Amid ongoing policy and legal fights over LGBTQ youth issues, voters around the Bay Area elected a number of out candidates to educational oversight bodies. Often the elected positions serve as jumping off points for higher office, meaning the bench of potential LGBTQ city, state, and federal candidates grew in 2024.
In the East Bay, where LGBTQ issues in schools have been a heated topic for years in various Alameda County cities, Austin Bruckner Carrillo won election to one of three seats on the Hayward Unified School District governing board that were up for grabs on the November 5 ballot.
Carrillo, a gay man who is president of Castro Valley Pride, took third place with nearly 16% of the vote. Meanwhile, gay Hayward public high school teacher Charlie Jones won the Area 4 seat on the Pleasanton Unified School District governing board with 52% of the vote.
Their candidacies marked the first time that gay candidates ran openly for board seats in their respective school districts, as the Bay Area Reporter's Political Notebook column had noted in June.
Since Election Day, Carrillo has been meeting with local stakeholders on how to address a projected $31 million deficit in the school district's budget. He attended a listening session held last month for the school community and plugged a survey the district conducted on the matter in a November 25 Facebook post.
"As an incoming trustee, I'm committed to keeping cuts away from the classroom and protecting programs that support students, families, and staff," wrote Carrillo, who grew up in Castro Valley and has called Hayward home for the last decade. "Moving forward, we need more community input in the budget process. For now, I encourage everyone to complete the budget survey and make your voice heard."
Carrillo is the associate director of the Alameda County District Attorney's Community Support Bureau. Should he seek reelection in four years, he will not do so citywide, as the K-12 school district is moving to having five district-based seats beginning with the 2026 election.
Pleasanton, other cities
While Hayward voters have previously elected out candidates, Jones is the first openly LGBTQ+ elected official in his 130-year-old city. He will also need to address budget issues impacting Pleasanton's schools, which had prompted his decision to seek the school board seat in the city he has called home for 27 years.
"While I am the first LGBTQ+ person elected in Pleasanton's history, I certainly won't be the last. When we organize and fight for the rights of our students we win. I look forward to seeing what we accomplish next as we continue our work for a better future," wrote Jones, who is partners with gay Tracy Mayor-elect Dan Tavares Arriola, in a November 17 Facebook post timed to his receiving the David Sanchez LGBTQ+ Leadership Award from the California Teachers Association/National Education Association LGBTQ+ Caucus at the 16th Annual CTA LGBTQ+ Issues Conference.
Taking the top spot in the race for two Berkeley school board seats with 36% of the vote was lesbian married mom Jen Corn, director of school improvement at the Oakland Unified School District and a former Berkeley teacher and principal whose two adult children graduated from the liberal city's public schools. Corn is married to Sarah Cline, a co-director of the renowned Berkeley High Jazz Program.
"While we may not feel like celebrating, given the national election results, I believe it's more important than ever to cultivate our community here in Berkeley — which includes taking time to celebrate our work and our shared commitment to our kids and our schools," wrote Corn in an Instagram post the day after the election.
In the South Bay, gay Oak Grove School District board member Jorge Pacheco Jr. is now the first out member of the Santa Clara County Board of Education. Director of programs and partnerships in the Bay Area at Latinos for Education, Pacheco won the countywide oversight bodies' Area 4 seat with 41% of the vote.
"This one is for all those kids who fell through the cracks in our schooling system. Now, that kid will be serving as the first Indigenous trustee elected to the Santa Clara County Board of Education," wrote Pacheco, whose father is Maya-Korean and mother emigrated from El Salvador, in a November 9 Facebook post.
Since no one filed to run against him, gay San José-Evergreen Community College District Trustee Clay Hale didn't need to run for reelection this year and was automatically retained in his Trustee Area 7 seat for a four-year term. Last November, he won election to fill out the remainder of the term vacated by Omar Torres, the gay now-disgraced former San Jose city councilmember was resigned last month after his arrest for felony sexual abuse charges. (Torres has entered a preliminary plea of not guilty.)
In San Francisco, bi married mom of two children Jaime Huling won a seat on the board that oversees the San Francisco Unified School District. She placed first in the race for four school board seats with more than 16% of the vote.
Meanwhile, gay City College of San Francisco Trustee Luis Zamora maintained his seat on the college board, having been appointed by Mayor London Breed months prior to the election to fill a vacancy. He came in last with more than 14% of the vote in his race for four college board seats, while coming in first with nearly 20% was Heather McCarty who is queer and teaches history and queer/women's studies at an East Bay community college.
They join their respective education oversight boards at the school and college districts amid leadership transitions and financial struggles due to declining enrollment. The school district recently welcomed a new superintendent, Maria Su, Ph.D., after her predecessor resigned under pressure amid a fight over proposed school closings that are now on pause.
At City College, the trustees announced this month the launch of their search for a new permanent chancellor to succeed gay interim Chancellor Mitch Bailey. Applicants have until January 13 to apply, while the college board expects to name the new leader by May, with the person taking over the job on July 1.
Conservative candidates came up short
The election also brought defeats for a trio of candidates who have spoken out against LGBTQ school issues. In the Sunol Glen Unified School District, Ryan Jergensen lost his bid to return to the school board after he and another member, Linda Hurley, were recalled earlier this year following an uproar with their 2023 decision to ban flying the Pride flag on school grounds.
Alameda County Republican Party official Tom Wong, who had opposed recalling the Sunol school board members, lost his bid for a Hayward school board seat. Two other county leaders criticized for their anti-LGBTQ positions in recent years also lost.
Hayward school board member Joe O. Ramos will be departing after opting not to seek reelection and instead sought a Hayward City Council seat this year. He and Wong, who had also sought one of the four council seats on the ballot, came in sixth and seventh respectively in the race. (A decision in a lawsuit filed by a Central Valley Republican candidate decided candidates in California could run for different positions on the same ballot.)
Former Hayward school board member Luis Reynoso lost his race to return to the oversight body. He also was defeated in his bid to retain his Area 1 seat on the Chabot-Las Positas Community College District board.
Carrillo, in a November 22 Facebook post, boasted about his defeating Reynoso, who came in fourth place.
"This was a close race — just 193 votes separated us from a right-wing extremist who has never lost a school board election until now," wrote Carrillo. "This win belongs to all of us. Your contributions, phone calls, door-knocking, and support made the difference."
He and his supporters, Carrillo added, "proved that dangerous right-wing candidates have no place in public education. Together, we protected our schools and our students. And together, we'll continue fighting for a brighter future for every child in Hayward. Thank you for standing with me every step of the way. I am honored to serve and deeply grateful for your support."
Keep abreast of the latest LGBTQ political news by following the Political Notebook on Threads @ https://www.threads.net/@matthewbajko and on Bluesky @ https://bsky.app/profile/politicalnotes.bsky.social.
Got a tip on LGBTQ politics? Call Matthew S. Bajko at (415) 829-8836 or email [email protected]
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