Montgomery County Public Schools elections (2014)
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Four seats on the Montgomery County Board of Education were up for general election on November 4, 2014. There was a primary election on June 24, 2014, for the at-large seat. Newcomers Shebra Evans and Jill Ortman-Fouse defeated Edward Amatetti and Merry Eisner-Heidorn to advance to the general election. Ortman-Fouse won the open seat. Two-term, at-large incumbent Shirley Brandman did not file for re-election. Incumbents Judy Docca, Patricia O'Neill, and Mike Durso faced and defeated challengers in their re-election bids in Districts 1, 3, and 5, respectively.
About the district
Montgomery County Public Schools is based in Rockville, Maryland, the county seat of Montgomery County. According to the United States Census Bureau, Montgomery County was home to 1,016,677 residents in 2014.[1] Montgomery County Public Schools was the largest school district in Maryland in the 2011-2012 school year, serving 146,459 students.[2]
Demographics
In 2012, Montgomery County had a higher percentage of residents with a bachelor's degree compared to the state overall. The United States Census Bureau reported that 56.9 percent of residents aged 25 and older in Montgomery County had earned a bachelor's degree, compared with 36.3 percent for Maryland. The county’s median household income was $96,985, above the state median of $72,999. The poverty rate in Montgomery County was 6.5 percent, below the state rate of 9.4 percent.[1]
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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
As of the 2014 election, the Montgomery County Board of Education consisted of seven members elected to four-year terms. Five members were elected to specific districts, while two at-large members represented the entire county. There was a primary election on June 24, 2014, and a general election took place on November 4, 2014.
Board candidates submitted their statements of organization and certificates of candidacy with the county elections office by February 25, 2014. Each candidate was also required to submit a filing fee of $25 to the county. State law required candidates to be registered voters and residents of the district.[4]
County residents had to register to vote for the primary election by June 3, 2014. The county offered early voting in the primary from June 12, 2014, to June 19, 2014. The deadline to register to vote in the general election was October 14, 2014. Early voting for the general election took place from October 23, 2014, to October 30, 2014.[5]
Elections
2014
Candidates
At-large
- Shebra Evans
- Graduate, Tennessee State University
- Former vice president, Montgomery County Council of PTAs
- Jill Ortman-Fouse
- Graduate, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
- Leadership coach, T.E.A.M. Consulting
Candidates defeated in the primary
- Edward Amatetti
- Former district teacher
- Merry Eisner-Heidorn
- Marketing and operations professional, RTO Insider
District 1
- Judy Docca
- Incumbent
- Graduate, Penn State University and George Washington University
- Retired educator
- Kristin C. Trible
- Graduate, Duke University
- Student support services director, Future Link
District 3
- Patricia O'Neill
- Incumbent
- Graduate, Southern Methodist University
- Laurie Halverson
- Graduate, University of Kentucky
- Former human resources generalist and senior analyst
District 5
- Mike Durso
- Incumbent
- Graduate, The Catholic University of America and American University
- Retired educator
- Larry E. Edmonds
- Commercial development director, Owl Pest Prevention
- Vice president for elections, Montgomery County Council of PTAs
Election results
General: At-large
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Jill Ortman-Fouse |
51.7% | 95,900 | |
| Nonpartisan | Shebra Evans | 47.8% | 88,631 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in votes | 0.6% | 1,033 | |
| Total Votes | 185,564 | |||
| Source: Maryland State Board of Elections, "Official 2014 Gubernatorial General Election Results for Montgomery County," December 2, 2014 | ||||
General: District 1
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Judy Docca Incumbent |
54.6% | 97,597 | |
| Nonpartisan | Kristin C. Trible | 45% | 80,322 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in votes | 0.4% | 754 | |
| Total Votes | 178,673 | |||
| Source: Maryland State Board of Elections, "Unofficial Results for the 2014 Gubernatorial General Election," accessed November 4, 2014 | ||||
General: District 3
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Patricia O'Neill Incumbent |
62.7% | 114,569 | |
| Nonpartisan | Laurie Halverson | 37% | 67,615 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in votes | 0.4% | 648 | |
| Total Votes | 182,832 | |||
| Source: Maryland State Board of Elections, "Unofficial Results for the 2014 Gubernatorial General Election," accessed November 4, 2014 | ||||
General: District 5
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Mike Durso Incumbent |
61.4% | 107,937 | |
| Nonpartisan | Larry E. Edmonds | 38.1% | 66,970 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in votes | 0.4% | 759 | |
| Total Votes | 175,666 | |||
| Source: Maryland State Board of Elections, "Unofficial Results for the 2014 Gubernatorial General Election," accessed November 4, 2014 | ||||
Primary: At-large
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Jill Ortman-Fouse |
34.1% | 28,871 | |
| Nonpartisan | Shebra Evans |
31.2% | 26,405 | |
| Nonpartisan | Edward Amatetti | 20.6% | 17,426 | |
| Nonpartisan | Merry Eisner-Heidorn | 14% | 11,860 | |
| Total Votes | 84,562 | |||
| Source: Maryland State Board of Elections, "Official 2014 Gubernatorial Primary Election results for Montgomery County," July 16, 2014 | ||||
Primary: District 1
No primary was held for the District 1 seat as only two candidates filed for the race.
