The lineup is set for the WCCUSD 2016 race for two board seats:

• Antonio Alvarez Medrano
• Mister Phillips
• Don Gosney
• Carlos Taboada
• Tom Panas
• Miriam Stephanie Sequeira
• Ayana Young

Incumbents Running

There are no incumbents running. This may be a first for WCCUSD. I have data going back to the 1995 race. There has never been a race during this time in which no incumbents ran.

Randy Enos and Todd Groves are both one-term board members, yet neither wants another go at it. I’ve asked each why, but I haven’t really gotten a response yet.

Competitiveness of Race

The most competitive race was in 1999, if you measure competition as the number of candidates divided by the number of seats. In that election, Pat Player and George Harris bumped incumbent Andrea “not a team player” Pitt-Harris off the board. This election is tied for second with 2004 when Dave Brown and Karen Pfeifer were elected.

Quick Facts on the Candidates

• 3 of them are members of the Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee: Medrano, Gosney, and Panas
• 4 of them are more or less retired (still active though in organizations): Medrano, Gosney, Taboada, and Panas
• 3 of them have run before: Medrano (2006, 2008, 2012), Phillips (2014), and Young (2014)
• 1 was on the board before (elected 2008), but was voted out (in 2012): Medrano
• 4 have had or have children in WCCUSD: Phillips, Panas, Sequeira, and Young
• 2 have worked as career teachers*: Medrano and Taboada
• 2 were already running when the teachers union had an early bird May endorsement process: Medrano and Panas (Xavier Abrams and Peter Chau were interviewed, but didn’t continue in the race)
• 1 candidate often goes by a different last name from her ballot last name: “Stephanie Chavarria” instead of “Miriam Stephanie Sequeira”
• 5 / 2 by gender: 5 are men; 2 are women
• 2 / 3 / 2 by ethnicity: 2 are black; 3 are Hispanic; 2 are white
• 0 are current incumbents

Contact Info

I’m keeping an updated candidate contact info page for the election that also includes Area 1 (covering most of WCCUSD) for the county board of education. Here’s what I have for WCCUSD so far: