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Whittier Union High School District elections (2015)
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Two seats on the Whittier Union High School District Board of Trustees were supposed to be up for general election on November 3, 2015.[1][2] The election, however, was canceled due to lack of opposition.[3] The seats held by incumbents Tim Schneider and Ralph Pacheco would have been on the ballot.[4] Because both incumbents were unopposed, they were appointed to their seats rather than appearing on the ballot.[5]
This was the fourth consecutive school board election that was canceled in the district due to lack of opposition.[6]
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
Whittier Union High School District is located in Los Angeles County in southwestern California. The county seat is Los Angeles.[7] Los Angeles County was home to 10,116,705 residents in 2014, according to the United States Census Bureau.[8] During the 2012-2013 school year, Whittier Union High School District was the 121st-largest school district by enrollment in California and served 13,486 students.[9]
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.[8]
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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 Whittier Union Board of Trustees 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 would have been on the ballot on November 3, 2015, if the election had not been canceled.[1][3][4]
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.[11] 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.[12]
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.[12] Photo identification was not required to vote in California.
Elections
2015
Candidates
At-large
Ralph Pacheco 
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Tim Schneider
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Election results
This election was canceled due to lack of opposition. Incumbents Ralph Pacheco and Tim Schneider were appointed to their seats rather than appearing on the ballot.[3]
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.[13][14][15]
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.[16]
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).[16]
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
Information about earlier elections can be found by clicking [show] at the right. | |
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2013Three seats on the Whittier Union High School District Board of Trustees were up for election on November 5, 2013. The school district canceled the election due to lack of opposition, which left Leighton Anderson, Jeffrey S. Baird and Russell A. Castaneda-Calleros as the default winners of the three at-large seats. 2011On November 8, 2011, two four-year term seats and one two-year term seat were up for election. With only two incumbent candidates, Ralph Pacheco and Tim Schneider, filing for the four-year term seats and only incumbent Russell A. Castaneda Calleros applying for the two-term seat, the election was canceled and not placed on the ballot.[17] | |
What was at stake?
2015
Election trends
- See also: 2013 school board elections
With two seats up for election on November 3, 2015, nearly half of the Whittier Union High Board of Trustees could have changed hands. The election, however, was canceled due to lack of opposition. The two incumbents ran unopposed, allowing them to be appointed to additional terms rather than appearing on the ballot. Whittier Union High's 2013 school board election was also canceled due to lack of opposition. All three incumbents won re-election by default in that election.
In 2014, Just over 25 percent of school board seats up for election in California's largest school districts were unopposed. That year, an average of 1.91 candidates ran per seat, and 37.65 percent of seats went to newcomers.
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for the Whittier Union High School District election in 2015:[12][18]
| 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
If it had not been canceled, the Whittier Union High School District election would have shared the ballot with a school board election in the Whittier City School District.[19]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Whittier Union High School District California. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Whittier Union High 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 3.2 Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, "Final List of Cancelled Elections," accessed October 1, 2015
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Whittier Union High 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
- ↑ Whittier Daily News, "Whittier school board races uncontested for 4th straight term," August 11, 2015
- ↑ Geology.com, "California County Map with County Seat Cities," accessed July 1, 2014
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 United States Census Bureau, "Los Angeles County, California," accessed August 7, 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
- ↑ Whittier Union High School District, "Board Bylaws - 9000," accessed August 7, 2015
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, "Calendar of Events," accessed July 29, 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
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 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
- ↑ SmartVoter, "School Contests for Los Angeles County, CA," accessed October 30, 2013
- ↑ 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 Whittier Union High School District Elections | |
| Los Angeles County, California | |
| Election date: | November 3, 2015 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Incumbent, Ralph Pacheco • Incumbent, Tim Schneider |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
