School board races in south county attract little interest from candidates
Some members might have to be appointed
SAN LUIS, Ariz. – Unless write-in candidates file to run, the Yuma County schools superintendent will have to name someone to fill two of the four seats that become vacant this year on the Somerton Elementary School District’s governing board.
Only incumbents Lorena Zendejas and Juan Castillo met the deadline for filing nominating petitions to appear on the November ballot in races for four seats on the Somerton board
In the Gadsden Elementary School District in San Luis, where the board seats of Tadeo De La Hoya and Rosa Varela expire this year, only the two incumbents and San Luis resident Gary Snyder have filed to appear on the ballot.
Two incumbents on the Somerton board who did not make the filing deadline were Cristina Clark and Daniel Paz.
“I collected the (nominating petition signatures) and I was going to register last week, but I got sick and I couldn’t do it. But I will file as a write-in candidate,” said Clark, who recently was named by Yuma County Schools Superintendent Tom Tyree to the board to replace Leticia Yepez, who stepped down.
Daniel Paz, who likewise was appointed by the superintendent to fill a vacancy, said he also was unable to file petitions. He also said he will compete as a writein to return to the board.
In San Luis, Snyder is already a write-in candidate this year for a seat on the San Luis City Council. He said he decided to seek the school board seat at the urging of residents and district employees who said they didn’t want the incumbents to return to the board without facing competition.
“I decided to file so that those who are there don’t feel overconfident and to give them some competition, so that they don’t think re-election is assured,”
Luis Marquez, president of the Gadsden board, said he would like to see more candidates run for board seats as well.
“I would like it if there were seven or eight candidates, but there’s no interest,” he said. “The post means a lot of work and it’s voluntary. You have to go to conferences. You have to have time for meetings and be willing to advocate for education. I keep on saying that it’s like a bone without meat.”
Snyder filed his nominating petitions about two hours before the deadline Monday. He submitted 96 petition signatures, 33 more than required.
“I only want to be a different voice on the governing board, to try to keep the district from returning to the way things happened before, such as spending money (for board retreats) on Coronado Island.”
He was referring to annual retreats the board held over five years at the island off San Diego. The retreats cost the district $65,000 – an amount termed “wasteful” by the Arizona Auditor General’s Office in a recent audit. The audit also concluded that the distant location effectively denied the district’s residents the opportunity to attend the retreats, which, by law, are open to the public.
In 2018, Marquez and Guillermina Fuentes and Gloria Torres were automatically re-elected to the Gadsden board, not having any challengers on the ballot.
That same year, there were no challengers to incumbents on the Somerton board whose terms were expiring, Carlos Gonzalez and Araceli Juarez. Gonzalez automatically won a new term, while the Tyree named Paz to succeed Juarez, who did not seek reelection.
Gonzalez, also a member of the Somerton City Council, said he is sorry to see a lack of commitment by residents to serve on the school board or other public posts.
“There are always people who raise their hand, but ultimately they don’t participate. This is a voluntary post, for which you have to have passion and commitment. And a lot of people don’t want that commitment.”
Gonzalez himself has announced he will be running this year for a seat on the Yuma Union High School District’s governing board. If he wins a seat, he will step down from the Somerton board, requiring the county schools superintendent to find someone to fill his seat.
The deadline for write-in candidates to file to run for the school boards seats is Aug. 19.