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Turlock Unified School District elections (2015)
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Method of election Elections What was at stake? Key deadlines Additional elections External links |
Turlock Unified School District Stanislaus County, California ballot measures Local ballot measures, California |
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Four seats on the Turlock Unified School District Board of Trustees were supposed to be up for general election on November 3, 2015.[1] The election, however, was canceled due to lack of opposition. The Trustee Area 1, 3, 5 and 7 seats would have been on the ballot.[2]
Only three candidates filed to run in this race. Incumbents Barney Gordon and Frank Lima filed to retain the Trustee Area 1 and 5 seats, respectively, and candidate Ken Malech filed to run for the Trustee Area 3 seat. No one filed for the Trustee Area 7 seat, leaving it open for an appointment. Because every candidate was unopposed, they were appointed to the board rather than appearing on the ballot.[3][4]
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
The majority of the Turlock Unified School District is located in Stanislaus County in central California. A small portion of the district also lies in Merced County. The county seat is of Stanislaus County is Modesto, and the county seat of Merced County is Merced. In 2014, Stanislaus County was home to 531,997 residents, and Merced County was home to 266,353 residents, according to the United States Census Bureau.[5][6] During the 2012-2013 school year, Turlock Unified School District was the 115th-largest school district by enrollment in California and served 13,956 students.[7]
Demographics
Both Stanislaus County and Merced County underperformed compared to the rest of California in terms of higher education achievement in 2013. The United States Census Bureau found that 16.4 percent of Stanislaus County residents and 12.6 percent of Merced 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 Stanislaus County was $49,297 and for Merced County was $42,591, compared to $61,094 for the entire state. The poverty rate was 20.3 percent in Stanislaus County and 25.4 percent in Merced County compared to 15.9 percent statewide.[5][6]
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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 Turlock Unified Board of Trustees consists of seven members elected geographically by district 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 four seats would have been on the ballot on November 3, 2015, if the election had not been canceled.[1][11]
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.[12] To get on the ballot, candidates had to file their declaration of candidacy with the Stanislaus County Elections by August 7, 2015.[1]
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.[1] Photo identification was not required to vote in California.
Elections
2015
Candidates
Trustee Area 1
Barney Gordon 
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Trustee Area 3
| Ken Malech
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Trustee Area 5
| Frank Lima
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Trustee Area 7
No one filed to run for this seat, leaving it open for an appointment.
Election results
This election was canceled due to lack of opposition. Trustee Area 1 incumbent Barney Gordon, Trustee Area 5 incumbent Frank Lima and unopposed Trustee Area 3 candidate Ken Malech were appointed to the board rather than appearing on the ballot.
Campaign finance
No contributions or expenditures were reported during the election, according to the Stanislaus County Registrar of Voters.[13]
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.[14]
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).[14]
Past elections
Information about earlier elections can be found by clicking [show] at the right. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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2013Trustee Area 2
Trustee Area 4Bob Weaver ran unopposed and won the Trustee Area 4 seat on the Turlock Unified School District Board of Trustees. Trustee Area 6
2011
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What was at stake?
2015
Election trends
- See also: 2013 school board elections
With four seats up for election on November 3, 2015, over half of the Turlock Unified Board of Trustees could have changed hands. The election, however, was canceled due to lack of opposition. Two incumbents and one newcomer ran unopposed, allowing them to be appointed to their seats on the board rather than appearing on the ballot. No one filed to run for the fourth seat up for election.
Turlock Unified's 2013 school board election had one seat go unopposed. That incumbent won re-election by default. The other two incumbents who ran to retain their seats were defeated by newcomers. Overall, an average of 1.67 candidates ran per seat.
In 2014, 25 percent of school board seats up for election in California's largest school districts were unopposed. That year, 37.65 percent of seats went to newcomers, and an average of 1.91 candidates ran per seat.
Issues in the district
Vacancy appointments
Only three candidates filed to run for the four school board seats up for election on November 3, 2015. Because of this, the board had to appoint a member to the open Trustee Area 7 seat, and that was not the only appointment they had to make. Deborah Martin resigned from the board in September 2015, leaving the Trustee Area 2 seat open as well.[15]
The board received two applications for each seat. On October 13, 2015, the board unanimously appointed two new members. Lori Carlson was appointed to the Trustee Area 2 position and served until the seat was up for election in 2017, and Anthony Silva was appointed to the Trustee Area 7 seat, which he held until it was up for election in 2019.[15][16]
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for the Turlock Unified School District election in 2015:[1][17][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
No elections shared the ballot with the Turlock Unified School District. A number of other school districts in Stanislaus County, however, also held school board elections on November 3, 2015.[19]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Turlock Unified School District California. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Turlock Unified School District | California | School Boards |
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External links
- Turlock Unified School District
- Stanislaus County Registrar of Voters
- Merced County Registrar of Voters
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Stanislaus County Registrar of Voters, “Consolidated District Election Calendar Tuesday, November 3, 2015,” accessed January 29, 2015
- ↑ Turlock Unified School District, "Notice of Election," accessed August 10, 2015
- ↑ Stanislaus County Registrar of Voters, "Consolidated District Election - Tuesday, November 3, 2015: Unofficial Candidate List," accessed August 10, 2015
- ↑ Merced County Registrar of Voters, "Contest/Candidate List General District Election," accessed August 10, 2015
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 United States Census Bureau, "Stanislaus County, California," accessed October 1, 2015
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 United States Census Bureau, "Merced County, California," accessed October 1, 2015
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "ELSI Table Generator," accessed April 29, 2015
- ↑ Merced County Registrar of Voters, "November 6, 2012 Election Results," accessed July 24, 2014
- ↑ Merced County Registrar of Voters, "November 8, 2008," accessed July 24, 2014
- ↑ Stanislaus County Registrar of Voters, "Election Results," accessed August 10, 2015
- ↑ Turlock Unified School District, "About TUSD," accessed August 7, 2015
- ↑ Turlock Unified School District, "Board Policies," accessed August 7, 2015
- ↑ Stanislaus County Registrar of Voters, "Campaign Disclosures," accessed December 7, 2015
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 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
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Turlock Journal, "Candidates emerge to fill vacant school board seats," September 22, 2015
- ↑ The Modesto Bee, "Turlock Unified appoints trustees to fill vacancy, empty filing," October 14, 2015
- ↑ California Election Code, "Section 8600-8606," accessed February 20, 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
- ↑ Stanislaus County Registrar of Voters, "Consolidated District Election - Tuesday, November 3, 2015: Unofficial Candidate List," accessed August 4, 2015
| 2015 Turlock Unified School District Elections | |
| Stanislaus County, California | |
| Election date: | November 3, 2015 |
| Candidates: | Trustee Area 1: • Incumbent, Barney Gordon Trustee Area 3: • Ken Malech Trustee Area 5: • Incumbent, Frank Lima Trustee Area 7: • No one filed to run for this seat. |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
