2014 Caddo Parish Public Schools Elections
Primary Election Date November 4, 2014
General Election Date December 6, 2014
Table of Contents
About the district Method of election Elections Key deadlines Additional elections External links
See also
Louisiana Caddo Parish Public Schools Caddo Parish, Louisiana ballot measures Local ballot measures, Louisiana

Twelve seats on the Caddo Parish School Board were up for election on November 4, 2014. Incumbents for all districts were up for re-election. The qualifying period for candidates ran from August 20, 2014, to August 22, 2014. General elections were held December 6, 2014, for races where primary election winners failed to garner a majority vote. Candidates who were unopposed at the end of the filing period were considered elected as of that date.^[1]

Louisiana elections use the Louisiana majority-vote system. All candidates compete in the same primary, and a candidate can win the election outright by receiving more than 50% of the vote. If no candidate does, the top two vote recipients from the primary advance to the general election, regardless of their partisan affiliation.

Seven of the 12 districts saw contested races. The majority of these races pitted incumbents against single challengers. Incumbent Carl A. Pierson Sr. (D) was defeated by Margaret A. Brown (D) in District 3. Incumbent Charlotte Crawley (D) was also unseated after losing to Susannah Walter Poljak (I) in District 4. Incumbents Larry Ramsey (R) and Dottie H. Bell (D) faced challengers Dock Voorhies (D) and Annetta Garner (D) in Districts 10 and 12, respectively. Bell defeated Garner. Voorhies, however, withdrew prior to the election, which made Ramsey automatically re-elected without opposition.

Additionally, the District 7 seat was open as incumbent Lillian Priest (D) did not file to run for re-election. Raymond E. Green (D) and Joy Ellis Walters (D) vied for the seat, which Green won in the primary election.

Only Districts 2, 8 and 11 saw more than two candidates on the ballot. No candidate received a majority vote in any of the three districts, which made all three proceed to a general election. In District 2, incumbent Jasmine R. Green (D) faced challengers Jackie Dozier (D) and Barbara Johnson Simpson (D). Green retained her seat after defeating Simpson in the general election. District 11 incumbent Ginger Armstrong (R) faced Kacee Hargrave Kirschvink (R) and Parker G. Ward (R). Kirschvink defeated Armstrong in the general election.

District 8 was the largest race in the school district. Denee Locke (R), Rachel Sexton Penwell (R) and Emma Luster Shepard (D) all challenged incumbent Bonita Crawford (R). Crawford lost her seat to Locke in the general election.

Three of the races had unopposed candidates who were automatically elected as of August 22, 2014. District 1 and 6 incumbents Steve Riall (R) and Mary A. Trammel (D) won re-election without opposition. Newcomer Bonita Douzart (D) ran unopposed for the District 5 seat, which was open as incumbent Curtis Hooks (D) did not file to run for re-election. Roy Desoto (I) had filed to challenge incumbent Barry F. Rachal (R) in District 9, but withdrew on September 9, 2014. Rachal was automatically elected to retain his seat.

About the district[edit]

See also: Caddo Parish Public Schools, Louisiana

Caddo Parish Public Schools lies in northwestern Louisiana in Caddo Parish. The seat of parish government is Shreveport. Caddo Parish was home to approximately 254,887 residents according to 2013 estimates by the United States Census Bureau. In the 2011-2012 school year, Caddo Parish was the third-largest school district in Louisiana and served 41,667 students.^[2]

Demographics[edit]

Caddo Parish slightly overperformed compared to the rest of Louisiana in terms of higher education achievement in 2012. The United States Census Bureau found that 22 percent of Caddo Parish residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree compared to 21.4 percent for Louisiana as a whole. The median household income for the parish was $40,497 compared to $44,673 statewide. The poverty rate in the parish was 19.3 percent compared to 18.7 percent for the entire state.^[2]

Racial Demographics, 2013[2] Race Caddo Parish (%) Louisiana (%) White 48.8 63.5 Black or African American 48.0 32.4 American Indian and Alaska Native 0.5 0.8 Asian 1.2 1.7 Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 0.1 0.1 Two or More Races 1.4 1.5 Hispanic or Latino 2.7 4.7

