Sunnyside Environmental School

The Portland Public Schools Board of Education will have at least three new members starting in the 2019-20 school year. Four seats will be up for grabs during the Tuesday, May 21, special election.

The deadline to file to run was March 21, and 10 individuals declared themselves as candidates in the four zones up for election. Only one sitting board member in the four zones has decided to seek re-election.

Here are the candidates seeking four-year terms on the board (click on the name to see candidate’s filing form; click on the zone to see a map of the area the director represents):

Zone 1: Two candidates are running to succeed Julie Esparza Brown, who also serves as board vice chair. They are Andrew Scott and Jeff Sosne.

Zone 2: The seat currently occupied by Paul Anthony has three candidates: Shanice Brittany Clarke, Carlos Jermaine Richard and Michelle A DePass.

Zone 3: Incumbent Amy Kohnstamm is running to keep her seat. She has two challengers in Deb Mayer and Wes Soderback.

Zone 7: Two candidates are seeking to succeed Mike Rosen: Eilidh Lowery and Robert Schultz.

Ballots for the elections will be mailed out May 1, and after the May 21 election day, results will have to be certified by June 10. Board meetings for 2019-20 will start in July.

Voters will have a chance to hear from candidates on Thursday, when the League of Women Voters holds a forum starting at 6:30 p.m. in the board room at the district office, 501 N. Dixon St. A video of the forum will be available at the League of Women Voters website.

The board’s three other seats – Zone 4 held by Chair Rita Moore, Zone 5 held by Scott Bailey and Zone 6 held by Julia Brim-Edwards – will come up for election in 2021.

(This information, except for the website links was reviewed by the Oregon Secretary of State's Office for compliance with ORS 260.432.)