Turlock Unified School District’s completed transition to by-trustee area voting could potentially see two incumbent trustees vying for the same seat during the Regular Board member biennial elections in November.

With terms that both expire in 2015, Trustee Harinder Grewal and Trustee Barney Gordon both reside in Trustee Area 1, meaning that if they do decide to run again for their seat, they will have to run against each other.

In addition to Trustee Area 1, Trustee Areas 3, 5, and 7 will also be up for elections in November. Current Board President Frank Lima, whose term also expires in 2015, resides in Trustee Area 5. The at-large term of Trustee Eileen Hamilton expires in November.

Under by-trustee area voting, Hamilton, who resides in Area 4, will have to wait until Trustee Bob Weaver’s term expires in 2017 if she opts to run again for a seat.

If an incumbent does not file for election by Aug.7, those areas will be eligible for the extended candidate nomination period for anyone not an incumbent. TUSD Superintendent Sonny Da Marto reported that since Trustee Areas 3 and 7 are new open Trustee Areas, they do not have an eligible incumbent and will not be subject to the extension period.

Regular Board member biennial elections are scheduled for Nov. 3 and individuals elected to these Trustee areas will serve four year terms expiring in 2019. This will be the second governing board election by-trustee area.

“It’s a pleasure to see the end of moving to the Trustee areas,” said TUSD Superintendent Sonny Da Marto. “We will be done with our transition from at-large elections.” 

The Board of Trustees adopted a resolution to move away from the at-large elections in 2010 in the wake of lawsuits filed in California claiming at-large elections violated voters’ rights. The first by-trustee area election was held in 2013 in Areas 2, 4 and 6. Board Member Deborah Martin was elected to Area 2, Board Member Weaver was elected to Area 4, and Board Member Jennifer Carter was elected to Area 6.

Parties interested in seeking election to the Governing Board are urged to personally verify all timelines and election requirements. Information and required forms are available from the Office of the County Clerk, Stanislaus County, Registration and Elections Department, 1021 “I” Street in Modesto.

The filing period for interested parties to file declarations of candidacy is July 13 to Aug.7. Candidates are advised to file the candidacy form in person at the time the declaration form is obtained.

If an incumbent does not file for election by Aug. 7, the extension of the candidate nomination period if runs from Aug. 8 to Aug.12.

To view more information on TUSD’s Trustee area elections, visit turlockusd-ca.schoolloop.com/trusteearea.