South Washington County Schools elections (2013)

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2013 South Washington County Schools Elections

* * *

General Election date:
November 5, 2013
Table of Contents
About the district
Method of election
Elections
What was at stake?
Key deadlines
Additional elections
External links
See also
Minnesota
South Washington County Schools
Washington County, Minnesota ballot measures
Local ballot measures, Minnesota

Five seats on the South Washington County Schools school board were up for general election on November 5, 2013.

Incumbents Tracy Brunnette and Katy McElwee-Stevens and newcomers Katie Schwartz and Sharon H. Van Leer defeated ten challengers to win the four at-large seats with full terms, including incumbent David G. Kemper. Incumbent Laurie Johnson defeated Susan Richardson and David W. Firkus to win an at-large seat with an unexpired two-year term.

## Contents

* 1 About the district
* 1.1 Demographics
* 2 Method of board member selection
* 3 Elections
* 3.1 2013
* 3.1.1 Candidates
* 4 At-large (4 year term)
* 5 At-large (2 year term)
* 5.1 Election results
* 5.2 Endorsements
* 5.3 Campaign finance
* 5.4 Past elections
* 5.4.1 2011
* 5.5 What was at stake?
* 5.6 Key deadlines
* 5.7 Additional elections on the ballot
* 5.8 See also
* 5.9 External links
* 5.10 Footnotes

## About the district[edit]

See also: South Washington County Schools, Minnesota

South Washington County Schools is located in Washington County, Minnesota.

South Washington County Schools is located in Washington County, Minnesota. The county seat of Washington County is Stillwater. As of the 2010 Census, the county was home to 246,603 residents.[1] In the 2011-2012 school year, South Washington County Schools was the sixth-largest school district in Minnesota and served 17,858 students.[2]

### Demographics[edit]

Washington County outperformed the rest of Minnesota in terms of higher education achievement in 2013. The United States Census Bureau found that 40.5 percent of Washington County residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree compared to 32.6 percent for Minnesota as a whole. The median household income in Washington County was $81,540 compared to $59,836 for the state of Minnesota. The poverty rate in Washington County was 5.7 percent compared to 11.5 percent for the entire state.[1]

|  Racial Demographics, 2013[1]

Race  | Washington County (%)  | Minnesota (%)
White | 87.9 | 86.2
Black or African American | 4.2 | 5.7
American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.5 | 1.3
Asian | 5.3 | 4.5
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander | 0.1 | 0.1
Two or More Races | 2.0 | 2.3
Hispanic or Latino | 3.7 | 5.0

|  Presidential Voting Pattern, Washington County[3]

Year  | Democratic Vote  | Republican Vote
2012 | 70,203 | 69,137
2008 | 70,277 | 64,334
2004 | 61,395 | 65,751
2000 | 49,637 | 51,502

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.

## Method of board member selection[edit]

The South Washington County school board consists of seven members elected to four-year terms at-large by the district as a whole. There was no primary election and the general election was held on November 5, 2013. Five seats were on the ballot in 2013. One of those seats was a special election for a two-year term.[4]

Candidates began filing affidavits of candidacy on July 30. The filing deadline for school board candidates to get on the ballot in the 2013 general election was August 13.[5]

## Elections[edit]

### 2013[edit]

#### Candidates[edit]

# At-large (4 year term)[edit]

* Tracy Brunnette
* Incumbent
* Graduate, University of Minnesota
* Sales management assistant, American Family Insurance

* David G. Kemper
* Incumbent
* Graduate, Villanova University
* Network technician, CenturyLink

* Katy McElwee-Stevens
* Incumbent
* Graduate, University of Minnesota
* Paraprofessional, Newport Elementary School

* Frederick E. Hess
* Graduate, Manchester University
* Patient accounting, LifeLink III

* Katie Schwartz
* Student, Rasmussen College

* John P. Griffin, II
* Small business owner, Griffin Bail Bonds, Inc.