Primary: District 3
No primary was held for the District 3 seat as only two candidates filed for the race.
Primary: District 5
No primary was held for the District 5 seat as only two candidates filed for the race.
Endorsements
District 1
Shebra Evans was endorsed by SEIU Local 500, Casa in Action, the Montgomery County Education Association, and the Coalition of Asian Pacific American Democrats of Maryland (CAPAD-MD).[6] Merry Eisner-Heidorn was endorsed by the Sierra Club and Montgomery County Public School Retirees Association before the primary.[7]
Jill Ortman-Fouse was endorsed by the following organizations, state politicians, local politicians, and community members:[8]
- The Washington Post
- Gazette.net
- Montgomery County National Organization for Women (NOW) PAC
- United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 1994
- Montgomery County Public Schools Retirees Association, Inc.
- Hispanic Democratic Club of Montgomery County
- Brickyard Coalition
- One Montgomery
- Progressive Neighbors
- Brian Feldman, Maryland State Senate, District 15
- Jennie Forehand, Maryland State Senate, District 17
- Peter Franchot, Maryland Comptroller
- Doug Gansler, Maryland Attorney General
- Tom Hucker, Maryland House of Delegates, District 20; and Democratic nominee, County Council, District 5
- Cheryl Kagan, Democratic nominee, Maryland State Senate, District 17
- Marc Korman, Democratic nominee, Maryland State Senate, District 16
- Jamie Raskin, Maryland State Senate, District 20
- Kirill Reznik, Maryland House of Delegates, District 39
- Shane Robinson, Maryland House of Delegates, District 39
- Phil Andrews, county councilmember
- Doug Duncan, former county executive
- Seth Grimes, Takoma Park City councilmember
- Marc Elrich, county councilmember
- Valerie Ervin, former county councilmember
- Nancy Floreen, county councilmember
- Sidney Katz, Mayor of Gaithersburg; and Democratic nominee, county council
- George Leventhal, county council vice-president
- Tim Male, Takoma Park City councilmember
- Tebabu Assefa, co-founder, Blessed Coffee
- Diana Conway, board member, Montgomery Countryside Alliance
- Busy Graham, founder, Class Acts Arts
- Lindsey Parsons, co-founder, Real Food for Kids—Montgomery
- Julie Reiley, founder, Maryland Coalition for Special Education Rights
- Ada Villatoro, vice-president, Long Branch Business League
District 3
Patricia O'Neill was endorsed by The Washington Post, The Gazette, the Montgomery County Education Association (MCEA), the Montgomery County Public Schools Retirees Association, Inc., the Maryland and Montgomery County branches of the National Organization for Women PAC, SEIU, the African-American Democratic Club of Montgomery County, CASA in Action, Coalition of Asian Pacific American Democrats of Maryland, and the Hispanic Democratic Club of Montgomery County. She was also endorsed by the following individuals:[9]
- Dr. Alan Cheung, former board member
- Reginald Felton, former board member
- Sidney Katz, mayor of Gaithersburg
- Jeffrey Slavin, mayor of Somerset
- Ike Leggett, Montgomery County Executive
- Nancy Navarro, Montgomery County Councilmember
- Craig Rice, Montgomery County Council President
- John McCarthy, Montgomery County State's Attorney
- Delegate Charles Barkely (D-39)
- Delegate Al Carr (D-18)
- Delegate Bonnie Cullison (D-19)
- Delegate Kathleen Dumais (D-15)
- Delegate Sheila Hixson (D-20)
- Sen. Brian Frosh (D-16)
- Delegate Ana Sol Gutierrez (D-18)
- Delegate Anne Kaiser (D-14)
- Delegate Ariana Kelly (D-16)
