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Two OUSD school board candidates cleared for special election

An Alameda County election drop box
George Kelly
/
Flickr / Creative Commons
An Alameda County election drop box

Oaklandside reports that the two candidates – Sasha Ritzie-Hernandez and Jorge Lerma – were deemed eligible to run for the District 5 seat after a decision by the City Clerk’s office.

Both candidates had previously filed paperwork with Alameda County Registrar Office. They were initially disqualified because they lacked the necessary number of signatures from residents in the new boundaries for District 5, which were drawn last year.

However, both candidates did have enough signatures gathered in the boundaries of the old district.

City spokesperson, Jean Walsh, said city staff researched the question and the decision was made to hold the special election using the old District 5 boundaries.

Ritzie-Hernandez and Lerma are seeking to fill the seat, which was vacated earlier this year by Mike Hutchinson. His departure left the board with only six directors. The school board could not agree on appointing a successor, which triggered this November’s special election

Sunni M. Khalid is a veteran of more than 40 years in journalism, having worked in print, radio, television, and web journalism.