Gretchen Hollands
Gretchen Hollands was a candidate for Zone 3 representative on the Portland Board of Education in Oregon. She lost in the general election on May 19, 2015.
Across all seats up for election in the district, the 2015 election was more competitive than in the district's two most recent election cycles. While an average of 2.75 candidate filed for each of the seats up for election, Hollands faced three opponents.
Biography
Hollands is the facilities planning project manger for Portland Public Schools. She earned an M.A. in public administration from Portland State University and a B.A. in economics from the University of Colorado.[1]
Elections
2015
- See also: Portland Public Schools elections (2015)
Four of the seven seats on the Portland Board of Education were up for general election on May 19, 2015. The seats of Zone 1 incumbent Ruth Adkins, Zone 2 incumbent Matt Morton, Zone 3 incumbent Bobbie Regan and Zone 7 incumbent Greg Belisle were up for election.
Regan was the only incumbent to file to seek re-election. He faced three challengers, Amy Carlsen Kohnstamm, Gretchen Hollands and Wes Soderback, and was defeated by Kohnstamm.
Julie Esparza Brown defeated Andrew Davidson in the race for the open Zone 1 seat. Four candidates—Paul Anthony, José González, Emma Russac Williams and John Sweeney—filed for the open Zone 2 race. Anthony was successful in that race. Mike Rosen won the open Zone 7 seat unopposed.
Results
| Portland Public Schools, Zone 3 General Election, 4-year term, 2015 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan |  Amy Carlsen Kohnstamm |
44.2% | 23,412 | |
| Nonpartisan | Bobbie Regan Incumbent | 40.7% | 21,526 | |
| Nonpartisan | Gretchen Hollands | 9.9% | 5,232 | |
| Nonpartisan | Wes Soderback | 4.8% | 2,524 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in votes | 0.5% | 240 | |
| Total Votes | 52,934 | |||
| Source: Washington County Elections Divsion, "Official Summary Report: Special District Election May 19, 2015," June 4, 2015, Multnomah County, Oregon, "May 2015 Special Election Results," June 3, 2015, and Clackamas County, Oregon, "Specail District Election May 19, 2015, Official Results for Election," accessed June 9, 2015 | ||||
Funding
Hollands reported no contributions or expenditures to the Oregon Secretary of State in this election.[2]
Endorsements
Hollands did not receive any official endorsements in this election. She commented on her lack of campaign fundraising and endorsement gathering, saying:
| “ | This is different kind of campaign. I am not collecting money or endorsements. Being an unaffiliated voter, I am not bound by party politics. I don’t give money to lobbying efforts or political campaigns and I don’t want your money either. I am truly waffling on lawn signs. I agree with name recognition but I just hate those signs.[3] | ” |
| —Gretchen Holland's campaign Facebook page (2015)[4] | ||
Campaign themes
2015
Hollands provided the following statement for the Multnomah County voter's pamphlet:
| “ | If you are like me, you expect public services to be effective. Right now there is gap between school board policies and implementation. PPS does not lack talent or ideas. We lack strong leadership to pull together and get results.
Here is a specific example. There is an Equity policy that should protect underrepresented students in outer southeast Portland. However, the District closed four schools to neighborhood students. Lent, Kelly, Bridger and Harrison Park are bursting at the seams. Head Start classrooms were closed at Lent and Kelly. This is inequity. With strong leadership we can support students and enforce the Equity policy. We can expand Dual Language Immersion in Chinese and Vietnamese by re-opening Kellogg. We can create a new Head Start hub. In addition I support these changes: Transparency will bridge the gap between policy and implementation.
The next teacher contract negotiation is critical.
I have the best chance to move this work forward. I’ve been at PPS as a parent and as an employee at the central office. My husband is a teacher. I understand how PPS works and what can be achieved. Elect me to set these changes in motion.[3] |
” |
| —Gretchen Hollands (2015)[1] | ||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Gretchen Hollands Portland Public Schools. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Portland Public Schools, Oregon
- Portland Public Schools elections (2015)
- Embroiled incumbents see differing outcomes in May 19 school board elections across five states (May 21, 2015)
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Multnomah County, Oregon, "Voters' Pamphlet - May 2015 Special Election," accessed May 19, 2015
- ↑ Oregon Secretary of State, "Committee/Filer Search by Name," accessed June 17, 2015
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Facebook, "Elect Gretchen Hollands: Wall Post," April 5, 2015
| 2015 Portland Public Schools Elections | |
| Multnomah County, Oregon | |
| Election date: | May 19, 2015 |
| Candidates: | Zone 1: Julie Esparza Brown • Andrew Davidson Zone 2: Paul Anthony • José González • Emma Russac Williams • John Sweeney |
| Important information: | Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