Presidential Voting Pattern, Caddo Parish[3] Year Democratic Vote Republican Vote 2012 58,042 52,459 2008 55,536 52,228 2004 54,292 51,739 2000 47,530 46,807

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[edit]

The Caddo Parish School Board consists of 12 partisan members who serve four-year terms. All of the members are elected concurrently by district. This means that regular school board elections are held every four years with all 12 members being up for re-election at that time. Additionally, all members are elected by an area or district which they represent.^[4] Board members are term limited to three consecutive terms starting with terms beginning on or after January 1, 2015. Any member who, at the end of his or her term, has served more than two and one-half terms in the last three consecutive terms cannot be re-elected in the following term. However, they can be re-elected following a one term break.^[5]

The primary election was held on November 4, 2014. School board candidates in Louisiana are elected by majority vote, which means the winner must receive more than 50 percent of the votes cast. If no candidate in a race received a majority vote, the two candidates receiving the most votes in the primary election proceed to a general election. A general election was held on December 6, 2014.^[5][1]

School board candidates were required to file a Notice of Candidacy or Qualifying Form during the qualifying period which ran from August 20, 2014, to August 22, 2014. At the same time, they were required to either pay a qualifying fee of $115.00 or submit a nominating petition with 100 valid signatures.^[6]

To vote in the primary election, voters were required to register by October 6, 2014. Early voting ran between October 21, 2014, and October 28, 2014. Voters were required to be registered by November 5, 2014, to vote in the general election. The general election early voting period ran from November 22, 2014, to November 29, 2014.^[7]

Elections[edit]

2014[edit]

Candidates[edit]

District 1[edit]

Steve Riall

• Incumbent

District 2[edit]

Jasmine R. Green

• Incumbent

Barbara Johnson Simpson

Candidate defeated in the primary election:
Jackie Dozier

District 3[edit]

Carl A. Pierson, Sr.

• Incumbent

Margaret A. Brown

District 4[edit]

Charlotte Crawley

• Incumbent

Susannah Walter Poljak

District 5[edit]

Bonita Douzart

District 6[edit]

Mary A. Trammel

• Incumbent

District 7[edit]

Raymond E. Green
Joy Ellis Walters

District 8[edit]

Bonita Crawford

• Incumbent

Denee Locke

Candidates defeated in the primary election:
Rachel Sexton Penwell
Emma Luster Shepard

District 9[edit]

Barry F. Rachal

• Incumbent

Roy Desoto - Withdrew

District 10[edit]

Larry Ramsey

• Incumbent

Dock Voorhies - Withdrew

District 11[edit]

Ginger Armstrong

• Incumbent

Kacee Hargrave Kirschvink

Candidate defeated in the primary election:
Parker G. Ward

District 12[edit]

Dottie H. Bell

• Incumbent

Annetta Garner

Election results[edit]

District 2: General Election[edit]

Caddo Parish Public Schools, District 2 General Election, 4-year term, 2014
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Jasmine R. Green Incumbent	55.3%	2,657
	Democratic	Barbara Johnson Simpson	44.7%	2,148
Total Votes				4,805
Source: Louisiana Secretary of State, "Official Results," accessed December 30, 2014

District 8: General Election[edit]

Caddo Parish Public Schools, District 8 General Election, 4-year term, 2014
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Denee Locke	60.3%	4,173
	Republican	Bonita Crawford Incumbent	39.7%	2,749
Total Votes				6,922
Source: Louisiana Secretary of State, "Official Results," accessed December 30, 2014

District 11: General Election[edit]

Caddo Parish Public Schools, District 11 General Election, 4-year term, 2014
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Kacee Hargrave Kirschvink	57%	3,449
	Republican	Ginger Armstrong Incumbent	43%	2,597
Total Votes				6,046
Source: Louisiana Secretary of State, "Official Results," accessed December 30, 2014

District 1[edit]

Steve Riall (R) was re-elected without opposition on August 22, 2014.