* Molly Lutz
* President, Woodbury Middle School PTO

* Leilani Holmstadt
* Graduate, Buena Vista College
* Small business owner

* Sharon H. Van Leer
* Graduate, Metropolitan State University
* Multicultural specialist, William Mitchell College of Law

* Raj Gandhi
* Graduate, Iowa State University
* Engineer, Medtronic

* Mike Thissen
* Health inspector

* Wayne A. Johnson
* Small business owner

* Michael P. Edman
* Graduate, William Mitchell College of Law
* Attorney, Edman Law Office

* Safiyyah Cummings
* Graduate, University of Minnesota
* Human resources professional, Saint Jude Medical

# At-large (2 year term)[edit]

* Laurie Johnson
* Incumbent
* Graduate, Iowa State University
* Strategic account manager, Thomson Reuters

* Susan Richardson
* Clinical laboratory scientist

* David W. Firkus
* System administrator, Minnesota Department of Health

#### Election results[edit]

South Washington County Schools, At-Large General Election, 4-year term, 2013

Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes
| Nonpartisan  | Katie Schwartz | 11.5% | 3,239
| Nonpartisan  | Tracy Brunnette Incumbent | 10.6% | 2,990
| Nonpartisan  | Katy McElwee-Stevens Incumbent | 9.4% | 2,648
| Nonpartisan  | Sharon H. Van Leer | 8.7% | 2,464
| Nonpartisan  |  Molly Lutz | 8.7% | 2,458
| Nonpartisan  |  David G. Kemper Incumbent | 8% | 2,267
| Nonpartisan  |  Mike Thissen | 6.7% | 1,900
| Nonpartisan  |  Michael P. Edman | 6.7% | 1,880
| Nonpartisan  |  Raj Gandhi | 6.4% | 1,803
| Nonpartisan  |  Frederick E. Hess | 5.9% | 1,679
| Nonpartisan  |  Leilani Holmstadt | 5.5% | 1,567
| Nonpartisan  |  Wayne A. Johnson | 5.5% | 1,541
| Nonpartisan  |  John P. Griffin, II | 4.7% | 1,323
| Nonpartisan  |  Safiyyah Cummings | 1.2% | 339
| Nonpartisan  |  Write-in votes  | 0.6% | 163
Total Votes | 28,261
Source: Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State, "Results for Selected Contests in School District No. 833 - South Washington County," accessed December 18, 2013 and Scott Wente, South Washington County Bulletin, "Recount confirms Van Leer District 833 School Board victory," November 22, 2013

South Washington County Schools, At-Large Special Election, 2-year term, 2013

Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes
| Nonpartisan  | Laurie Johnson Incumbent | 51.2% | 3,873
| Nonpartisan  |  Susan Richardson | 32.8% | 2,484
| Nonpartisan  |  David W. Firkus | 15.3% | 1,158
| Nonpartisan  |  Write-in votes  | 0.6% | 47
Total Votes | 7,562
Source: Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State, "Results for Selected Contests in School District No. 833 - South Washington County," accessed December 18, 2013

#### Endorsements[edit]

Sharon H. Van Leer received an endorsement for her campaign from former district superintendent Tom Nelson.[6] Leilani Holmstadt and Susan Richardson endorsed each other's candidacies.[7]

#### Campaign finance[edit]

Candidates received a total of $5,554.04 and spent a total of $5,607.14 during the election, according to South Washington County Schools.[8] David G. Kemper, Frederick E. Hess, Katie Schwartz, John P. Griffin, Raj Gandhi, Mike Thissen, Wayne A. Johnson, Michael P. Edman, Safiyyah Cummings, Laurie Johnson and David W. Firkus were not required to submit campaign finance reports since they raised and spent less than $750 each in 2013.[9] These numbers therefore do not include any contributions to or expenditures by these eleven candidates.

In the at-large race for four-year terms, candidates received a total of $4,113.62 and spent a total of $4,166.72.

Candidate  | Contributions  | Expenditures  | Cash on hand

|
|
|

Tracy Brunnette | $0.00  | $127.98  | -$127.98
David G. Kemper | $0.00  | $0.00  | $0.00
Katy McElwee-Stevens | $0.00  | $136.15  | -$136.15
Frederick E. Hess | $0.00  | $0.00  | $0.00
Katie Schwartz | $0.00  | $0.00  | $0.00
John P. Griffin, II | $0.00  | $0.00  | $0.00
Molly Lutz | $1,183.00  | $967.95  | $215.05
Leilani Holmstadt | $1,098.00  | $1,107.98  | -$9.98
Sharon H. Van Leer | $1,832.62  | $1,826.66  | $5.96
Raj Gandhi | $0.00  | $0.00  | $0.00
Mike Thissen | $0.00  | $0.00  | $0.00
Wayne A. Johnson | $0.00  | $0.00  | $0.00
Michael P. Edman | $0.00  | $0.00  | $0.00
Safiyyah Cummings | $0.00  | $0.00  | $0.00

In the at-large race for a two-year term, Susan Richardson received a total of $1,440.42 and spent a total of $1,440.42.

