RandySF
RandySF's JournalYoung candidates create rare contested school board race in southeast OKC
OKLAHOMA CITY — South Oklahoma City neighborhoods that haven’t seen a contested school board race in over a decade will choose between two young Hispanic candidates in an April 7 election.
Natalie Roman, 22, and Galilea Martinez, 28, are running for Oklahoma City Public Schools’ District 7 board seat. The position represents a slice of the city’s southwest side and all of the southeast, including Capitol Hill High School, Southeast High School, and the elementary and middle schools that feed into them.
Both candidates said they aim to better engage families and residents in the predominantly Latino area, which last saw more than one candidate run for its school board seat in 2014.
“The fact that we do have two Latinas that are from this community running, it says a lot,” Roman said. “It’s definitely progressing, and it’s great that the community has options. I think it offers better transparency among voters to be able to choose and even know about their school boards. So, I am really glad to be part of it. I think that no matter what, it’s not a win or loss for either of us.”
https://oklahomavoice.com/2026/03/31/young-candidates-create-rare-contested-school-board-race-in-southeast-okc/
Missouri public education amendment campaign stops signature push, plans 2028 return
An initiative petition campaign seeking to enshrine a “fundamental right” to public education in the Missouri Constitution is abandoning its efforts to get on the November ballot, promising a return in 2028.
The Missouri Right to Education campaign had only collected around 35,000 signatures — one fifth of the minimum required for constitutional amendments — with little more than a month before signatures were due to the secretary of state.
“It took a lot longer to build the coalition that we needed,” Spencer Toder, the organization’s director, told The Independent. “Honestly, in large part because of the lawsuit with the Secretary of State.”
The campaign has been embroiled in a legal battle over ballot language since August after Secretary of State Denny Hoskins wrote a ballot summary describing the proposed amendment as an affront to “existing state scholarship programs that provide direct aid to students with disabilities and low-income families.”
https://missouriindependent.com/2026/03/31/missouri-public-education-amendment-campaign-stops-signature-push-plans-2028-return/
Bettors grow more confident Virginia redistricting vote will pass
People are betting that Virginia's redistricting referendum will pass, and the odds have only grown more confident in recent days.
Why it matters: That optimism runs counter to growing anxiety among Democrats due to strong early voting turnout in Republican-leaning districts.
The big picture: Prediction markets on three major platforms — PredictIt, Polymarket and Kalshi — gave the referendum an 80% to 85% chance of passing as of Sunday night.
On PredictIt, odds have jumped nearly 10 points in in the past week.
https://www.axios.com/local/richmond/2026/03/30/virginia-redistricting-prediction-markets-bets
Alaska Gov. Dunleavy's aide and former legislative candidate (R) arrested for drunk driving in Juneau
A legislative aide to Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy, and a former candidate for the Alaska House of Representatives, was arrested and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol on Thursday in Juneau.
Forrest Wolfe, 40, was pulled over by Juneau Police at about 10:30 p.m. on Mar. 26, according to court documents, after driving erratically through a busy area of downtown Juneau. Wolfe was the sole occupant of the vehicle, a red Chevrolet Tahoe, when he was pulled over on Franklin Street.
Wolfe exhibited a strong odor of alcohol and gave conflicting stories of his previous activities, then stopped answering questions, according to the police report. Wolfe failed a field sobriety test and then later a chemical test for alcohol, showing his breath alcohol level at 0.10, which is above the legal limit of 0.08. He was arrested and charged with a criminal misdemeanor.
Wolfe serves as deputy legislative director for Dunleavy, a role he began in January, according to his public LinkedIn profile.
https://alaskabeacon.com/briefs/alaska-gov-dunleavys-aide-and-former-legislative-candidate-arrested-for-drunk-driving-in-juneau/
Republican consultant faces federal embezzlement charges
An Annapolis-based political consultant with ties to Republicans including former Gov. Larry Hogan is under federal indictment for allegedly embezzling from at least one of his clients as part of a scheme to finance a yacht.
James Appel faces three counts of wire fraud and three counts of money laundering in the indictment that was unsealed Monday in U.S. District Court in Baltimore.
Prosecutors, in the 10-page indictment, alleged that Appel stole money from the account of at least one elected official and one community organization with which he was associated.