District 2[edit]

Caddo Parish Public Schools, District 2 Primary Election, 4-year term, 2014
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Jasmine R. Green Incumbent	42%	2,031
	Democratic	Barbara Johnson Simpson	36.8%	1,780
	Democratic	Jackie Dozier	21.1%	1,021
Total Votes				4,832
Source: Louisiana Secretary of State, "Official Results," accessed November 6, 2014

District 3[edit]

Caddo Parish Public Schools, District 3 Primary Election, 4-year term, 2014
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Margaret A. Brown	51.9%	1,992
	Democratic	Carl A. Pierson Sr. Incumbent	48.1%	1,845
Total Votes				3,837
Source: Louisiana Secretary of State, "Official Results," accessed November 6, 2014

District 4[edit]

Caddo Parish Public Schools, District 4 Primary Election, 4-year term, 2014
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Independent	Susannah Walter Poljak	57.5%	3,332
	Democratic	Charlotte Crawley Incumbent	42.5%	2,462
Total Votes				5,794
Source: Louisiana Secretary of State, "Official Results," accessed November 6, 2014

District 5[edit]

Bonita Douzart (D) was elected without opposition on August 22, 2014.

District 6[edit]

Mary A. Trammel (D) was re-elected without opposition on August 22, 2014.

District 7[edit]

Caddo Parish Public Schools, District 7 Primary Election, 4-year term, 2014
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Raymond E. Green	60.3%	2,986
	Democratic	Joy Ellis Walters	39.7%	1,963
Total Votes				4,949
Source: Louisiana Secretary of State, "Official Results," accessed November 6, 2014

District 8[edit]

Caddo Parish Public Schools, District 8 Primary Election, 4-year term, 2014
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Denee Locke	44.3%	3,468
	Republican	Bonita Crawford Incumbent	32.6%	2,546
	Republican	Rachel Sexton Penwell	11.8%	925
	Democratic	Emma Luster Shepard	11.3%	881
Total Votes				7,820
Source: Louisiana Secretary of State, "Official Results," accessed November 6, 2014

District 9[edit]

Barry F. Rachal (R) was re-elected without opposition on September 9, 2014, after his opponent, Roy Desoto (I), withdrew from the race.

District 10[edit]

Larry Ramsey (R) was re-elected without opposition after his opponent withdrew from the race.

District 11[edit]

Caddo Parish Public Schools, District 11 Primary Election, 4-year term, 2014
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Kacee Hargrave Kirschvink	47.9%	3,082
	Republican	Ginger Armstrong Incumbent	42.5%	2,736
	Republican	Parker G. Ward	9.6%	615
Total Votes				6,433
Source: Louisiana Secretary of State, "Official Results," accessed November 6, 2014

District 12[edit]

Caddo Parish Public Schools, District 12 Primary Election, 4-year term, 2014
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Dottie H. Bell Incumbent	62.3%	3,908
	Democratic	Annetta Garner	37.7%	2,361
Total Votes				6,269
Source: Louisiana Secretary of State, "Official Results," accessed November 6, 2014

Endorsements[edit]

Carl A. Pierson Sr. (D), Charlotte Crawley (D), Joy Ellis Walters (D) and Dottie H. Bell (D) were fully endorsed by Red River United, the Central Trades and Labor Council of Shreveport and Vicinity (CTLC), AFL-CIO and the Committee on Political Education (COPE). The same groups also gave a "favorable" rating to the following candidates: Barbara Johnson Simpson (D), Jasmine R. Green (D), Denee Locke (R), Bonita Crawford (R), Kacee Hargrave Kirschvink (R) and Ginger Armstrong (R).^[8]

Campaign finance[edit]

Candidates received a total of $88,374.26 and spent a total of $32,673.19 during the election, according to the Louisiana Ethics Administration Program as of October 29, 2014. The following cash on hand totals include existing account balances from prior campaigns, and the receipts totals include in-kind contributions, monetary contributions and loans. Citizens for a Better Caddo, Inc., a political action committee (PAC), also spent money in the election supporting Susannah Walter Poljak (I) and Kacee Hargrave Kirschvink (R). As of reports available on October 30, 2014, the PAC had received a total $27,300.00 and spent a total of $19,415.61.^[9]

District 1[edit]

In the District 1 race, no contributions or expenditures were reported.

District 2[edit]

In the District 2 race, candidates received $6,283.61 and spent a total of $4,852.49.

