Walter Burt
Walter Burt was a candidate for an at-large seat on the Grand Rapids Public Schools school board in Michigan. Burt was defeated in the at-large general election on November 8, 2016.
Biography
Burt earned his B.S. in biology from Alcorn State University. He later received his M.A. in educational leadership from Eastern Michigan University. Burt is an associate professor of educational leadership at Western Michigan University.[1]
Elections
2016
Four of the nine seats on the Grand Rapids Public Schools school board were up for general election on November 8, 2016. Incumbents Raynard Ross and Jen Schottke filed for re-election, while fellow board members Monica Randles and Nathaniel Moody opted against seeking new terms. Ross and Schottke were joined on the ballot by challengers Walter Burt, Ryan Davis, Michael Farage, Alex Fernandez, Kristian Grant, Matthew Helak, and Katherine Downes Lewis. Ross, Schottke, Grant, and Lewis won in the general election.[2]
Results
| Grand Rapids Public Schools, At-Large General Election, 4-year terms, 2016 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Kristian Grant |
16.43% | 25,780 |
| Katherine Downes Lewis |
15.28% | 23,975 |
| Jen Schottke Incumbent |
15.07% | 23,650 |
| Raynard Ross Incumbent |
11.57% | 18,159 |
| Alex Fernandez | 10.42% | 16,344 |
| Walter Burt | 9.81% | 15,397 |
| Ryan Davis | 8.51% | 13,348 |
| Michael Farage | 7.26% | 11,399 |
| Matthew Helak | 5.65% | 8,867 |
| Total Votes | 156,919 | |
| Source: Election Magic, "Kent County Election Returns," accessed December 14, 2016 | ||
Funding
School board candidates in Michigan were required to file pre-election campaign finance reports with their county election offices by October 28, 2016. Post-election reports were due by December 8, 2016.[3]
In Michigan, candidates are prohibited from receiving contributions from corporations or labor organizations. Within 10 days of becoming a candidate, candidates must form a candidate committee. Following the creation of the committee, candidates have an additional 10 days to register the committee with the school district filing official by filing a statement of organization. A candidate committee that does not expect to receive or spend more than $1,000 during the election cycle is eligible to receive a reporting waiver, which allows that committee not to file pre-election, post-election, and annual campaign statements.[4]
October 28 filing
Candidates received a total of $17,155.54 and spent a total of $11,167.36 as of October 30, 2016, according to the Kent County Clerk.[5]
| Candidate | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raynard Ross (incumbent) | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Jen Schottke (incumbent) | $11,525.54 | $8,215.37 | $3,310.17 |
| Walter Burt | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Ryan Davis | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Michael Farage | $4,500.00 | $1,968.98 | $2,534.02 |
| Alex Fernandez | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Kristian Grant | $1,130.00 | $983.01 | $146.99 |
| Matthew Helak | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Katherine Downes Lewis | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
Campaign themes
2016
Burt provided the following responses for the voter guide compiled by MLive.com:
| “ |
Why are you running for office? What are your top three priorities? What is the most pressing issue for this office? |
” |
| —Walter Burt (2016) | ||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Walter Burt Grand Rapids Public Schools. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 MLive, "Voter Guide," accessed October 27, 2016
- ↑ Kent County, Michigan, "Official Candidates and Proposals," accessed August 31, 2016
- ↑ Michigan Bureau of Elections, "2016 and 2017 Campaign Finance Filing Schedule," January 12, 2016
- ↑ Genesee County, "Filing Requirements under Michigan's Campaign Finance Act," February 7, 2014
- ↑ Kent County Clerk, "Campaign Finance Reporting Public Search," accessed October 30, 2016
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
| 2016 Grand Rapids Public Schools Elections | |
| Macomb County, Michigan | |
| Election date: | November 8, 2016 |
| Candidates: | At-large: Incumbent, Raynard Ross • Incumbent, Jen Schottke • Walter Burt • Ryan Davis • Michael Farage • Alex Fernandez • Kristian Grant • Matthew Helak • Katherine Downes Lewis |
| Important information: | What was at stake? |