- Sen. Nancy King (D-39)
- Delegate Benjamin Kramer (D-19)
- Delegate Susan Lee (D-16)
- Delegate Eric Luedtke (D-14)
- Sen. Richard Madaleno (D-18)
- Sen. Roger Manno (D-19)
- Delegate Aruna Miller (D-15)
- Delegate Jeff Waldstreicher (D-18)
- Delegate Craig Zucker (D-14)
- Attorney General Doug Gansler (D)
- Marc Korman, Democratic candidate for House of Delegates District 16
- Former U.S. Sen. Joseph D. Tydings
- Former U.S. Rep. Albert R. Wynn
- Former Delegate Henry Heller (D-19)
- Former Delegate Herman Taylor, II (D-14)
- Mike Knapp, former Montgomery County Councilmember
Halverson was endorsed by the Brickyard Coalition, One Montgomery, Parents Choice of Maryland, Sierra Club, and umttr. She was also endorsed by former board member Laura Berthiaume.[10]
District 5
Mike Durso was endorsed by The Washington Post.[11]
Larry E. Edmonds was endorsed by former board member Jennifer Chambers.[12]
Campaign finance
Candidates received a total of $16,847.98 and reported $3,114.22 expenditures as of May 23, 2014, according to the Maryland State Board of Elections. State law allows candidates to file Affidavits of Limited Contributions and Expenditures (ALCE) if their campaigns did not accept $1,000 in contributions or spend $1,000 in a particular reporting period. Larry E. Edmonds filed an ALCE before the primary.[13]
In the at-large race, candidates raised a total of $13,737.98 and spent a total of $3,052.94.
| Candidate | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Edward Amatetti | $300.00 | $0.00 | $300.00 |
| Shebra Evans | $6,816.95 | $2,450.09 | $4,366.86 |
| Merry Eisner-Heidorn | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Jill Ortman-Fouse | $6,621.03 | $602.85 | $6,018.18 |
In the District 1 race, candidates raised a total of $1,500.00 and spent a total of $6.40.
| Candidate | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Judy Docca | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Kristin C. Trible | $1,500.00 | $6.40 | $1,493.60 |
In the District 3 race, candidates raised a total of $1,610.00 and spent a total of $54.88.
| Candidate | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Laurie Halverson | $1,610.00 | $54.88 | $1,555.12 |
| Patricia O'Neill | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
In the District 5 race, candidates raised a total of $0.00 and spent a total of $0.00.
| Candidate | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Durso | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Larry E. Edmonds | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
Past elections
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What was at stake?
2014
Issues in the district
School board expenses inquiry
Two members of the Montgomery County Board of Education faced criticism in June 2014 for charging hotel stays and over 100 meals to district-issued credit cards. A report produced by NBC Channel 4 in Washington, D.C. found that board member Christopher Barclay had charged many of those meals to the district between 2010 and 2013. Fellow board member Rebecca Smondrowski charged a smaller number of lunches as well as a hotel stay for an education conference, only 30 minutes from the county. The county board does not have restrictions on hotel or lunch expenses, but public reaction to the Channel 4 report led members of a county panel to recommend policy changes. Potential changes included a prohibition on board expenses for local hotel stays and establishing a maximum limit on other expenses.
