A switch to a trustee area election system for the Morgan Hill Unified School District’s board of education seats has brought out four first-time challengers in three districts up for grabs in November.
In two of those races, incumbents Rick Badillo (Trustee Area 6) and Tom Arnett (Trustee Area 5) are seeking to remain on the local school board. Both have filed with the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters’ Office while current board president Bob Benevento (Trustee Area 7) decided to retire from the education realm.
Badillo, a construction project manager who is finishing up his first four-year term since winning election in 2012, is the only incumbent to face off against two opponents: nonprofit director Mary Patterson and education compliance auditor Albert Beltran Jr.
“It’s something I’ve been thinking about for 10 years now,” said Patterson, 53, who has a seventh grader at Martin Murphy Middle School and an 11th grader at Ann Sobrato High School.
Patterson said the change to a trustee area election cemented her decision to run since she could represent the south San Jose community she’s been a part of for the last 16 years.
“It has been a long time since we had a representative on the board,” said Patterson, a director with nonprofit Health Trust, and a health educator at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford.
Joining Patterson in the three-candidate Area 6 race is Beltran Jr., who attended the Aug. 16 school board meeting along with Trustee Area 5 challenger Angelica Diaz.
Beltran, 39, a San Jose native with two young children approaching school age who he plans to enroll at Los Paseos Elementary, is employed as an internal auditor with San Jose Unified School District. In that capacity, he tackles compliance issues for the district and also reviews charter school budgets.
“Because my kids will be attending Morgan Hill schools in a couple of years, I hope to contribute to making the district stronger and a more supportive place for each and every student,” said Beltran, whose grandparents lived in Morgan Hill where he visited frequently throughout his childhood. “Morgan Hill was a second home for me growing up.”
Badillo, a parent of two current MHUSD students and a veteran of the U.S. armed forces, is the Area 6 incumbent. He is seeking a second four-year term.
“As a parent with children in our school district, I believe that, although we are doing amazing things, we still have room for growth, and with solid leadership this district can move forward,” Badillo said.
Arnett vs. Diaz in Area 5
Diaz, of Morgan Hill, was among the at-large candidate pool back in December 2015 when the school board failed to reach a majority vote on an appointment. That led to Arnett winning over Pamela Torrisi in a consolidated June election. Diaz did not take part in that two-candidate race, but is now challenging Arnett for Area 5.
Diaz, a director at Community Health Partnership, graduated through MHUSD schools, attending PA Walsh and El Toro elementaries before moving through Martin Murphy Middle School and graduating from Live Oak High School. She is also a board trustee with the Learning and Loving Education Center in Morgan Hill.
“I am running for MHUSD because I want to contribute back to the community to ensure every child has the opportunity to reach high education attainment,” said Diaz, who has a 4-month-old boy and 2-year-old son.
Before even winning his seat in June with about 53 percent of votes, Arnett committed to running for re-election.
“It doesn’t make a lot of sense just to do a five, six-month term,” said Arnett, 31, an education researcher for the nonprofit think tank Clayton Christensen Institute.
Arnett, who moved his family to a residence within his trustee area to be able to seek a second term, has two young children approaching school age. He attended San Martin/Gwinn Elementary, Britton Middle School and Live Oak High School.
Registered nurse only Area 7 candidate
In Area 7, where Benevento lives but is not running for re-election, challenger Teresa Murillo, 40, is the only candidate as of press-time Aug. 17. The deadline was extended until 5 p.m. Wednesday for another challenger to file. Murillo is a registered nurse, translator and parent of four school-aged children, according to her candidate statement. She is active in the San Martin/Gwinn school community.
“I have a vision that if parents take ownership of their school, their children will benefit the community,” Murillo said. “Positive leadership in education is essential in advancing students who would not otherwise succeed.”
Local residents living within any of the three designated trustee areas will be allowed to vote on their respective trustee area. Trustees Ron Woolf (Area 2), Donna Ruebusch (Area 1), Gino Borgioli (Area 3) and David Gerard (Area 4) will be up for re-election when their terms expire in 2018.
Trustee Area 5
Incumbent: Thomas Arnett, education researcher/parent
Challenger: Angelica Diaz, parent
Trustee Area 6
Incumbent: Rick Badillo, construction project manager/parent
Challenger: Albert Beltran Jr., education compliance auditor
Challenger: Mary Patterson, nonprofit director
Trustee Area 7
Incumbent: Bob Benevento (not running for re-election)
Challenger: Teresa Murillo, registered nurse/parent
