Candidates had until March 28 to file for a Las Vegas City Council special election for Ward 2. Nine candidates filed by the deadline, including former state assembly members Valerie Weber and Victoria Seaman. The seven other candidates are Patsy Brown, Bruce Feher, Hilarie Grey, David Orentlicher, Derrick Penney, Richard Plaster, and Michael Tomko. The special election on June 11 coincides with the city’s general election for mayor and three other city council seats. All of the elections are nonpartisan.
The special election became necessary after the former Ward 2 representative, Steve Seroka, resigned on March 4. He had served on the city council since 2017. Prior to his resignation, Seroka was the subject of a recall attempt. Recall organizers had accused Seroka of having anti-development positions.
Las Vegas is the largest city in Nevada and the 29th-largest city in the U.S. by population.
School board candidates in Oregon had to file by March 21 to appear on the 2019 ballot. Ballotpedia is covering elections in eight Oregon school districts in 2019. A total of 28 seats will be up for election in these eight districts. This represents just over half of the 54 total school board seats in these districts.
General elections will take place on May 21. Incumbents are seeking re-election in 21 of the 28 seats (75%) up for election. School board members in Oregon serve four-year terms, and each school board can have a total of five or seven members. If the school district has a resident population of more than 300,000, the school board must have seven members.
Ballotpedia covers the 200 largest school districts in the nation in addition to any districts overlapping with the 100 largest cities by population in the United States. Oregon is one of 23 states within this scope that are holding school board elections in 2019. Ballotpedia is covering 515 school board seat elections across 181 school districts this year.
Ballotpedia is covering local elections on April 2, 2019, across seven states—Alaska, Colorado, Illinois, Missouri, Nevada, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin.
*The city of Anchorage, Alaska, is holding nonpartisan general elections for five of 11 seats on the Anchorage Assembly. The filing deadline for this election was February 1. The contested races for District 2 Seat A, District 3 Seat D, and District 4 Seat F all feature newcomers. The remaining races for District 5 Seat H and District 6 Seat J feature unopposed incumbents. Anchorage is the largest city in Alaska and the 62nd-largest city in the U.S. by population.
Two of seven seats on the Anchorage School District school board in Alaska are also up for nonpartisan general election on Tuesday. The filing deadline for this election was February 1. Two newcomers are facing off in the race for Seat A, and incumbent Starr Marsett faces challengers David Nees and Ronald Stafford in the race for Seat B. The Anchorage School District served 48,238 students during the 2016-2017 school year.
*In Colorado, the city of Colorado Springs is holding nonpartisan general elections for mayor and three of nine seats on the city council. If no candidate wins at least 50 percent of the vote in the general election, a runoff election is scheduled for May 21. The filing deadline for this election passed on January 22.
In the race for mayor, incumbent John Suthers is seeking a second term in office and faces three challengers: Lawrence Martinez, Juliette Parker, and John Pitchford.
The contested at-large race for three Colorado Springs City Council seats features two incumbents and nine challengers. In 2017, six seats were up for election resulting in the re-election of three incumbents and the addition of three newcomers to the city council.
Colorado Springs is the second-largest city in Colorado and the 40th-largest city in the U.S. by population.
*Chicago will hold its runoff election for mayor, treasurer, and 15 aldermen seats. Ballotpedia is also covering nonpartisan school board elections for Illinois School District U-46 on Tuesday. Four of the district’s seven board seats are up for general election. The filing deadline for this election was December 20, 2018. Three incumbents and eight candidates are running in the at-large race. This is the only elected Illinois school district covered by Ballotpedia in 2019. The district served 39,665 students during the 2016-2017 school year.
*The city of St. Louis, Missouri, is holding partisan general elections for Metro Council President and 15 metro council seats on April 2. A primary was held on March 5 to narrow the field of candidates. The regular filing deadline for this election was January 4, and the independent candidate filing deadline was February 11.
In the race for council president, Democrat Jeffrey Reed faces Green Party member Jerome Bauer, after both advanced from the primary. No Republican candidate filed in the election.