Candidate	Starting balance	Receipts	Disbursements	Cash on hand
Jasmine R. Green	$0.00	$100.00	$100.00	$0.00
Jackie Dozier	$0.00	$2,478.61	$1,629.49	$41.51
Barbara Johnson Simpson	$0.00	$3705.00	$3,123.00	$873.00

District 3[edit]

In the District 3 race, candidates received $3,800.00 and spent a total of $1,554.47.

Candidate	Starting balance	Receipts	Disbursements	Cash on hand
Carl A. Pierson Sr.	$184.49	$3,800.00	$1,554.47	$2,430.02
Margaret A. Brown	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00

District 4[edit]

In the District 4 race, candidates received $17,604.22 and spent a total of $5,640.26.

Candidate	Starting balance	Receipts	Disbursements	Cash on hand
Charlotte Crawley	$0.00	$8,904.22	$5,640.26	$3,263.96
Susannah Walter Poljak	$0.00	$8,700.00	$0.00	$8,700.00

District 5[edit]

In the District 5 race, Douzart received $130.00 and spent a total of $130.00.

Candidate	Starting balance	Receipts	Disbursements	Cash on hand
Bonita Douzart	$0.00	$130.00	$130.00	$0.00

District 6[edit]

In the District 6 race, no contributions or expenditures were reported.

District 7[edit]

In the District 7 race, candidates received $1,560.00 and spent a total of $200.00.

Candidate	Starting balance	Receipts	Disbursements	Cash on hand
Raymond E. Green	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Joy Ellis Walters	$0.00	$1,560.00	$200.00	$1,360.00

District 8[edit]

In the District 8 race, candidates received $21,760.57 and spent a total of $4,847.30.

Candidate	Starting balance	Receipts	Disbursements	Cash on hand
Bonita Crawford	$0.00	$2,000.00	$0.00	$2,000.00
Denee Locke	$0.00	$17,700.00	$3,791.46	$13,608.54
Rachel Sexton Penwell	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Emma Luster Shepard	$0.00	$2,060.57	$1,055.84	$1,004.73

District 9[edit]

In the District 9 race, candidates received $1,300.00 and spent a total of $0.00.

Candidate	Starting balance	Receipts	Disbursements	Cash on hand
Barry F. Rachal	$0.00	$1,300.00	$0.00	$1,300.00
Roy Desoto	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00

District 10[edit]

In the District 10 race, candidates received $4,213.90 and spent a total of $2,111.80.

Candidate	Starting balance	Receipts	Disbursements	Cash on hand
Larry Ramsey	$808.80	$3,627.90	$1,525.80	$2,910.90
Dock Voorhies	$0.00	$586.00	$586.00	$0.00

District 11[edit]

In the District 11 race, candidates received $19,971.96 and spent a total of $8,490.43.

Candidate	Starting balance	Receipts	Disbursements	Cash on hand
Ginger Armstrong	$0.00	$2,500.00	$1,698.10	$802.90
Kacee Hargrave Kirschvink	$0.00	$16,117.96	$5,837.38	$10,280.58
Parker G. Ward	$0.00	$1,354.00	$954.95	$399.05

District 12[edit]

In the District 12 race, candidates received $11,750.00 and spent a total of $4,846.44.

Candidate	Starting balance	Receipts	Disbursements	Cash on hand
Dottie H. Bell	$0.00	$4,820.00	$3,786.21	$1,033.79
Annetta Garner	$0.00	$6,930.00	$1,060.23	$5,869.77

Past elections[edit]

Information about earlier elections can be found by clicking [show] at the right.

