Category: Local
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Six of 29 Oklahoma school board seats covered by Ballotpedia to hold primaries
In 2020, Ballotpedia is covering 29 school board races across 26 school districts in Oklahoma. Six out of those 29 races will include a primary since three or more candidates qualified for the ballot. The primary is on February 11, 2020. The six races span the following five school districts: Bixby, Luther, Moore, Owasso, and…
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Lawsuit filed in recall effort in Leon Valley, Texas
Five Leon Valley residents have filed a lawsuit to place a recall election on the May 2 ballot. Councilmembers Donna Charles and Monica Alcocer were targeted for recall after a 2-1 vote in August 2019 to remove Councilmember Benny Martinez. Charles and Alcocer voted in favor of removing Martinez due to allegations of sexual harassment…
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New York City Council member resigns
On January 26, 2020, New York City Council member Rafael Espinal (D) resigned his seat after representing New York City Council District 37 for seven years. Espinal stepped down to become the executive director of the Freelancers’ Union. Espinal had two years remaining on his second consecutive four-year term as a New York City Council…
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Massachusetts representative becomes Taunton’s first female mayor
On January 6, 2020, Shaunna O’Connell (R) resigned from the Third Bristol District seat in the Massachusetts State House after becoming the mayor of Taunton, Massachusetts. O’Connell defeated Taunton City Council member Estele Borges (D) to become Taunton’s mayor on November 5, 2019. Taunton’s incumbent mayor, Thomas Hoye Jr., did not run for re-election. Before…
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One of six Wisconsin school districts covered by Ballotpedia to hold primary
The Madison Metropolitan School District is holding a primary for Seat 6 on the school board on February 18, 2020. Three candidates filed to run for the open seat, and the two who receive the most votes will move on to the April 7 general election. That ballot will also include races for Seat 2…
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Colorado recall election moves forward
In Colorado, the Idaho Springs City Council has voted to schedule the recall election against Mayor Mike Hillman on April 7. The deadline for candidates to file to run against Hillman is February 3. The recall effort, organized by residents Amanda Kowalewski, Janet Diederichs, and Candace Voisard, was initiated in November 2019. Recall petitions included…
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Evans resigns from Washington D.C., city council
Washington D.C., City Council Member Jack Evans (D) resigned on January 17, 2020, after serving on the council for 30 years. Evans’ resignation came after the council spent a year investigating Evans and reprimanding him for possible ethical violations stemming from his work as an attorney. On December 10, 2019, the city council approved a…
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27% drop in recall efforts in 2019
This year, fewer state and local recall efforts were started or reached the ballot compared to 2018. Ballotpedia covered 151 recall efforts against 230 officials in 2019. In comparison, 206 recall efforts targeted 299 officials in 2018. Since Ballotpedia released its first annual recall report in 2012, a minimum of 151 efforts (2019) and a…
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Second recount for $569 million Midland Independent School District bond happening this week
On November 5, 2019, Midland Independent School District voters in Midland County, Texas, voted on a $569 million bond to build new facilities and improve existing schools. According to the first count of votes, the measure had failed by 25 votes, triggering a manual recount of paper ballots, which flipped the results to show the…
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Four Oregon public school employees sue union over resignation restrictions
On Dec. 5, four Oregon public school employees filed suit in U.S. District Court alleging that their union has unconstitutionally denied their resignation requests, continuing to collect dues against their wishes. Who are the parties to the suit? Plaintiffs Dori Yates, Claudia Strickland, Tonya Sevilla, and Linda Newton work for Hillsboro United School District. They…