Friday, January 1, 2016

More On BOE Elections Moving Back To April

The Board of Education reportedly voted in November to move the school board elections back to April, when they were previously held until 2012. For the past four years, voters have chosen school board members as part of the November general election. The City Council made the decision in February 2012 to move school board elections to November.

Although the change back to April could also have been made by the council or by a public vote, the board used its prerogative to act first on the matter, according to board member David Rutherford. (No such resolution appears on November agendas online.)

There is talk of a challenge this month to the board's decision, but so far no details.

David Rutherford states in a Plainfield View blog post why he feels the move back to April is progressive. Others hold the opinion that a separate election will be costly and will attract fewer voters. The law is clear that the school board has the right to change elections back to April; the issue appears to be the manner in which it was done.

Meanwhile, I have used the Union County Clerk's election results from 2005 through 2015 to document Plainfield numbers. Winners are in red. As you can see, interest in school board elections, both by candidates and voters, varies quite a bit. Before having an elected board, Plainfield had an appointed board, a model that can have its own issues. Much has been made of the fact that the supposedly non-partisan school board elections have sometimes become competitions between political party factions.

"Kingmaker" John Campbell has also backed winning school board slates, notably the "Grand S.L.A.M. (School Leadership Advocacy Movement)" team in 2010. Campbell himself became an appointee to the board in 2015 and went on to win a three-year term in November. He will be sworn in at the Jan. 5 school board organization meeting. Campbell has also helped his wife, Wilma, the current school board president, win four three-year terms starting in 2004.

Here are the school board election results 2005-2015 (formats vary):.

2015 Board of Education
Richard Wyatt Jr. 1,641
John C. Campbell 1,831
Emily Morgan 1,797
Jackie Coley 1,291
Total 6,577

2014 Board of Education
Dorien Hurtt 1,321
David M. Rutherford 2,379
Carletta D. Jeffers 2,318
Michael A. Horn 1953
Norman E. Ortega 1,814
Tania Center 1,922
Terrence S. Bellamy Sr. 2,012
Total 13,733

2013 Board of Education
Anabella MELGAR 1,504
Wilma G. CAMPBELL 2,500
Frederick D. MOORE, SR. 1,520
Richard LEAR 1,119
David M. RUTHERFORD 1,355
Deborah CLARKE 1,615
Total 9,629

2012 Board of Education 
MAHOGANY A. HENDRICKS 4,419
KEISHA EDWARDS 4,177
DOLLIE S. HAMLIN 1,856
JACKIE D. COLEY 2,675
CATHERINE CRITTENDON 1,302
Total 14,467 
2012 Board of Education Unexpired Term
DELOIS DAMERON 3,251
FREDERICK D. MOORE, SR. 2,756
Total 6,018

2011 Board of Education
ALEX EDACHE 867
JAMEELAH SURGEON 897
AGURS L. CATHCART 627
DORIEN HURTT 764
Total 3,155

2010 Board of Education
MAHOGANY HENDRICKS 765
WILMA G. CAMPBELL 1,455
CHRISTIAN ESTEVEZ 585
MARTIN P. COX 652
JACLYNNE CALLANDS 593 
CATHERINE CRITTENDON 349
DANIELLE FLETCHER 
MARY E. BURGWINKLE 627
RENATA A. HERNANDEZ 1,021
RASHEED ABDUL-HAQQ 1,130
Total 7,824
Plainfield Board of Ed. Unexpired Term
CARMENCITA PILE 494
CLAYTON L. TUCKER, Sr. 679
KEISHA EDWARDS 1,059
DENISE RILEY 187
Total 2,421

2009 Plainfield Board of Education
Patricia I. BARKSDALE 881
Brenda GILBERT 717
Rasheed ABDUL-HAQQ 453
Joseph M. RUFFIN, Sr. 577
Mahogany HENDRICKS 558
Joanne HOLLIS 635
Lisa LOGAN-LEACH 675
Total 4,497
2009 Plainfield Board of Ed. Unexpired Term
Terrence WILLIAMS 302
Katherine PETERSON 583
Tammy WESTBROOK 495
Total 1,381 

