Two candidates for a Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD) Board of Education seat vied to represent District 2- on the west side of Long Beach-in a runoff election on November 3.
Unofficial results from the Los Angeles County Registrar’s office as of November 5 show Erik Miller leading by about 760 votes over Tonia Reyes Uranga.
With current board member Felton Williams retiring in December after representing District 2 for four terms, three candidates contended for his seat in March.
Both Miller and Uranga earned more votes in the March election than third candidate John Mathews, but neither earned the more-than 50% of votes required to secure the seat and hence faced each other on the Nov. 3 ballot.
Uranga had led Miller in the March election by more than 800 votes, with about 42.5% of the total compared with Miller’s 36.5%.
See related story:Two candidates contend for Long Beach school-board seat
In a reverse of that contest, Miller’s lead over Uranga in the current runoff has grown slightly since yesterday as more votes are tallied. As of press time, Miller has 11,437 votes, or almost 52% of the total, compared with Uranga’s 10,674, or about 48%.
The registrar’s office has 30 days to finalize results, per state law.
LBUSD District 2 covers 14 schools on the west side of Long Beach, an area spanning both sides of the 710 Freeway between Wardlow Road and Anaheim Street.
In interviews with the Signal Tribune last month, both candidates expressed interest in increasing technology resources for District 2 students, especially as LBUSD is enforcing at home, online learning at least through Jan 28. due to COVID-19 health concerns.
Both candidates also said they would prioritize closing the achievement gap between District 2 students and those in the other four LBUSD areas.
Uranga said she would create a task force to close that gap and also address disproportionate suspension rates for students of color in District 2 schools.
Miller said he has a track record of bringing people together to solve tough problems such as those that face District 2.
“As the son of a single mother raised in a low-income household in Long Beach,” he said, “I understand the struggles that many of our students are facing, particularly during the current pandemic and economic downturn.”
I personally was taunted by Tonia Uranga on the app NextDoor. It was the beginning of my personal return to life, yet little did I know myself and 5 other neighborhood people were also personally messaged by Tonia Uranga, harassing anyone supporting a Meet & Greet event, but it was because of the event was the candidate running against a personal friend of Tonia. We all messaged each other to find out she was taunting/bullying all of us, because of this LBCC candidate, only to find out how low and dirty Tonia Uranga really is! What I am most alarmed about, are the people supporting such a person to lead young adults, into combative, taunting/bullying tactics, that is the Uranga’s! Investigative reporting on them, yet too many are AFRAID! It’s politics and Long Beach is surrounded with questionable members!!