Smondrowski and Barclay provided the following responses to Channel 4 after publication of the report:
Barclay's response
| “ | On the hotel stays: I am very active on the National School Boards Association’s Council on Urban Boards of Education and Federal Relations Network and attend these conferences regularly. These conferences not only provide me with important information and strategies I can use to be a better Board member, but provide me with a rare opportunity to meet with my colleagues from around the country and share best practices and ideas. These conferences begin very early and our opportunity to network goes late into the evening. Regarding meals/expense: I take my job as a Board member very seriously and work around the clock on behalf of our students. Many of the children and families that live in my district do not have a voice in our county, and I have taken great care to make sure their voices are heard and their needs are met. Sometimes that has meant taking constituents out for a meal to hear their concerns or sitting down for dinner with a community leader to figure out how we can best serve students. That is an important part of what I do as a Board member and I am proud of how I have represented our students in my district and throughout Montgomery County. That being said, I strongly support the work of the ad-hoc committee and look forward to considering their recommendations in the future.[14] |
” |
| —NBC Channel 4 Washington, (2014) | ||
Smondrowski's response
| “ | On the hotel: "I stayed at the conference hotel in Washington, DC because I needed to be there early and it would take up to 1 1/2 hours to get there from my house during rush hour. Also, I spent the evening hours meeting and networking with board members from around the country. It was a great learning experience for me and will ultimately help me be a better and more informed board member here in Montgomery County." On card usage: "I am looking forward to working with my colleagues on the board to discuss in more detail how we should handle expenses related to our duties as elected board members. I am fully supportive of the review we are undertaking and always believe that we should continue to explore ways to be more efficient and effective."[14] |
” |
| —NBC Channel 4 Washington, (2014) | ||
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for the Montgomery County Public Schools election in 2014:[16]
| Deadline | Event |
|---|---|
| February 25, 2014 | Deadline for candidate filing |
| June 3, 2014 | Voter registration deadline for primary election |
| June 12-19, 2014 | Early voting for primary election |
| June 24, 2014 | Primary election day |
| October 14, 2014 | Voter registration deadline for general election |
| October 23-30, 2014 | Early voting for general election |
| November 4, 2014 | General election day |
Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: Maryland elections, 2014
The school board election shared the ballot with county, state, and federal elections on November 4, 2014. Residents of Montgomery County voted in races for county executive, county council, and sheriff. The general election ballot included candidates for governor, attorney general, and other state executive offices. Voters also chose officials for state legislative seats and U.S. House seats on November 4, 2014.[17]
See also
- Maryland
- Montgomery County Public Schools, Maryland
- Maryland school board elections, 2014
- List of school board elections in 2014
- School board elections, 2014
- Montgomery County, Maryland ballot measures
- Local ballot measures, Maryland
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 United States Census Bureau, "Montgomery County, Maryland," accessed May 2, 2014
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "ELSI Table Generator," accessed May 2, 2014
- ↑ Maryland State Board of Elections, "Voter Registration Activity Report," March 2014
- ↑ Maryland State Board of Elections, "Requirements for Filing Candidacy," accessed May 6, 2014
- ↑ Maryland State Board of Elections, "2014 Election Calendar," May 1, 2014
- ↑ Shebra Evans for Board of Education, "Home," accessed May 2, 2014 (dead link)
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through e-mail from Merry Eisner-Heidorn on June 5, 2014.
- ↑ Jill Ortman-Fouse, "Endorsements," accessed September 19, 2014
- ↑ Pat O'Neill Board of Education, "Endorsements," accessed October 22, 2014
- ↑ Laurie Halverson for Board of Education, "Endorse Laurie Halverson for Board of Education," accessed October 22, 2014
- ↑ The Washington Post, "Endorsements for Montgomery County school board," October 10, 2014
- ↑ Gazette.Net, "Support for school board challengers," October 17, 2014
- ↑ Maryland Campaign Reporting Information System, "View Filed Reports," accessed May 22, 2014
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 NBC Channel 4 Washington, "Montgomery County School Board Scrutinized Over Use of Government-Issued Credit Cards," June 13, 2014
- ↑ Maryland State Board of Elections, "2014 Election Calendar," May 1, 2014
- ↑ Maryland State Board of Elections, "2014 Candidate Listing," accessed May 2, 2014
| 2014 Montgomery County Public Schools Elections | |
| Rockville, Maryland | |
| Election date: | November 4, 2014 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Edward Amatetti • Shebra Evans • Merry Eisner-Heidorn • Jill Ortman-Fouse District 1: • Judy Docca • Kristin C. Trible |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
