November 2022 election filings begins

Lake Los Angeles – Candidate filings for the November 8, 2022 general election will open on July 18. There will be plenty of seats up for grabs in both Los Angeles and Kern Counties.

Focusing on Wilsona School District, there are 3 seats up for election presently held by Trustees Kathy Harris, Robert Harris and Anne Misicka.

Robert Harris has confirmed he will be seeking another term on the Wilsona School District Board of Trustees from Area 3. Kathy Harris has opted not to run primarily because of the Wilsona School District (WSD) Board of Trustees voted to approve the Final Trustee Area Plan and both reside in Area 3. Anne Misicka who will represent Trustee Area 2 will also seek reelection.

Victoria Green, Trustee Area 3 and Vladimir Gomez, Trustee Area 5 remain as is. Trustee Area 1 will be presented by a new candidate.

In November 2021 the WSD Board held its first public hearing on the proposed Trustee Area Scenarios on November 18, 2021 at the District’s monthly meeting. The second public hearing and the third public hearing were held and to adopt the final scenario occurred on Thursday, February 17, 2022. The Wilsona School District (WSD) Board of Trustees voted to approve the Final Trustee Area Plan, Scenario 3. In February the choice went to the County Registrar of Voters and the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors (BOS). In April 2022 the BOS approved of the selected map.

At-large elections are those in which all of the voters of the entire jurisdiction elect all of the members to the governing board. Under a by-trustee-area election system the district is divided into geographic areas, trustee areas, and a board member residing in each trustee area is elected by the registered voters who live in that trustee area. The California Voting Rights Act of 2001 states that “An at-large method of election may not be imposed or applied in a manner that impairs the ability of a protected class to elect candidates of its choice or its ability to influence the outcome of an election.” A protected class is defined as a class of voters who are “members of a race, color, or language minority group.” Adopting a by-trustee-area election system ensures that a district is compliant with the California Voting Rights Act. The Antelope Valley High Union School District practices this method.

Demographics were broken down between Total Population (TP) and Citizen Voting Age Population (CVAP) and racial considerations. Most if not all school districts took this approach with their consulting firms hired to assess how voter areas are planned and their ideal Trustee Area Size which is 2,167 for Wilsona.

The map depicts the Trustee Areas as it stands today. With the new voter areas, one person from each area will be elected and serve on the Board of Trustees. The next hurdle will be to attract candidates to serve on the Wilsona School Board.

Other elections that will impact Lake Los Angeles school choices are:

• Keppel Union School District (KUSD). KUSD also has three seats up for election presently held by Trustees Jannie Dutton, Georgia Halliman and Theresa McCafferty. Lake Los Angeles School is part of the KUSD.

• Antelope Valley Union High School District has three seats up for election presently held by John Rush, Amanda Parrell and Victoria Ruffin.

• Antelope Valley College will have three seats up for election presently held by Steve Buffalo, Michael Adams and Barbara Gaines.

By Shirley Harriman