Two show interest in running for school board seats

In an election that will seek to fill three seats on the Morgan Hill Unified School District board of education, just two candidates so far have pulled the necessary paperwork to apply for the openings.
Current Trustee Bob Benevento has pulled papers, as has Rick Badillo, who qualified July 25 and will appear on the ballot.
Three seats will be up for election come Nov. 6: Kathy Sullivan’s, Peter Mandel’s and Bob Benevento’s.
Sullivan will not seek re-election after eight years as a trustee and said she will focus her time and energy into promoting the $198 million school bond that will go before voters in November.
Mandel said he has still not made a decision whether or not he will seek re-election after eight years as a trustee.
Benevento was appointed by the sitting board in January 2011 after Trustee Julia Hover-Smoot won the election for the Santa Clara County Board of Education and the position went vacant. Benevento was one candidate in a field of nine, and after lengthy interviews and a vetting process, Benevento was named the new trustee.
Now, he will seek voter support for a four-year term.
The top three vote-getters will take the three open seats.
To apply as a candidate on the Morgan Hill Unified School District board of education, stop by the district office at 15600 Concord Circle or the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters on Bernal Road in San Jose. The deadline for potential candidates to file the paperwork is Aug. 10.