Oregon's May election: Final details on local school board, community district elections
Natalie PateLocal elections will come to a close Tuesday night, affecting numerous school districts and communities across Marion and Polk counties.
In Polk County, 30 registered candidates are running for 37 school, water control and fire protection positions. There are 12 positions where no candidates filed in time to be on the ballot.
This ballot includes a single candidate registered for the Central School District board's four open seats. Three write-in candidates are campaigning for the remaining spots.
In Marion County, 115 candidates are running for 106 positions on K-12 school and college boards, fire protection and water control districts, a library board and a park and recreation district. There are seven positions without candidates.
Six candidates are running for the three available seats on the Salem-Keizer School Board.
The odd-numbered-zone positions are held by chairwoman Kathy Goss and members Sheronne Blasi, Jesse Lippold and Paul Kyllo, who were elected in 2017.
This year, incumbents Marty Heyen, Zone 2 in northeast Salem, and Chuck Lee, Zone 6 in Keizer, are running again, but are facing new opponents: Raul Marquez Guerrero and Danielle Bethel, respectively.
And since board member Jim Green isn't running for another term, voters will have two new candidates to choose from for Zone 4 in South Salem — Satya Chandragiri and David Salinas.
Mental health support, school funding and expanded opportunities for students were among the priorities cited by the candidates in a Statesman Journal survey given to each candidate earlier this year. School safety and improving graduation rates were other common goals.
Salem-Keizer board members are elected to serve four-year terms without pay. Though they each represent specific zones, the board is responsible for working together to serve all 42,200-plus students in Salem-Keizer Public Schools.
Voters elect candidates regardless of which zone they live in, meaning residents have a large influence on the overall makeup of the seven-member board.
Ballots are due at drop-off locations or must be received in the mail by 8 p.m. on May 21. Find ballot drop cites at https://www.co.marion.or.us/CO/elections for Marion County or https://www.co.polk.or.us/clerk/elections/ballot-drop-sites for Polk County.
Here's some information on each Salem-Keizer candidate.
Their responses have been edited for clarity and length. Candidates are organized numerically by zone, then alphabetically by last name.
Zone 2
Raul Marquez Guerrero
- Age: 19
- City/town of residence: Salem
- Family: Mother, Father, four sisters, two brothers and a dog
- Education: McKay High School Graduate, Willamette University (Currently a full time student)
- Current employment: Coordinator, Willamette Events Board, Legislative Intern: Office of Representative Diego Hernandez
- How the public can reach your campaign: Email RaulMarquezforSchoolBoard@gmail.com, or reach out to campaign manager Enrique Ruiz at 503-990-3043.
What separates you from your opponent?
As a Latino who navigated through the most diverse schools in the district, I share lived experiences with many of the students in our district who have been historically underrepresented at the school board level. Furthermore, my age will allow me to share a fresh perspective with the board that we do not currently have. My involvement in the community has prepared me for this opportunity. I am committed to community and working together to ensure that we have a school district where our students thrive and we address the challenges we face as a district.
Marty Heyen
- Age: 62
- City/town of residence: Salem
- Family: Husband, son, daughter and grand-children, extended family
- Education: Technical school and Associates degree
- Current occupation, employer, job duties: Retired
- How the public can reach your campaign? Email marty@heyenfororegon.com, call 503-363-2501 or go to www.heyenfororegon.com
What separates you from your opponent?
Life experience, first-hand, real experience on the school board. It is easy to look at something from the outside and make judgments. It is amazing how different things look from the other side. I know this area, specifically this zone, as my son attended school from preschool through graduation here.
Zone 4
Satya Chandragiri
- Age: 55
- City/town of residence: Salem
- Family: Wife Mary Talom, daughter Methi Satyanarayana, son Aaron Satyanarayana
- Education: MBBS, MD, Board Certified Psychiatrist. MD psychiatry - Temple University Hospital, Philadelphia, PA; National Institute of mental health and Neurosciences, Bangalore, India; Bangalore Medical College, Bangalore, India.