2008 Plainfield Board of Education
YOLANDA VanFLEET 335
JACLYNNE CALLANDS 394
BRIDGET B. RIVERS 699
VICKEY SHEPPARD 627
AGURS L. CATHCART, Jr. 658
Total 2,717

2007 Plainfield Board of Education
CHRISTIAN ESTEVEZ 660
JEANETTE CRISCIONE 562
DAVID O. GRAVES 593
WILMA G. CAMPBELL 766
MARTIN P. COX 669
Total 3,254

2006 Plainfield Board of Education
PATRICIA I. BARKSDALE 1,036
LISA C. LOGAN-LEACH 685
CLAUDETTE LOVELY-BROWN 659
NAN ANDERSON 278
RENO B. WILKINS 456
RASHEED ABDUL-HAQQ 809
DAVID O. GRAVES 424
Total 4,349

2005 Plainfield Board of Education
Barbara James 832
Roy Southerland 788
Bruce Andre Williams 347
Vickey Sheppard 913
Robert J. Darden 271
Lafayette Little-Avant 194
Vincent Nunez 91
Hernando Pulido 178
Bridget B. Rivers 935
Agurs Linward Cathcart Jr. 1,320
Terri Briggs 598
Total 6,468 
2005 Plainfield BOE Unexp. Term
Frank Cuevas 496
Reno B. Wilkins 120
Patricia I. Barksdale 1,228
Ozzie Sims 62
David Graves 162
Total 2,068  


6 comments:

  1. How many votes did Carmencita Pile get in 2010? She ran with Mary Burgwinkle,

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    Replies
    1. I will check. It is in my post from Plainfield Plaintalker From April 2010.

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    2. Plainfield Board of Ed. Unexpired Term
      16/16 100.00%
      Under Votes 473
      Over Votes 0
      Vote Count Percent
      Non - CARMENCITA PILE 494 20.40%
      Non - CLAYTON L. TUCKER, Sr. 679 28.05%
      Non - KEISHA EDWARDS 1,059 43.74%
      Non - DENISE RILEY 187 7.72%
      PersonalChoice 2 0.08%
      Total 2,421 100.00%

      Delete
  2. It's naive to think that moving the B of E elections from fall to spring will curb political factions from running and financing board candidates. With a 186 million dollar budget it’s just to tempting for Politicians. Moving the election just lowers voter turnouts and cost taxpayers money – and then once again very small portions of the residents decide the fate of our schools. Has that benefitted our school system?

    And for a current board member to be so obtuse by justifying lower resident participation in a spring election because the electorate is “ill informed”, and then say the process will become more of a “legitimate electoral contest” baffles me. The President of the School board was elected in a city of 50,000 plus with 766 votes. This is “empowerment” for the people?

    And it is misleading to state that in a spring election the electorate has voting power over the budget, (in a November election we don’t). Yeah, maybe there’s a lever on the voting machine to pull for a vote on the budget but in districts formerly know as Abbot we don’t have a say. Our vote on the budget is irrelevant. The board members know this and this argument in favor should be dismissed.

    Many states have non-partisan school board elections and non-partisan municipal elections. It hasn’t made a difference, the battles are still party based and they're still influenced by money.

    At least with a higher voter turnout more residents have participated and they now have ownership, whether their ‘ill informed’ self’s know it or not.


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  3. Dorian Hurtt won his seat in 2011. He ran on the Campbell slate. In 2014 he chose to run solo but unfortunately didn't get re-elected.

    Robin B

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  4. Everyone knows that prior to the move to November, participation in the April School Board elections was abysmal. This move is a waste of taxpayer money and another prime example of how tone deaf some elected officials can be especially with regard to finances and holding the line on expenses. To spend more money "rolling out the machines" in the Spring sounds like a move to limit participation rather than making it convenient for voters to cast their ballots at the same time other elections are being decided. This move should have been on the November ballot for all of Plainfield to decide.

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