St. Louis is the second-largest city in Missouri and the 57th-largest city in the U.S. by population.
*Missouri is also holding nonpartisan general school board elections on Tuesday. Ballotpedia is covering elections for 29 seats across 11 school districts. Collectively, these districts served 126,611 students during the 2016-2017 school year. The largest of these districts is St. Louis Public Schools, which served 28,270 students during the 2016-2017 school year. Missouri holds school board elections annually.
*In Henderson, Nevada, nonpartisan primaries are being held for the Ward I, II, and IV seats on the city council and for one municipal court judge. The general election is on June 11, and the filing deadline for this election was January 31.
Each primary race is contested. The Ward II and IV incumbents each face a challenger in their bids for re-election, and five newcomers are running in Ward 1.
In the race for Henderson Municipal Court Judge Department 1, incumbent Mark Stevens faces challenger Regina McConnell.
Henderson is the second-largest city in Nevada and the 70th-largest city in the U.S. by population.
*In Las Vegas, Nevada, nonpartisan primaries for mayor and the Wards 1, 3, and 5 seats on the city council will be held. The general election is on June 11, and the candidate filing deadline was February 8.
Mayor Carolyn Goodman faces six challengers in her bid for a third term. Goodman was first elected in 2011, succeeding her husband, Oscar B. Goodman, who had served the maximum of three terms in office.
Each city council race is contested with 10 newcomers running in Ward 1, seven newcomers running in Ward 3, and incumbent Cedric Crear facing two challengers in Ward 5.
The city will also hold a special election for the Ward 2 seat on the city council on June 11, 2019. The filing deadline for this election was March 28, 2019. The special election became necessary after former Ward 2 representative Steve Seroka resigned on March 4, 2019. Prior to his resignation, Seroka was subject to a recall attempt.
Las Vegas is the largest city in Nevada and the 29th-largest city in the U.S. by population.
*The city of North Las Vegas, Nevada, is holding nonpartisan general elections for the Wards 2 and 4 seats on Tuesday. The candidate filing deadline was on February 8. Incumbent Pamela Goynes-Brown faces challenger Christopher Burns in Ward 2, and incumbent Richard Cherchio faces five challengers in Ward 4.
North Las Vegas is the fourth-largest city in Nevada and the 95th-largest city in the U.S. by population.
*Oklahoma will hold its nonpartisan general school board elections on Tuesday. Ballotpedia is covering the election of 30 school board seats across 26 Oklahoma school districts in 2019. Collectively, these districts served 261,543 students during the 2016-2017 school year. The largest of these districts is Oklahoma City Public Schools, which served 39,806 students during the 2016-2017 school year. Oklahoma holds its school board elections annually.
*In Dane County, Wisconsin, nonpartisan general elections for circuit court judge and two county supervisor seats are being held. If more than two candidates had filed to run per seat, a primary would have been held on February 19, but each of the races is unopposed. The filing deadline for this election was January 2.
*The city of Madison, Wisconsin, is holding a nonpartisan general election for mayor. A primary was held on February 19 to narrow the field of candidates. The filing deadline for this election was January 2.
Incumbent Paul Soglin faces challenger Satya Rhodes-Conway after they defeated three candidates in the primary. Soglin has served in the position since 2011, and previously held the office of Mayor in Madison from 1973 to 1979 and 1989 to 1997. He lost an election bid in March 2003.
Madison is also holding nonpartisan general elections for all 20 seats on the common council on Tuesday. As in the mayoral election, the candidate filing deadline was January 2. Primaries were only held on February 19 in districts where three or more candidates filed to run. These were Districts 3, 12, 13, and 15. The top two vote recipients in each race advanced to the general. In total, 11 incumbents are running for re-election to the council, with 10 of these incumbents running unopposed.
Madison is the second-largest city in Wisconsin and the 82nd-largest city in the U.S. by population.
