John Sluder

John Sluder was a candidate for the District E seat on the Mesa County Valley School District 51 School Board in Colorado. He lost election to the board against incumbent Greg Mikolai on November 5, 2013.

Biography[edit]

Email editor@ballotpedia.org to notify us of updates to this biography.

Sluder is a Colorado native, having lived in Grand Junction for 25 years. He is a businessman and has been an educator for the last 15 years at Western Colorado Community College.^[1]

Elections[edit]

2013[edit]

See also: Mesa County Valley School District 51 elections (2013)

Sluder lost to incumbent Greg Mikolai for the District E seat on November 5, 2013.

Results[edit]

Mesa County Valley School District 51, District E General Election, 4-year term, 2013
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Greg Mikolai Incumbent	51.9%	18,931
	Nonpartisan	John Sluder	48.1%	17,569
Total Votes				36,500
Source: Mesa County, Colorado, "2013 Coordinated Election," accessed December 16, 2013

Funding[edit]

Sluder reported $8,108.00 in contributions and $7,907.97 in expenditures to the Colorado Secretary of State, which left his campaign with $200.03 on hand.^[2]

Endorsements[edit]

Sluder was endorsed by the Mesa County Republican Women.^[3]

Campaign themes[edit]

Sluder stated the following about his vision on his website:^[4]

I have a vision that supports the kind of real-world education our 21st Century learners will need to meet the challenges of a changing and very competitive world. I’ve formulated my vision for students in Mesa County through years of experience as an educator, and in the private sector. My vision, core values, and leadership skills are what drives me in my effort to ensure that School District 51 offers the best education possible to our kids.

The conditions of the 21st Century workplace demand that we offer multiple pathways for students and parents to access the education that is best for them. The economic conditions of today demand that we have a shared accountability to make sure our schools thrive, even when budgets are tight. Mine is a vision that brings together the entire community in that shared accountability, because it makes good sense for families, schools, and for the business community which is counting on a skilled, well-educated workforce.

My opponent receives his funding from organizations which oppose the changes and innovations that will help our kids succeed in the 21st Century. My opponent would keep us in the 20th Century, where school policies protect unions, instead of students. My opponent appears to more committed to his union donors, than to the vision of a great education for students in Mesa County.

Note: The above quote is from the candidate's website, which may include some typographical or spelling errors.

About the district[edit]

Mesa County Valley School District 51 is located in Mesa County, Colorado

Mesa County Valley School District 51 is located in Mesa County, Colorado. According to the 2010 US Census, Mesa County is home to 146,723 residents.^[5]

Demographics[edit]

Mesa County underperformed in terms of its average household income, poverty rate and higher education achievement in 2011 compared to the state of Colorado. The median household income in Mesa County is $52,986 compared to $57,685 statewide. The poverty rate in Mesa County is 12.7% compared to 12.5% for the entire state. The U.S. Census also found that 26.1% of Mesa County residents aged 25 years and older attained a Bachelor's degree compared to 36.3% in Colorado as a whole.^[5]

Racial Demographics, 2012^[5]
Race	Mesa County (%)	State (%)
White	94.4	88.1
Black or African American	0.9	4.3
American Indian and Alaska Native	1.6	1.6
Asian	0.9	3.0
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander	0.1	0.2
Two or More Races	2.2	2.8
Hispanic or Latino	13.7	21.0

Party Affiliation, 2013^[6]
Party	Registered Voters	% of Total
Unaffiliated	28,607	34.1
Democratic	16,702	19.9
Republican	37,549	44.8
Libertarian	619	0.7
Green	154	0.2
American Constitution	244	0.3

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.

Recent news[edit]

This section links to a Google news search for the term "John + Sluder + Mesa + County + Valley + School + District + 51"

John Sluder News Feed

External links[edit]

Suggest a link

District page

Footnotes[edit]

[1] John Sluder, accessed November 1, 2013

[2] Colorado TRACER, "Candidate Detail," accessed December 19, 2013

[3] Emily Shockley, The Daily Sentinel, "Mesa County Democrats shun endorsements in school races," published October 7, 2013

[4] John Sluder, "Home," accessed November 1, 2013

[Census-5] 5.0 ^5.1 ^5.2 United States Census Bureau, "Mesa County, Colorado," accessed October 31, 2013

[voterreg-6] Colorado Secretary of State, "Total Registered Voters By Party Affiliation and Status," accessed October 4, 2013

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

	v • e State of Colorado Denver (capital)
Elections	What's on my ballot? \| Elections in 2022 \| How to vote \| How to run for office \| Ballot measures
Government	Who represents me? \| U.S. President \| U.S. Congress \| Federal courts \| State executives \| State legislature \| State and local courts \| Counties \| Cities \| School districts \| Public policy