Candidates seeking to run in the special election for an open seat on the Moreno Valley Unified School District in California must file by February 8. The election to fill the vacant Area 5 seat on the board of education will be held on May 7.

 

The seat was originally vacated in August 2018. Evan Morgan resigned his position following his arraignment on criminal charges, which Morgan said he feared would distract from his work on the board. The Board of Education appointed Darrell Peeden to the seat in October 2018, but the community had 30 days following Peeden’s appointment to gather signatures from 1.5 percent of Trustee Area 5 voters—or 231 signatures—for an election to be called. Community members turned in 318 valid signatures. The appointment was overturned in December, and the special election was called.

 

This is the second such special election to be called in the school district this decade. In May 2013, the school district appointed Gary Baugh to a vacant at-large seat on the board. Following a similar petition drive, Baugh vacated the seat in June of that year and stood for election in November. He won the special election and served until 2018.