 8, 2015
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Inside SoCal, "Walnut Valley needs help on Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee," April 22, 2015
- ↑ Fair Political Practices Commission, "Filing Schedule for Candidates and Controlled Committees for Local Office Being Voted on November 3, 2015," accessed August 5, 2015
- ↑ Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, "Local And Municipal Consolidated Elections - 11/3/2015," accessed July 29, 2015
| 2015 Walnut Valley Unified School District Elections | |
| Los Angeles County, California | |
| Election date: | November 3, 2015 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Incumbent, Phillip Chen • Incumbent, Larry Redinger • S. Sean Monemi |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
