Orange County School Board Incumbents, Superintendent Poised for Victory
Each of the 3 incumbents on the Orange County Board of Education, along with Superintendent Al Mijares, are poised to win another term in the election.
Each incumbent leads the race by a broad margin since Thursday night, according to the Orange County Registrar of Voters.
Unlike a lot of races, the board’s June elections are last when licensed, indicating prospects that win this election can formally declare seats on the board.
Mijares, who has actually acted as superintendent because 2012, gotten 55.1 percent of the vote, while opposition Stefan Bean– a superintendent handling the Los Angeles area of charter school system Aspire Public Schools– is at 44.8 percent.
In the race for District 2– which covers the southwest part of the county– incumbent and board president Mari Barke leads with 59.8 percent of the vote, while challenger Martha Fluor, a previous Newport-Mesa Unified school board member for 29 years, gotten 30.3 percent of the vote, and designer Christopher Ganiere tracks with 9.8 percent.
Incumbent Lisa Sparks has the best lead in the race for seaside District 5 with 65.1 percent of the vote, while challenger Sherine Smith, a previous superintendent of Laguna Beach Unified School District, routes with 34.8 percent.
In northwest Orange County’s District 4, prospects are going to fill a partial term– the staying 2 years left by incumbent Tim Shaw, who was chosen to the seat in 2020 and has actually been momentarily obstructed from serving on the board due to a current court judgment.
Shaw resigned from the board in November 2021 over a claim that declared he had a dispute of interest by serving on both the board and the La Habra City Council at the same time. Simply one month later on, nevertheless, his fellow trustees voted to re-appoint him to his old seat.
In April, Shaw was obstructed by a judge from serving on the board once again due to another claim that declares Shaw’s re-appointment broke state law.
Shaw is presently leading the District 4 race with 50.8 percent of the vote while challenger Paulette Chaffee– a lawyer, previous instructor, and better half of the county Supervisor Dough Chaffee– acquired 30.3 percent.
Other District 4 prospects Ellisa Kim, an entrepreneur, and David Choi, an accounting professional, path behind at 10.4 percent and 8.3 percent respectively.
Shaw informed The Epoch Times he feels “relieved” to see his election numbers up until now, which he eagerly anticipates putting the previous year behind him.
” It was a long project, however I’m grateful to the citizens for offering me this chance and enjoyed be re-joining my terrific associates, putting the political things behind us, coming down to work for the schools,” Shaw stated.
Shaw stated the incumbents’ prominent numbers inform him Orange County citizens supported the trustees’ positions on education.
” People understand what we meant and what our companied believe,” Shaw stated. “I believe it’s validating of the positions we’ve been taking in favor of adult option … and versus the sexualization of kids and other strange curriculum coming out of Sacramento. We stand versus that, and I believe the citizens of Orange County concur.”
Though Mijares presently leads the surveys, Shaw– who backed Bean in addition to Barke, Sparks, and fellow trustee Ken Williams– stated he has actually talked with election professionals and is still not sure of the superintendent race’s result.
The board bulk has actually taken legal action against Mijares several times in the previous couple of years, arguing that the board needs to have more control of the education department’s spending plan instead of the superintendent having the last word.
Though the vibrant in between board trustees and Mijares has actually been strained in the past, both Mijares and Shaw revealed a desire to move previous distinctions.
” Whoever wins, I’m pleased to deal with a superintendent who will appreciate the authorities of the board, and the board [will] regard the authorities of the superintendent,” Shaw stated. “If we might have a great working relationship, that would be perfect and something I’m more than delighted to take part in.”
” We need to keep in mind that is necessary to us, where possible, to lay aside our political distinctions and discover commonalities in order to better serve our trainees and their households, along with the personnel and professors who serve them,” Mijares stated, according to the Orange County Register.
The election outcomes will be accredited on July 7.
Trustee Mari Barke was not right away readily available for remark.
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Source: Orange County School Board Incumbents, Superintendent Poised for Victory