John Mathews II

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

John Mathews II

Nonpartisan

Elections and appointments

Last election

March 3, 2020

Education

Bachelor's

University of California, Los Angeles, 2003

Law

Harvard Law School, 2007

Personal

Birthplace

Long Beach, Calif.

Religion

Christian

Profession

Attorney

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

John Mathews II ran for election to the Long Beach Unified School District school board to represent District 2 in California. He lost in the primary on March 3, 2020.

Mathews completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

John Mathews II was born in Long Beach, California. He received a bachelor's degree from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 2003 and a J.D. from Harvard Law School in 2007. Mathews' professional experience includes working as an attorney. He has been associated with Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., the Langston Bar Association, Rotary Long Beach, 100 Black Men of Long Beach, and the Harvard Law School Black Alumni Network.

Elections

2020

See also: Long Beach Unified School District, California, elections (2020)

General election

General election for Long Beach Unified School District school board District 2

Erik Miller defeated Tonia Reyes Uranga in the general election for Long Beach Unified School District school board District 2 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Erik Miller (Nonpartisan)	51.6	15,300
	Submit photo	Tonia Reyes Uranga (Nonpartisan)	48.4	14,373

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 29,673
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Long Beach Unified School District school board District 2

Tonia Reyes Uranga and Erik Miller defeated John Mathews II in the primary for Long Beach Unified School District school board District 2 on March 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Tonia Reyes Uranga (Nonpartisan)	42.6	5,811
✔		Erik Miller (Nonpartisan)	36.5	4,975
		John Mathews II (Nonpartisan)	20.9	2,853

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 13,639
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

John Mathews II completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Mathews' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am an attorney and criminal justice reform advocate. I'm running for school board because I want to continue the progress of LBUSD and help ensure equity and opportunity for all students. I had the opportunity to study at UCLA and Harvard Law School because of public school teachers that believed in me and because my mother, an educator in Long Beach for 38 years, was an advocate for me. All students deserve a high-quality education, and I will be an advocate for them.

I am Senior Legal Counsel for The Justice Collaborative, where I am devoted to reforming the criminal justice system and building healthier and safer communities. Prior to returning to Long Beach, I served as an Assistant United States Attorney in President Obama's Department of Justice. After Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, I recruited volunteers, raised money, and organized efforts to provide food and supplies to orphanages and shelters on the island. I am proficient in Spanish. I live in the Wrigley neighborhood in Long Beach and I volunteer at Cabrillo High School and for Camp Agape. I believe in public service and I look forward to serving students in Long Beach.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Safety: Ensure student and teacher security so our community's children can learn and grow in safe schools.
• Progress: Continue our gains in eliminating the gap in graduation rates and college enrollment through transparency, accountability and school/parent communication.
• Innovation: Promote career education and work-based learning and increase business ownership training, paid internships, and local business partnerships.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I am personally passionate about increasing access to quality education and ending mass incarceration. Every day, I support communities who are advocating for alternatives to incarceration by providing legal and policy expertise. I also advise elected officials on criminal justice reform strategies and I have supported advocacy campaigns for juvenile justice and increased education funding.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

See also

2020 Elections

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Government

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