*Nonpartisan general elections are also being held for Wisconsin school boards. Ballotpedia is covering races for 21 seats across seven school districts in 2019. Collectively, these districts served 123,027 students during the 2016-2017 school year. The largest of these districts is Milwaukee Public Schools, which served 76,206 students during the same time period.
In 2019, Ballotpedia will cover regularly scheduled elections across 63 Texas school districts. Of these, 56 districts will hold their elections on May 4. The 56 districts have a combined 161 board seats up for election, and the remaining seven school districts are holding their elections on November 5.
Of the 161 seats up for election in May, 67 (or 42 percent) are uncontested. Thirty-nine districts have at least one unopposed candidate, and 13 of them have no contested seats on the ballot and may cancel their election entirely. The remaining 17 districts have contested seats across the board.
A total of 316 candidates filed for election, which is approximately 1.96 candidates per seat. This figure is higher than the 2016 Texas average of 1.79 candidates per seat and the 2016 national average of 1.90 candidates per seat. In all, 114 incumbents are seeking re-election, which means 47 races are open-seat contests.
These 56 school districts served a combined total of 1,817,124 students during the 2016-2017 school year.
Dallas, the nation’s ninth-largest city by population, will hold elections for mayor and city council on May 4, 2019. If no candidate receives a majority of the vote in a race on May 4, a runoff will be held on June 8, 2019.
Current Mayor Mike Rawlings, in office since 2011, is prevented by term-limits from seeking re-election. Nine candidates qualified for the ballot, representing a mixture of backgrounds in local and state government, business, the nonprofit sector, and more.
Four candidates in the race hold or have held elected office: Dallas City Councilman Scott Griggs, state Rep. Eric Johnson (D), Dallas Independent School District Trustee Miguel Solis, and former state Rep. Jason Villalba (R).
Candidates Albert Black and Regina Montoya have other forms of government experience. Black was the chairman of the Dallas Housing Authority under Mayor Rawlings. Regina Montoya was the chair of the Mayor’s Task Force on Poverty under Rawlings, and she was assistant for intergovernmental affairs to President Bill Clinton (D).
Candidate Mike Ablon is a real estate developer. Alyson Kennedy was the 2016 Socialist Workers Party presidential candidate. Lynn McBee is CEO of the nonprofit Young Women’s Preparatory Network.
In addition to the mayor’s race, Dallas will hold elections for all 14 city council seats. Ten incumbents are seeking re-election, and four races are open (Districts 1, 5, 9, and 12). Nobody is running unopposed.
The city of Dallas uses a council-manager system. In this form of municipal government, the mayor serves on the city council—the city’s primary legislative body. The council and mayor appoint a chief executive called a city manager to oversee day-to-day municipal operations and implement the council’s policy and legislative initiatives. The mayor of Dallas presides over the city council and makes policy and budget recommendations. The mayor does not have veto power.
Dallas’ use of the council-manager system is unique among large cities. Most cities in the United States with populations over one million use a strong mayor system, in which the mayor—instead of a city manager—serves as the city’s chief executive.
Candidates interested in running in the Las Vegas City Council special election for Ward 2 have until March 28 to file for the seat. The special election on June 11 coincides with the city’s general election for mayor and three other city council seats. All of the elections are nonpartisan.
The special election became necessary after the former Ward 2 representative, Steve Seroka, resigned on March 4. He had served on the city council since 2017. Prior to his resignation, Seroka was the subject of a recall attempt. Recall organizers had accused Seroka of having anti-development positions.
Las Vegas is the largest city in Nevada and the 29th-largest city in the U.S. by population.
On March 12, an effort in Fall River, Massachusetts, to recall Mayor Jasiel Correia II was approved. On the same night, Correia was elected to serve as mayor again on a separate ballot.
Following the election, a group of 10 voters involved in the recall process filed a lawsuit seeking to block the certification of the results. The lawsuit alleged that the city charter approved in 2017 should have prohibited Correia from running for re-election as a part of the recall vote. On March 22, New Bedford Superior Court Judge Thomas J. Perrino ruled against the lawsuit. He said, “while the 2017 charter no longer expressly permits the officeholder who is the subject of a recall from also being a candidate, the plaintiff has not shown that the 2017 charter expressly excludes a recalled candidate from succeeding himself.”
