Jody London
Jody London was the District 1 representative on the Oakland Unified Board of Education in California. She served on the board from 2009 to 2020.[1]
A recall effort against London started in 2019 but did not go to a vote. Click here to read more about that effort and London's response.
Biography
London works with state energy regulatory agencies. Prior to joining the school board, she served on the Measure B Citizens Bond Oversight Committee. London earned a bachelor's degree in English from the University of California at Berkeley and a master's degree in public administration from Columbia University. Her children attend Oakland Unified schools.[1][2]
Elections
2016
Four of the seven seats on the Oakland Unified School District Board of Education were up for by-district general election on November 8, 2016. In her bid for re-election to District 1, incumbent Jody London defeated challenger Don Macleay. District 3 incumbent Jumoke Hinton Hodge also won re-election, defeating challengers Benjamin Lang, Lucky Narain, and Kharyshi Wiginton. The District 5 race featured incumbent Roseann Torres and challengers Mike Hassid, Mike Hutchinson, and Huber Trenado, and Torres won re-election to the seat. In District 7, incumbent James Harris defeated challenger Chris Jackson to win another term on the board.[3][4]
Ranked-choice voting was used to determine the final election results for the District 3 and 5 races. To learn more about this process, click here.[5][6]
Results
| Oakland Unified School District, District 1 General Election, 4-year term, 2016 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Jody London Incumbent |
75.13% | 21,399 |
| Don Macleay | 24.33% | 6,930 |
| Write-in votes | 0.54% | 155 |
| Total Votes | 28,484 | |
| Source: Alameda County Registrar of Voters, "General Election (Certified Results) - November 08, 2016," accessed November 30, 2016 | ||
Funding
London began the race with an existing account balance of $1,437.00 from her previous campaign. She reported $21,844.00 in contributions and $23,281.00 in expenditures to Oakland City Clerk, which left her campaign with a $0.00 balance in the election.[7]
Endorsements
London was endorsed by the following organizations and elected officials:[8][9][10][11]
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London was also endorsed by school board members in other districts, educators, and community leaders. Click here to see a full list of her supporters.
2012
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Jody London Incumbent |
75.5% | 19,777 | |
| Nonpartisan | Thearse Pecot | 23.8% | 6,251 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in votes | 0.7% | 184 | |
| Total Votes | 26,212 | |||
| Source: Alameda County Registrar of Voters, "Certified Final Results: General Election November 6, 2012," accessed July 29, 2014 | ||||
Campaign themes
2016
London highlighted the following issues on her campaign website:
| “ | Building a Better Future for Oakland Schools In collaboration with the district administration and her colleagues on the School Board, Director Jody London has supported significant positive changes to the city's public education system during her years in office. Jody's priorities for the district include: Quality Education for All Career pathways. During Jody’s tenure on the School Board, Oakland has expanded programs that link what students learn in school to what they might do after graduation. In 2014, Jody helped pass Measure N, an innovative parcel tax dedicated to building out these programs so that more students have access to them. Every high school is now expanding its academy and pathway programs. These funds are also being used to help middle school students begin to focus on longer term goals. Community Schools New Ways to Resolve Problems. Jody has supported the expansion of restorative justice, a set of principles and practices that help students and adults resolve conflicts with respect for one another and emphasis on building strong relationships. Oakland is recognized as a leader in this area, as well as in social emotional learning, which builds competency in building relationships, being self aware, and making responsible decision. Supporting student athletes. Jody has been an advocate for creating more opportunities for students to participate in after-school sports. Jody brought together school and community members in the Temescal area to develop a comprehensive plan for sharing limited playing fields, including creating a new soccer practice field at Oakland International High School, and a coming softball field in the area. The Oakland Athletic League in 2015-2016 has expanded the number of school participating in the League, and begun providing more training and support for coaches and athletes. Sustainability Improving School Lunch. The Oakland Unified School District serves nearly 35,000 meals every day. 70% of students in Oakland Unified qualify for free and reduced lunch. Jody has been a champion of Reinventing School Lunch, a revamp of the school district’s food service facilities. The school district this year is beginning construction of a new central kitchen, with an adjacent 1.5 acre farm that will be open to students. When the central kitchen is complete, schools will received prepped ingredients, which will then be cooked on site and served hot on trays, as opposed to shrink-wrapped containers. At two schools in North Oakland – Piedmont Avenue Elementary and Hillcrest Elementary – kitchen facilities will be upgraded, as the current kitchens are inadequate to accommodate this program. Community engagement. In 2014, drawing on her experience as a community leader, Jody passed a new Board policy on how the school district will engage with the communities where construction is occurring. This new approach has been welcomed by neighborhoods across the city, who now have opportunities to be involved in the design process, and stay informed as construction occurs. Fiscal Responsibility Managing assets. Oakland Unified is one of the largest property owners in the city. In 2013, Jody led development of a board policy on how the school district manages its buildings and properties. This policy is guiding how buildings are used, and pushing the district to take more seriously its responsibilities as a landowner. Supporting Educators Housing for educators. The Bay Area, and Oakland in particular, are experiencing an extreme housing crisis and high rents and purchase prices. In addition, nationally, there is a shortage of teachers. Looking at these trends, last summer, Jody led the call for partnership between the school district and the city to develop housing for Oakland teachers. Since Jody opened the discussion about housing for teachers, the dialogue in our region has changed. The CIty of San Francisco in 2015 passed a bond that will support construction of teacher housing. The Oakland City Council in January 2016 approved the first project that includes a priority for a portion of the units on a large development for Oakland teachers. You can see how relevant this issue is by looking at these news stories featuring Jody and the teacher housing issue. See the News & Media page for links to recent news coverage regarding this important issue.[12] |
” |
| —Jody London (2016)[13] | ||
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Oakland Unified School District, "District 1: Director Jody London," accessed September 29, 2016
- ↑ Jody London for School Board, "About Director Jody London," accessed October 5, 2016
- ↑ East Bay Citizen, "2016 East Bay Candidates List (Official for November)," August 19, 2016
- ↑ Alameda County Registrar of Voters, "General Election (Certified Results) - November 08, 2016," accessed November 30, 2016
- ↑ Alameda County Registrar of Voters, "Ranked-Choice Voting Accumulated Results - School Director, District 5 - Oakland," accessed January 11, 2017
- ↑ Alameda County Registrar of Voters, "Ranked-Choice Voting Accumulated Results - School Director, District 3 - Oakland," accessed January 11, 2017
- ↑ Oakland City Clerk, "City of Oakland Public Portal for Campaign Finance Disclosure," accessed March 7, 2017
- ↑ Alameda County Democratic Party, "Endorsements for November 8th Presidential Election," accessed September 29, 2016
- ↑ GO Public Schools Oakland Advocates, "GO Endorses Jody London for OUSD School Board, District 1," August 3, 2016
- ↑ Jody London for School Board, "Endorsements," accessed September 29, 2016
- ↑ Evolve, "Endorsements: November 8, 2016 General Election," accessed October 11, 2016
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Jody London for School Board, "Policy Initiatives," accessed October 4, 2016
| 2016 Oakland Unified School District Elections | |
| Alameda County, California | |
| Election date: | November 8, 2016 |
| Candidates: | District 1: • Incumbent, Jody London • Don Macleay District 3: • Incumbent, Jumoke Hinton Hodge • Benjamin Lang • Lucky Narain • Kharyshi Wiginton District 5: • Incumbent, Roseann Torres • Mike Hassid • Mike Hutchinson • Huber Trenado District 7: • Incumbent, James Harris • Chris Jackson |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Additional elections on the ballot • Key deadlines |