- Current employment: Psychiatrist-Salem Health; Private psychiatric practice Chandras Clinic; Utilization Management Director GOBHI; Psychiatrist serving patients in Harney County using Telemedicine; Psychiatrist serving persons with mental illness and traumatic brain injuries in residential programs in Lane county and Douglas county.
- How the public can reach your campaign: Website www.satyafororegon.com; Facebook: Dr. Satya for School Board, Satya Chandragiri; Instagram: @satyafororegon; Twitter: @satya4oregon; Tel: 503-269-9915
What separates you from your opponent?
I don't know much about my fellow candidate who is also running for Zone 4. His website gives me little information to compare and differentiate from my platform. While he has a compelling life experience and good intention to help children, once I learn more about his plan, I can comment on your question.
David Salinas
- Age: 39
- City/town of residence: Salem
- Family: Married with four kids. Wife, Meghan, and children; Ruben, Greyson, Isaiah ’Peanut’, Bela
- Education: Chemeketa Community College (attended, did not receive a degree), General Journeyman License from IBEW Apprenticeship
- Current employment: Project Manager/Estimator with Cherry City Electric, Estimating, project management, contract review, budget creation, project projections, project coordination, sub-contractor meetings, billing
- How the public can reach your campaign: Go to www.electdavidsalinas.com or email davidsalinas4schoolboard@gmail.com
What separates you from your opponent?
My life experience is unique and gives me a perspective that many adults do not have. I am student-focused. Having four kids still currently enrolled in Salem-Keizer Public Schools, I realize that the success of our students is dependent upon how well we as adults pay attention to the issues that make a difference in students' ability to succeed. I will be focused on equitable opportunity for all students; curricular offerings for both college-bound and others who may be more career and technical education focused.
Zone 6
Danielle Bethell
- Age: 40
- City/town of residence: Keizer
- Family: Husband, Nathan. Son, Joel. Daughters, Natalie and Raegan.
- Education: McKay High School grad. Oregon State University grad, B.S.
- Current employment: Executive Director, Keizer Chamber of Commerce. Responsible for the daily needs and operations of the organization. I execute the goals and policies of the 13 member board of directors.
- How the public can reach your campaign: https://bethellforkids.com/
What separates you from your opponent?
I am different than my opponent in many ways. I am very much interested in being present in my community, building ground-level relationships, navigating emotions and working toward solutions. I enjoy a challenge and the opportunity to overcome it. My approach isn't to wait for a problem to come to me, I am more interested in being present as often as I can and share in conversations and be aware when something needs to be addressed. I enjoy being in schools, at events and activities and just simply being a part of the community I am raising my children in.
I also think we are different in how we approach solutions. I am less interested in waiting for ideas and issues to rise to the level of the board and then receiving them through a filtered process. I believe to be fully aware, one must be involved at the beginning, to some degree. To be known in my community and approachable.
Chuck Lee
- Age: 69
- City/town of residence: Keizer
- Family: My wife is Krina Lee, also a long time Salem-Keizer education leader. We have six children and 11 grandchildren between us. Krina’s daughters attended Salem-Keizer Schools K-12 and we have one grandson in elementary school in Salem-Keizer.
- Education: I graduated from Seattle Public Schools and the University of Washington with a major in journalism. After graduation, I taught in the Edmonds School District and received my Master’s Degree in Education Administration from Seattle University.
- Current employment: In 2013, I was hired by Mt. West Investment Corp. to create the Career and Technical Education Center (CTEC) in Salem. Currently, I maintain offices at Blanchet and CTEC.
- How the public can reach your campaign: Email chuckleeschoolboard@gmail.com or call 503-551-5661
What separates you from your opponent?
Experience — a record of collaborative and transparent leadership; a 12 year record of informed, data drive decision making; and a record of innovative practices that support academic achievement for all.
For more information, go to https://www.co.marion.or.us/CO/elections/VoterPamphlet or https://www.co.polk.or.us/clerk/elections/may-21-2019-special-election.
Contact reporter Natalie Pate at npate@StatesmanJournal.com, 503-399-6745 or follow her on Twitter @Nataliempate or Facebook at www.Facebook.com/nataliepatejournalist. To support her work,become a Statesman Journal subscriber and get unlimited digital access to stories that matter.