Staying alive
Hampton and Hueso headed for PUSD District 3 runoff election next month
03/14/2013
Ruben Hueso and Tyron Hampton will meet in a runoff election on April 16 to decide who will represent the Pasadena Unified School District’s newly formed District 3 on the Board of Education.
With all precincts reporting, Pasadena City Clerk Mark Jomsky said Hueso bested Hampton with 846 votes — or 48.7 percent of the ballots cast. Hampton received 662 votes, or 38.1 percent.
Hueso almost avoided the runoff on March 5, when he picked up 756 votes, giving him with 49.9 percent — two votes shy of the 50 percent plus one vote needed to win the election. However, more than 500 provisional ballots remained uncounted at that time. After all the votes were counted Monday, Jomsky said the top two vote-getters were pushed into a runoff.
“I am really happy the community turned out the way they did,” Hampton told the Weekly Monday.“The community really cares about our youth. This is about propelling our youth and making sure they can build a great future.”
Hampton, who attended local schools and graduated from John Muir High School, surprised some political observers by raising less than $1,000 in campaign contributions.
“I plan to raise some money this time,” Hampton said. “Like I said election night, I am putting on my running shoes.”
Hueso, brother of former Democratic Assemblyman Ben Hueso of San Diego, raised $6,175, including a $5,000 contribution from former Democratic Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez, who is also from San Diego.
United Teachers of Pasadena rescinded its endorsement of Hueso days prior to the election due to conflicting information found on different forms regarding Hueso’s endorsements from individuals and organizations.
Hueso did not return phone calls.
The new district boundaries were created last year by special task force in hopes of staving off potential lawsuits that might be filed against the district under provisions of the California Voting Rights Act. In all, seven minority candidates competed for the four open board seats in Tuesday’s elections. In the end, three white incumbents running for four available seats — Kim Kenne,
Elizabeth Pomeroy and Scott Phelps — won back their respective positions.
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