Clovis Unified school board race in dead heat. Here’s who’s ahead
The race for one of two open seats on the Clovis Unified school board is neck-and-neck, while an incumbent in the second race holds a comfortable lead, according to the latest ballot returns.
In Area 2, which includes Clovis North, Molly DeFrank and Wilma Tom Hashimoto remain in a tight race for first place. Ballot returns counted as of 1 a.m. Wednesday show DeFrank with 41.26% of the vote is ahead of Hashimoto’s 39.6%. Janet Kardashian trailed in the three-way race with 18.96% of the vote.
The next ballot update will be released on Thursday before 5 p.m., according to Fresno County Clerk.
“I was canvassing up to the last weekend. I’ve always been a voter, but it’s my first time to be a candidate and learned about the process on the flip side,” said Hashimoto. “I’m really happy about the great voter turnout, and I’m still very hopeful.”
Hashimoto said all three candidates run for the right reason - caring about kids - and they are all focused on their platforms to “sold ourselves rather than meeting somebody else, that said something about our characters,” she said.
School board President Hugh Awtrey leads Gina Vue in the Area 4 trustee race with 61.98% of the vote, the latest returns show.
Tuesday’s contests mark the first year of trustee-region voting for Clovis Unified, which had historically elected board members “at-large.”
All five candidates either taught in the school district or were parents of Clovis Unified students. Each shared similar priorities and said they sought to improve student achievement and preserve the district’s culture.
DeFrank, 40, is a parenting author and the wife of current Trustee David DeFrank, who decided not to run for reelection after completing a four-year term on the board. Hashimoto, 62, is the executive director of CASA of Fresno and Madera counties, and Kardashian, 78, is a retired teacher who taught in Clovis Unified for 55 years. All three candidates are political newcomers who haven’t held any elected office.
Awtrey, 59, an insurance broker, joined the board in 2019 to fulfill the remaining term of a departing trustee and won his first full term in 2020. Vue, a 38-year-old clinician, is running for public office for the first time.
Two other seats on the school board have already been decided. Area 5 incumbent Steven Fogg and Area 7 incumbent Yolanda Moore ran unopposed, meaning they already automatically won the reelection without their names showing up on the ballot.
As of the election night, here’s what candidates raised this year, according to the Fresno County Clerk: DeFrank, $28,173; Hashimoto, $13,630; Kardashian, $35,710; Awtrey, $25,550; Vue, $37,585.
The school board’s next trustees will join the district at a time of growth. With more than 43,000 students, Clovis Unified is the state’s 12th largest school district. The district is building its sixth comprehensive high school to accommodate projected growing enrollment.
Typically – but not always – returns compiled at the end of Election Night reflect percentages similar to the final confirmed result when all of the counting is completed and the election certified. That could take up to four weeks after Election Day.
This story was originally published November 5, 2024 at 8:30 PM.