Appel is accused of not only stealing money from the two accounts to finance his yacht lifestyle, but of also signing campaign finance reports misrepresenting the balances of the account. He is also accused of lying about bank balances to board members of the community group from which he allegedly stole.
https://marylandmatters.org/2026/03/31/republican-consultant-faces-federal-embezzlement-charges/
GA-14: Early voting begins in Georgia's special election runoff to replace Marjorie Taylor Greene
The race has narrowed down to two, and now residents in Georgia's 14th Congressional District will have the chance to choose who will succeed Marjorie Taylor Greene as their representative in Congress.
Early voting began on Monday for the runoff between Shawn Harris and Clay Fuller, marking the start of a short voting period that will conclude on April 7.
Harris and Fuller received the most votes out of 17 candidates during the March 10 special election, but neither received more than 50% of the vote, triggering a runoff between the two.
Harris, a farmer and retired Army general, received the most votes in the March 10 election. However, while he was the best-known Democrat, Republicans in the predominantly red district split their vote among several candidates.
https://www.cbsnews.com/atlanta/news/early-voting-georgia-election-runoff-marjorie-taylor-greene-shawn-harris-clay-fuller/
Meet your candidates for Door County Board in the April 2026 election
Voters from one end of Door County to the other have choices to make in the April 7 election for the Door County Board of Supervisors.
All 21 seats on the board are up for election, with six of the races contested. Terms are for two years.
One race is in District 3 in southeastern Door County, where Forestville residents Jan Guilette and Jason Tlachac are running to succeed longtime supervisor Roy Englebert, who died in November.
Districts 9 and 10, both on the east side of Sturgeon Bay, have incumbents seeking reelection, with District 9 Supervisor Ryan Shaw challenged by Any Austad Labott and District 10 Supervisor Phillip Rockwell facing challenger Alexis Heim Peter.
https://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/story/news/local/door-co/2026/03/30/meet-your-candidates-for-door-county-board-in-the-april-2026-election/89303071007/
Coral Gables special election on voting dates divides city
A proposal to move city elections from April to November has divided Coral Gables' elected officials and residents.
Why it matters: If approved, the ballot measure would change the city's charter to align local voting with federal and state elections — a move supporters say would boost turnout, while opponents argue it would cause local issues to be overshadowed.
The April 21 referendum will be conducted exclusively by mail.
Zoom in: Referendum No. 1 asks if the charter should be amended to move the city's general election from April of each odd year to "the date of the national election in November of each even year," beginning this year.
https://www.axios.com/local/miami/2026/03/30/coral-gables-election-charter-mayor-lago
Milwaukee group mobilizes to boost Latino voting power
As Women’s History Month wraps up, a women-led grassroots organization in Milwaukee is working to ensure Latinos in Wisconsin have a voice at the polls.
Eloisa Gomez, a member of the League of Women Voters of Milwaukee County, said amid current threats to both voting rights and the Latino community, the organization is focused on expanding Latino voting access through nonpartisan, bilingual outreach. She noted many have serious concerns about what could happen to Latinos at the ballot box, and the organization is seeing more people mobilize to protect voting rights.
“Knowing that we’re still at risk, just being brown,” Gomez observed. “We are going out there because we realize the challenges that our brothers and sisters who are undocumented are facing. So it’s beyond the vote.”
Gomez stressed voting plays a critical role in changing policies working against the Latino community. She emphasized the need for culturally and linguistically appropriate civic education. Latinos represent the largest and fastest-growing minority group in Wisconsin.
https://wisconsinindependent.com/politics/milwaukee-group-mobilizes-to-boost-latino-voting-power/
District C is Houston's highest-turnout district. Why have so few voted in an ongoing council race?
Few voters have cast ballots in an ongoing Houston City Council special election despite the area consistently recording the highest turnout of the city’s 11 districts in past elections.
As of Sunday night, only 4,733 people had voted for a new District C council representative. Early voting ends Tuesday ahead of Election Day on Saturday.
The district – which includes Meyerland, Montrose, the Heights and Oak Forest – has been Houston’s highest-turnout district in each of the last five November elections, and topped 37,000 ballots in each of the last three.
The district – which includes Meyerland, Montrose, the Heights and Oak Forest – has been Houston’s highest-turnout district in each of the last five November elections, and topped 37,000 ballots in each of the last three.
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/houston/article/district-c-turnout-22155998.php
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