2011 Special election Caddo Parish Public Schools, District 3 Special Election, 3-year term, 2011 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Democratic Carl A. Pierson Sr. 51.1% 1,213      Democratic Debra Duty Seamster 28.7% 681      Democratic Brenda Harrison-Alexander 20.2% 478 Total Votes 2,372 Source: Louisiana Secretary of State, "Official Election Results," accessed October 2, 2014 2010 General election District 2 Caddo Parish Public Schools, District 2 General Election, 4-year term, 2010 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Democratic Jasmine R. Green 54% 2,803      Democratic Lyndon B. Johnson 46% 2,388 Total Votes 5,191 Source: Louisiana Secretary of State, "Official Election Results," accessed September 3, 2014 primary election District 1 Steve Riall was unopposed in the primary election.[10] District 2 Caddo Parish Public Schools, District 2 primary election, 4-year term, 2010 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Democratic Jasmine R. Green 46% 1,541      Democratic Lyndon B. Johnson 32.5% 1,088      Republican Steven Scott Wilson 21.5% 718 Total Votes 3,347 Source: Louisiana Secretary of State, "Official Election Results," accessed September 3, 2014 District 3 Caddo Parish Public Schools, District 3 primary election, 4-year term, 2010 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Democratic Willie Burton 71.7% 1,600      Democratic Brenda Harrison-Alexander 28.3% 630 Total Votes 2,230 Source: Louisiana Secretary of State, "Official Election Results," accessed September 3, 2014 District 4 Charlotte Crawley was unopposed in the primary election.[10] District 5 Caddo Parish Public Schools, District 5 primary election, 4-year term, 2010 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Democratic Curtis L. Hooks 52.1% 1,162      Independent Frederic D. Washington 34.5% 770      Democratic Ronnie Banks, Sr. 13.3% 297 Total Votes 2,229 Source: Louisiana Secretary of State, "Official Election Results," accessed September 3, 2014 District 6 Mary A. Trammel was unopposed in the primary election.[10] District 7 Lillian Priest faced no opposition in the primary election.[10] District 8 Bonita Crawford faced no challengers in the primary election.[10] District 9 Barry F. Rachal won the seat without any opposition.[10] District 10 Larry Ramsey was unopposed in the primary election.[10] District 11 Ginger Armstrong faced no challengers in the primary election.[10] District 12 Dottie H. Bell won the election. Michael Collins originally filed to run against her in the primary election, but was disqualified from the race.[10]

Key deadlines[edit]

The following dates were key deadlines for the Caddo Parish Schools election in 2014.^[6][7][11]

Deadline	Event
August 20-22, 2014	Qualifying period for candidates
October 5, 2014	30th day prior to election campaign finance report due
October 6, 2014	Last day to register to vote in the primary election
October 21, 2014	Early voting begins
October 25, 2014	10th day prior to election campaign finance report due
October 28, 2014	Early voting ends
November 4, 2014	Election Day
November 5, 2014	Last day to register to vote in general election
November 22, 2014	Early voting for general election begins
November 29, 2014	Early voting ends for general election
December 6, 2014	General election, if necessary
December 14, 2014	40th day after the election campaign finance report due

Additional elections on the ballot[edit]

See also: Louisiana elections, 2014

This election shared the ballot with primary elections for the United States Senate, the mayor of Shreveport and the City Marshal City Court. The primary election served as the determining election for the United States House of Representatives, two down ballot state executive positions, 14 statewide ballot measures and judicial elections.^[12]

Recent news[edit]

This section links to a Google news search for the term "Caddo + Parish + Public + Schools + Louisiana"

See also[edit]

• Louisiana
• Caddo Parish Public Schools, Louisiana
• Louisiana school board elections, 2014
• List of school board elections in 2014
• School board elections, 2014
• Caddo Parish, Louisiana ballot measures
• Local ballot measures, Louisiana

External links[edit]

• Caddo Parish Public Schools
• Caddo Parish Clerk of Court

Footnotes[edit]

2014 Caddo Parish Public Schools Elections
Caddo Parish, Louisiana
Election date:	November 4, 2014
Candidates:	District 1: • Incumbent, Steve Riall District 2: • Incumbent, Jasmine R. Green • Jackie Dozier • Barbara Johnson Simpson District 3: • Incumbent, Carl A. Pierson • Margaret A. Brown District 4: • Incumbent, Charlotte Crawley • Susannah Walter Poljak District 5: • Bonita Douzart District 6: • Incumbent, Mary A. Trammel District 7: • Raymond E. Green • Joy Ellis Walters District 8: • Incumbent, Bonita Crawford • Denee Locke • Rachel Sexton Penwell • Emma Luster Shepard District 9: • Incumbent, Barry F. Rachal • Roy Desoto District 10: • Incumbent, Larry Ramsey • Dock Voorhies District 11: • Incumbent, Ginger Armstrong • Kacee Hargrave Kirschvink • Parker G. Ward District 12: • Incumbent, Dottie H. Bell • Annetta Garner
Important information:	Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot

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