Both of the candidates running in the November 8, 2022, general election for San Diego Unified School District Board of Education District C —Cody Petterson and Becca Williams— completed Ballotpedia’s Candidate Connection survey. These survey responses allow voters to hear directly from candidates about what motivates them to run for office.
The San Diego Unified School District school board consists of five members elected by district to four-year terms.
Here are excerpts from candidates’ responses to the question: Who are you? Tell us about yourself.
Petterson:
“I’m a lifelong, 46-year resident of the District, a product of San Diego Unified, a UCSD lecturer, a policymaker, and a father. I have deep roots in the communities of coastal San Diego. I was brought home from University Hospital to UCSD’s Mesa Grad Student Apartments. I attended K-12 in San Diego Unified, I did my PhD in the UCSD Anthropology Department, and I’m the proud father of a Kindergartner and a Third Grader at Torrey Pines Elementary, where I serve on the School Site Council and Site Governance Team. I sit on the La Jolla Town Council and the Board of the San Diego International Sister Cities Association. I lecture in the UCSD Anthropology Department and serve as Senior Advisor for Education and Environment to San Diego County Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer, who represents the subdistrict in its entirety. I’m fluent in Spanish and I’ve spent many years working and doing field research in Latin America, which I believe is essential in a district that is 47% Latinx and 27% English language learners.”
Williams:
“Becca Williams is a founding member of Valor Education and founding board member of Valor Public Schools. In 2017 Valor Public Schools successfully obtained a charter to open three K-12 schools with a peak enrollment of 5,000 students in the Austin, Texas area. Valor’s distinct program offers students a full human education in the classical tradition, from the Great Books to advanced math and science. In 2021 parents gave Valor a 96% satisfaction rate, despite having to navigate through the difficulties of a pandemic, where a need for both in-person and distant learning emerged. Becca has also taught in first and fourth grade classrooms at one of the top charter schools in the country. A graduate of Belmont Abbey College, she holds a graduate degree in theology from the Pontifical John Paul II Institute in Washington D.C.”
Click on candidates’ profile pages below to read their full responses to this and other questions.
We ask all federal, state, and local candidates with profiles on Ballotpedia to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. Ask the candidates in your area to fill out the survey.
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