Andrew Cruz recall, Chino Valley Unified School District, California (2015)
| Chino Valley Unified School District Board recall |
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| Recall status |
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| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2015 Recalls in California California recall laws School board recalls Recall reports |
The possibility of recalling Andrew Cruz from his at-large seat on the Chino Valley Unified School District in California was discussed in July 2015, but it was ultimately abandoned.
The recall discussion started after Cruz, the school board's vice president, made comments against school vaccinations, undocumented immigrants and adoption rights for same-sex couples at a school board meeting. Those comments included calling mandatory vaccinations "un-American,” blaming "illegal aliens" for bringing infectious diseases to the U.S. and saying that the "gender of parents matter for the development of healthy children.”[1][2]
The group Concerned Parents & Citizens of CVUSD (CPC) was formed to oust Cruz from his seat. Nicole Gockel, a district parent and organizer of CPC, said that the group had talked to San Bernardino County election officials about the recall process, but that they hoped Cruz would step down instead. They did not want the district to pay for a recall election.[2]
In 2014, Cruz was targeted with other school board members in a lawsuit filed by the Freedom From Religion Foundation on behalf of some district parents. The lawsuit sought to ban the board from praying and reading from the Bible during board meetings. In reaction to the lawsuit, hundreds of community members supported the board members' right to pray. Cruz lost a lot of that support, however, after he made those comments at the board meeting.[2]
Cruz was elected to the board to a four-year term in November 2012. His next regularly scheduled election was November 8, 2016.[3]
Recall supporters
In addition to his comments against vaccinations, undocumented immigrants and same-sex couple adoption, Cruz said that racism "played no role in the recent South Carolina church shootings." He also said, "You know, we’re no longer a racist country, but they still talk about it.”[1][2] His full remarks at the school board meeting can be found to the right.
In reaction to Cruz's statements, Russell Mills, a member of Cruz's church and a supporter of his right to pray at board meetings, said, “I thought his rant was unprofessional and that he should apologize.” Mills, however, did not think a recall was necessary.[2]
Other district residents were not as accepting. Tyra Weis, a community member who said she voted for Cruz, stated: "My disappointment in him revolves around his decision to spew racist, homophobic and scientifically unproven opinions that are opposed to what this community believes.”[2]
Nicole Gockel, a parent of three students in the district, organized Concerned Parents & Citizens of CVUSD (CPC), the group dedicated to ousting Cruz.[2] CPC had nearly 850 members on Facebook as of November 16, 2015.[4]
Gockel stated: "This is not a Christian versus non-Christian or a conservative versus liberal thing. We want someone to represent all of our kids. He’s not fit to serve our kids.” She said at least 100 community members have written to Cruz asking him to step down from his position. At a school board meeting in August 2015, 18 community members publicly asked Cruz for his resignation. Though Cruz apologized for his "hasty" remarks, he also gave no indication that he would leave this position.[2]
Gockel said an apology was not enough.[2]
Recall opponents
In response to the calls for his resignation, Cruz made a public apology for his remarks at an August school board meeting. He said it was not his intention to "victimize" anyone and that he sincerely apologized if he had done so. He also said, “It may have been misguided, but it was from my heart, of the things I had seen and the direction of this country that it’s going towards. And you may not accept that.”[2]
Background
The calls for Cruz's resignation came nearly a year after the Freedom From Religion Foundation helped several parents file a lawsuit against the district. The lawsuit sought a ban on the use of prayer and Bible readings at school board meetings. The board voted to fight the lawsuit with a 3-2 vote. Cruz and fellow board members James Na and Sylvia Orozco voted in favor. The board found legal representation with a law firm known for upholding conservative values. The case was ongoing as of the start of the recall, but Andrew Seidel, a lawyer with the Freedom From Religion Foundation, said he would push for summary judgment.[1][2]
The majority of the board's members attend Calvary Chapel Chino Hills, an evangelical church. Jack Hibbs, Calvary Chapel's pastor, has spoken about his desire to bridge the gap between the church and the state. Cruz and Na, both members of Calvary Chapel, have both prayed at board meetings while at the dais. They also introduced Bible classes into the district's schools.[2]
Annie Laurie Gaylor, the president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation called such actions "unprecedented." She also said, "Obviously something is very wrong with this district’s understanding of separation of church and state and its role in promoting religion or not promoting it to a captive audience of small schoolchildren.”[1]
Though several hundred community members supported Cruz on the issues of praying during meetings, many of them pulled their support after his statements at the July 2015 meeting.[2]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in California
According to a political consultant for San Bernardino County, the recall process could have taken up to nine months to collect signatures and another five months after that to set a date. If a recall election had made it to the ballot, the school district would have been responsible for all the associated costs.[2]
About the district
Chino Valley Unified School District is located in San Bernardino County in southern California. The county seat is San Bernardino. San Bernardino County was home to 2,112,619 residents in 2014, according to the United States Census Bureau.[5] In the 2012-2013 school year, Chino Valley Unified School District was the 29th-largest school district by enrollment in the state and served 30,705 students.[6]
Demographics
San Bernardino County underperformed compared to the rest of California in terms of higher education achievement in 2013. The United States Census Bureau found that 18.7 percent of county residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree compared to 30.7 percent for California as a whole. The median household income for San Bernardino County was $54,090 compared to $61,094 for the entire state. The percentage of people below poverty level was 18.7 percent while it was 15.9 percent statewide.[5]
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Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Andrew Cruz' 'Chino Valley Unified School District' recall. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Chino Valley Unified School District, California
- Recall campaigns in California
- Political recall efforts, 2015
- School board recalls
External links
- Chino Valley Unified School District
- San Bernardino County Clerk
- Concerned Parents & Citizens of CVUSD
- Concerned Parents & Citizens of CVUSD Facebook page
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Raw Story, "Calif. school board member faces recall after bizarre homophobic anti-vaxxer rant," July 27, 2015
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 Reveal, "Embattled school board under fire again after leader’s divisive rant," August 21, 2015
- ↑ San Bernardino County Registrar of Voters, "Presidential General Election, November 6, 2012," accessed July 15, 2014
- ↑ Facebook, "Concerned Parents & Citizens of CVUSD," accessed November 16, 2015
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 United States Census Bureau, "San Bernardino County, California," accessed September 2, 2015
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "ELSI Table Generator," accessed April 29, 2015
- ↑ San Bernardino County Registrar of Voters, "Past Election Archives," accessed July 14, 2014
- ↑ San Bernardino County Registrar of Voters, "Past Elections: 2007-1996," accessed July 14, 2014
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