SACRAMENTO – The Democratic Party of Sacramento County (DPSC) announced that the political organization and other supporting entities have collected 1,083 valid signatures, enough to call a special election for Twin Rivers Unified School District’s Area 5 seat.
Since Dec. 28, parents, community activists, and the Del Paso Heights Neighborhood Association partnered with DPSC until 1:00 p.m, Jan. 7, to gather signatures in an attempt to override the appointment of Sonja Cameron by the Twin Rivers Unified School District Board of Trustees.
The signatures were later turned into the Sacramento County Board of Education at its Mather office, after DPSC meticulously verified the valid signatures from registered voters collected district wide. The actual number of signatures is much higher than the requirement, said DPSC officials.
“We actually collected 1,461 signatures,” DPSC chairperson Kerri Asbury told The OBSERVER. “We know we have enough for the petition. Having a large number of volunteers made me happy that we could get that amount. It was a collaborative effort.”
Co-founder of the Roberts Family Development Center Derrell Roberts, Organize Sacramento, and community activist Francisco Garcia also helped knock on doors in the District, too.
From the beginning, Roberts, Organize Sacramento, and Garcia had questioned the Board of Trustees’ action of appointing Cameron, who also runs a charter school in Rio Linda.
“This is to let the District know that we are not going to take anymore of their crooked stuff,” Garcia said. “Let the people decide who should represent Area 5.”
On Dec. 17, Sonja Cameron took the oath of office to become the newest member of the Twin Rivers Unified School District Board of Trustees (TRUSD) to replace Cortez Quinn in Area 5.
The DPSC agreed with members of the community that the Board of Trustees did not follow its process that was adopted at the Dec. 4 board meeting.
DPSC claims the TRUSD violated the Brown Open Meeting Act by not permitting public comment, conducting a secret ballot, and appointing a vacancy replacement on a night when it was not on the agenda or noticed.
When Organize Sacramento decided to push a drive to collect referendum signatures in order to force a potential special election, the organization ran into a snag, Ms. Asbury said, was “confusing.” Quinn, who resigned after legal problems, was elected under the district-wide structure in June 2012.
The District now operates under Measure G, an initiative the voters passed in June 2012 that says candidates can only be elected by the area they serve.
The Sacramento County Voter Registration and Elections office initially reported that the required number of signatures was 161, which is 1.5 per cent of the voters in Area 5 the seat represents.
On Christmas Eve, the Sacramento County Office of Education Superintendent called Ms. Asbury and said the number was changed to 1,083. Asbury said she was also given a deadline of Jan. 7 to turn in the signatures. The task was met and speaks to the community’s desire to reverse the process.
“It shouldn’t take long to count,” Asbury said of the County’s process to verify the signatures. “The County has 30 days to do it.”
The DPSC became involved in the issue when the TRUSD first advertised an election for Area 5 to fill the seat. Somewhere down the line, Asbury said, the Board abandoned the process and left the community’s voice completely out of the discussion.
“It was the right thing to do,” Asbury said of DPSC’s efforts to gather the signatures to force a possible special election. “When the community comes forward with a concern, we, as a local organization, try to help facilitate with what resources we have. The timing and short notice was a challenge, but I am really proud of the committee members and community groups that stepped up to take action for Democracy, Asbury stated.