Republican-backed Orange County Board of Education members are looking to defend their seats in three separate races against Democrat-backed challengers in tonight’s primary election.
Here are the initial results from the Orange County Registrar of Voters in the board of education races shortly at the end of election night.
Incumbent Jorge Valdes was ahead of opponent Beatriz Mendoza with about 61% of the 33,061 votes counted so far to represent area 1 which encompasses parts of Anaheim, Santa Ana and Tustin.
Incumbent Ken Williams was ahead of opponent Nancy Watkins with 55% of the 74,210 votes counted so far to represent area 3 which stretches from the county line in Brea down to Irvine.
Incumbent Tim Shaw was ahead of opponent David Johnson with about 62% of the 50,444 votes counted so far to represent area 4 which stretches from the county line in La Habra that covers Fullerton, Buena Park, Garden Grove and stretches down to Westminster.
Unlike other county-level races, there are no runoffs in November – so the top vote-getter in the primary election wins each seat outright.
OC Board of Education
Republicans have long held a majority on the board, which mainly oversees the county’s department of education budget and charter school applications.
The outcome of the election could have an impact on the growth of charter schools locally with incumbent candidates receiving tens of thousands of dollars in financial backing from charter school advocates.
[Read: Voters to Decide Who Sits on The Orange County Board of Education]
It’s a race that’s pitting public school interests against charter school interests.
The incumbents have been backed by charter school advocates and the challengers have been backed by California’s teacher association.
Unlike city, county and state government campaigns, the county board of education has no limits on how much donors can directly spend on their preferred candidates.
[Read: Orange County’s Wild West of Campaign Finance: The Board of Education]
OC Board of Education has no say over curriculum at school districts across the county, but the board has gained attention in recent years tackling a host of controversial issues and lawsuits – including suing Gov. Gavin Newsom for school closures during the pandemic.
This also includes a proposal to ban communism indoctrination, hosting panels on state ethnic studies requirements and recommending schools reopen without mask mandates or social distancing during the height of the pandemic.
Most recently, a lawsuit filed in January accused Trustee Ken Williams of attacking and choking a 20-year-old driver on a street last year.
[Read: OC Board of Education Incumbent Accused of Assault and Battery in Road Rage Incident]
Hosam Elattar is a Voice of OC reporter and corps member with Report for America, a GroundTruth initiative. Contact him at helattar@voiceofoc.org or on Twitter @ElattarHosam.
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