Candidate  | Contributions  | Expenditures  | Cash on hand

|
|
|

Laurie Johnson | $0.00  | $0.00  | $0.00
Susan Richardson | $1,440.42  | $1,440.42  | $0.00
David W. Firkus | $0.00  | $0.00  | $0.00

#### Past elections[edit]

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

|

##### 2011

| South Washington County Schools, At-Large General Election, 4-year term, 2011

Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes
| Nonpartisan  | Ron Kath Incumbent | 20.1% | 2,127
| Nonpartisan  | Jim Gelbmann Incumbent | 19.3% | 2,036
| Nonpartisan  | Leslee Boyd Incumbent | 18.6% | 1,964
| Nonpartisan  |  Katie Schwartz  | 14.2% | 1,501
| Nonpartisan  |  Joe Ryan  | 13.9% | 1,471
| Nonpartisan  |  Lezlie L. Schriver  | 8.1% | 852
| Nonpartisan  |  Steve Lagoon  | 5.4% | 572
| Nonpartisan  |  Write-in votes  | 0.5% | 50
Total Votes | 10,573
Source: Washington County, Minnesota, "Election Summary Report," accessed October 15, 2013

## What was at stake?[edit]

There were five seats on the school board up for election on November 5, 2013. Four of the seats were for normal four year terms, but the fifth seat was to fill a vacancy on the board and carried only a two year term. Board Vice-Chair Tracy Brunnette and fellow incumbents David G. Kemper and Katy McElwee-Stevens sought re-election to four year terms, while incumbent Laurie Johnson filed for the two year term. The incumbents faced a total of thirteen challengers, eleven of whom competed for the four year terms and two of whom challenged Johnson for the two year term.

## Key deadlines[edit]

The following dates were key deadlines for the South Washington County Schools election in 2013:[5]

Deadline  | Event

|

July 30, 2013 | First day to file affidavits of candidacy
August 13, 2013 | Last day to file affidavits of candidacy
November 5, 2013 | Election day

## Additional elections on the ballot[edit]

This election shared the ballot with other municipal elections and three school referendums. Question 1 passed and renewed the existing $180.35 per pupil property tax set to expire in 2013 for a ten year span and the $62.53 per pupil property tax set to expire in 2014 for a nine year span. Question 2 passed and increased the per pupil property tax to $337.00 per pupil for a ten year span beginning in 2014. Question 3 would have authorized the district to issue bonds up to $8 million in order to fund an acquisition and construction project, but it was narrowly rejected.[10]

## See also[edit]

* School board elections review: Voters opt for experience over new blood in nation's largest school districts
* School board election wrap-up: Incumbents re-elected overwhelmingly in November 5 elections
* Minnesota
* South Washington County Schools, Minnesota
* List of school board elections in 2013
* Washington County, Minnesota ballot measures
* Local ballot measures, Minnesota

## External links[edit]

| Suggest a link

|

* District page
* Washington County Elections Division

## Footnotes[edit]

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 United States Census Bureau, "Washington County, Minnesota," accessed October 15, 2013
2. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "ELSI Table Generator," accessed April 22, 2014
3. ↑ Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State, "Election Results and Statistics," accessed October 15, 2013
4. ↑ South Washington County Schools, "District Policy," accessed October 15, 2013
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Washington County, Minnesota, "Washington County 2013 Election Dates," accessed October 15, 2013
6. ↑ Van Leer for Schools, "Endorsements," accessed October 22, 2013
7. ↑ United for MN School District 833, "Leilani Holmstadt," accessed October 22, 2013
8. ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through e-mail from the Communications department of South Washington County Schools on January 3, 2014
9. ↑ Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board, "Political Committee and Political Fund Handbook," accessed December 17, 2013
10. ↑ Washington County, Minnesota, "School District Election Ballot," accessed October 15, 2013 (dead link)

v • e

2013 South Washington County Schools Elections

Elections:|

At-large Candidates (4 year term): • Incumbent, Tracy Brunnette • Incumbent, David G. Kemper • Incumbent, Katy McElwee-Stevens • Frederick E. Hess • Katie Schwartz • John P. Griffin, II • Molly Lutz • Leilani Holmstadt • Sharon H. Van Leer • Raj Gandhi • Mike Thissen • Wayne A. Johnson • Michael P. Edman • Safiyyah Cummings
At-large Candidates (2 year term): • Incumbent, Laurie Johnson • Susan Richardson • David W. Firkus

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Important information:|

• What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot

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