Smart Voter
Santa Clara County, CA November 3, 1998 General

Governing Board Member; Gilroy Unified School District; Trustee Area 1

Candidates (Vote for 4)
Click on a candidate name for more information.

Lonna Martinez 4,438 votes 15.3%

  • Occupation: Teacher
  • 18 years as a leader in education (in Hollister), including classroom teacher, Mentor Teacher, Resource Teacher, Reading Resource, Vice Principal.
  • 17 years as a Gilroy community member.
  • Active with youth in the community through Big Sisters of America (named Big Sister of the Year for Santa Clara Co. in 1986).
  • Support my community in other ways, such as volunteering for the Garlic Festival and working for Rotary Club charity fundraisers.
  • B.A., Spanish, U.C. Davis, 1979; Teaching Credential, U.C. Davis, 1980; M.A., Administration and Supervision, San Jose State University, 1992.
Priorities:
  • Promote teamwork between the Board, the District, and the community to build relationships that support education.
  • Maintain the focus on quality instructional programs that are based on student needs.
  • Attract and maintain the most qualified staff, in order to ensure the success of the above two goals.
David Carpenter 3,927 votes 13.5%
  • Occupation: Restaurant General Manager
Jim Rogers 3,456 votes 11.9%
  • Occupation: Retired Educator
  • University of Vermont, BA 1961
  • U. S. Air Force Officer 1961-64
  • San Jose State, MA 1971-72
  • Gilroy Unified School District 1966-97
  • Teacher Counselor Junior High Vice Principal
  • Coordinator Maintenance/Transportation
Priorities:
  • Retaining Experienced Teachers and Administrators
  • Planning for New Schools and Facilities--Refurbishing older schools
  • Encouraging a Cooperative Spirit Between our Schools, the City and Community
Richard Rodriguez 3,208 votes 11.1%
  • Occupation: Assistant Principal
Michael B. "Mike" Smurthwaite 3,180 votes 11.0%
  • Party: Republican
  • Occupation: Education Administrator
  • Doctorate: Educational Administration with empahsis in leadership and curricular design
  • Active in Gilroy District Planning Committees; Brownell School Refurbish Committee; Chamber Choir Fundraisers.
  • Certified School Facility Planner for two urban school districts
  • Licensed Marriage/Family Counselor in part-time private practice 20 years
  • Multilingual/Migrant Education Director for Ravenswood City Schools; Program Administrator for Santa Clara County Office of Education.
  • Recognized for family support service to Military Order of the Purple Heart
Priorities:
  • Goal: Increase overall rigor of school curriculum to better prepare diverse studentbody for post-high school opportunities.
  • Goal: Far more closely align daily classroom curriculum to state and district standards, texts, to required norm-referenced (SAT9 , SAT) tests.
  • Goal: Establish community partnerships in planning new schools, infuse job-orientation into a curriculum designed for success in free economy.
Leonardo "Len" West 3,033 votes 10.4%
  • Occupation: Project Manager
  • Member of the Gilroy Neighborhood Accountability Board, of the Restorative Justice Project.
  • Former Executive Director of the Gilroy Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau.
  • Degree in Business Administration, certificates in Accounting and Human Resources.
  • U. S. Army veteran.
  • Fluent in Spanish
Priorities:
  • The overall safety of everyone that utilizes the facilities. Safety is conducive to a solid learning environment.
  • The determination of class configuration and facilities development.
  • Development of a process in which labor negotiations may be conducted in a "win-win" environment. I'm in favor of implementing 3 years pay agreement.
Margaret-Ann A. "M.A." Bowe 2,722 votes 9.4%
  • Occupation: Incumbent, Self employeed Payroll Bookkeeper
  • 18 year resident of Gilroy
  • Mother of two: Antoinette (15) GHS, John (13) Brownell Academy
  • Education: BA: Geography, UC Davis; AA: Child Development, Gavilan College
  • Member, Gilroy Chamber of Commerce: participant in Business and Education Committee (Chair 94-96)
  • Sustaining member of the original Strategic Planning Team (Group of 28)
  • District committee participation: Facilities Planning Committee, Standard and Assessment Review Committee, Budget Advisory Committee
Priorities:
  • Dedication to Mission Statement of Gilroy Unified School District
  • Determination to provide quality education for all students
  • Discipline to focus all resources and energy to achieve goals
Curt Tipton 1,943 votes 6.7%
  • Occupation: Engineering Manager
  • Site Governance Committee Member - South Valley J.H.S.
  • Charter School Founding Board Member
  • School Accountability Committee Member
  • Master of Science, Applied Statistics and Operational Research
  • College Instructor – Electronics and Computer Technology
  • Merit Badge Counselor –Boy Scouts of America
Priorities:
  • Finding creative ways to offer further compensation to our dedicated teachers and attract other outstanding teachers.
  • Promote improved communications between the school board and our community.
  • Explore means to provide more diversified programs to prepare our students for a broad spectrum of employment opportunities.
Judi L. Silverstein 1,841 votes 6.3%
  • Occupation: Attorney at Law
Michael C. Fautt 1,282 votes 4.4%
  • Occupation: Substitute Teacher
  • Masters of Arts - SJSU - Sociology
  • B.A.- S.J.S.U. - Sociology of the Family
Priorities:
  • Appropriation of funding for new schools.
  • To bring common sense back to decision making.
  • To keep it simple.

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Created: February 16, 1999 18:47
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