On the first portion of the ballot, Correia was recalled with 7,829 votes cast in favor of the recall and 4,911 votes cast in opposition to the recall. The second portion of the ballot allowed voters to choose who should serve as mayor if the recall vote succeeded. Correia received more votes than his four opponents, allowing him to retain his position. He won by a plurality with 4,808 (35.4%) of the total votes cast. Runner-up Paul Coogan received 4,567 votes (33.6%), Joe Camara received 1,971 votes (14.5%), Kyle Riley received 1,460 votes (10.8%), and Erica Scott-Pacheo received 740 votes (5.5%).
Petitioners began the recall process after Correia was arrested on October 11, 2018, on 13 charges of wire and tax fraud related to his company SnoOwl. In a press conference following the indictment, Correia said he was innocent of the charges and that he would not resign from office. He said the voters of Fall River should let him continue to serve or recall him.
Denver Mayor Michael Hancock has raised more money than his five challengers combined, according to pre-election campaign finance reports filed March 17 with the Denver Elections Division.
Hancock reported raising just under $1.6 million between the beginning of the campaign cycle and the March 14 reporting deadline. His five challengers reported raising a combined total of just under $710,000.
Urban development consultant Jamie Giellis reported raising just under $410,000, the most of any challenger. Former state Sen. Penfield Tate followed with $230,000 raised, while criminal justice professor Lisa Calderón reported raising $70,000. Two other candidates each raised under $2,500.
The Giellis campaign reported more cash on hand than Hancock’s, with just over $190,000 to the incumbent’s $150,000.
The nonpartisan election takes place on May 7. If no candidate receives a majority of the vote, the top two vote-getters will advance to a June 4 runoff.
The city of Denver uses a strong mayor-council system. Under this system, a mayor with a broad range of powers serves as the city’s chief executive while a city council acts as the municipal legislature. All Denver municipal elections are for four-year terms, and no elected official may serve more than three consecutive terms.
Jackie Goldberg and Heather Repenning will compete in a May 14, 2019, runoff election for the District 5 seat on the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) Board of Education, according to certified election results from a March 5 special election. The runoff will take place because no candidate received more than 50 percent of the vote.
On March 5, Goldberg finished first, receiving 48.2 percent of the vote. Repenning was second with 13.1 percent. Repenning defeated Grace Ortiz for the second-place spot by 31 votes.
The election was necessary to fill the vacancy left by the resignation of Ref Rodriguez.
School board elections in the district in 2017 flipped the board from a 4-3 majority of members supported by United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) to a 4-3 majority of members supported by the California Charter Schools Association (CCSA). Rodriguez was a member of the latter group, and his resignation left a 3-3 split.
CCSA did not endorse in the March 5 race. The UTLA backed Goldberg.
Goldberg and Repenning have said they support holding charter schools to the same standards as public schools, among other positions.
LAUSD is the largest school district in California and the second-largest in the nation by enrollment. The district had 224 independently operated charter schools in 2017, more than any other school district in the U.S.
A special election for the District 3 seat on the Atlanta City Council in Georgia took place on March 19, 2019.
Nine candidates appeared on the ballot. Results were certified on March 22, showing Byron Amos and Antonio Brown as the top two vote recipients. Third-place finisher Greg Clay finished three votes behind Brown, 293 to 296, which allows him to request a recount. Following the recount, the top two candidates will advance to a runoff election scheduled for April 16, 2019.
Amos previously served on the Atlanta school board from 2011 to 2019. Brown is the CEO of LVL XIII, a men’s clothing business.
The special election was triggered after the former incumbent, Ivory Lee Young Jr., passed away in November 2018. Young had been a member of the city council since 2002.
The Atlanta City Council is made up of 16 members, including a council president. Twelve members are elected by the city’s 12 districts, while three other members and the council president are elected at large.
