2024 Election- I’m running for Nevada Board of Education & supporting these CCSD School Board Candidates
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Hello! I’m Danielle Ford, former School Board Trustee of the Clark County School District, which includes Las Vegas, Nevada. And I’m also now a candidate for the Nevada State Board of Education.
In this special Election Episode, I’ll explain why I semi-impulsively decided to run for Nevada Board of Education and tell you the details of my race.
I’ll showcase 3 candidates who are running for the Clark County School Board, who I believe would bring much-needed positive changes to the district.
And we’ll go over some election info and ways to get involved in campaigns!
Ok I know I said multiple times in various episodes that I was going to run for something again at some point but it wouldn’t be soon… but, now I’m kinda sorta running for Nevada State Board of Education, District 3… and it happened out of nowhere, I swear!
Ok.. here’s how it went down. It was a Saturday, the weekend right in the middle of the 2 week filing period for the upcoming 2024 election. I’m just minding my own business, out for a walk on a nice sunny day and my friend Anna Binder texts me.
Anna is running for school board trustee and I’m helping with her campaign, this has been planned for a long time. Anna hadn’t filed for the seat yet, due to her schedule and other people’s schedules who wanted to be there to support her, she decided on the 2nd to last day of filing, a Thursday to sign up, and obviously, I planned to attend.
So I’m on my walk, getting my vitamin D and ping. Text from Anna. She says “Yo. No one has filed for Felicia Ortiz’s state board seat… and I believe she’s in your district.” I respond “hmmm’. She says “Right!!!!” exclamation mark, exclamation mark, exclamation mark, exclamation mark, exclamation mark. Anna adds… “She’s termed out”.
I respond, “Let’s put a pin in this for now, keep it to ourselves, and see what happens and where my ADHD goes Thursday.” Anna replies “You got it!!!!” exclamation mark, exclamation mark, exclamation mark, exclamation mark
First of all I had no idea Felicia Ortiz’s seat was up for election or that she was termed out, meaning she can’t run again. She was still serving her first elected term but she had originally been appointed to the state board by former Governor Brian Sandoval. I don’t think many other people realized the seat was open either.
I start thinking to myself and I’m like “I’ve told so many people I’m definitely not running in 2024. I’d even been approached over the past year by a few groups suggesting that I run for various positions and that they would help me win. Some of them I would’ve had to move to a different area a couple months before filing and I was just like “No it’s not the right time for me. I’m launching a podcast, I’m focused on my health, I don’t want to move away from my son’s school his senior year.”
I was planning to re-evaluate closer to the 2026 election and consider if there was a seat I wanted to run for at the state level, probably assembly, maybe senate, but for now just help with CCSD school board races and try to flip the power dynamic on the board.
That’s why I made a quick video, to serve as some sort of proof? I dunno. But here’s a clip.
Then I keep thinking to myself and I’m like. “If I had known this seat was open, I probably would have decided to go for it and been campaigning for it this whole time. This is the natural next step for me, especially with everything I’m covering with the podcast and the direction I intend to take the podcast.”
The state board oversees all schools in Nevada: public, charter, public and homeschool. It’s responsible for the things that need to change and trickle down through districts, for instance student testing requirements, and data and reporting mandates, and all the hoops educators have to jump through. And it’s the board that most influences legislators on education issues. Like, it just makes sense. Oh yeah and NO ONE HAS SIGNED UP TO RUN.
I’m thinking, “I could possibly be the only 1 to sign up and just win the seat uncontested. Or even if just 1 other person signs up, I won’t have to participate in the primary election in June which takes the field down to 2 because we’ll already be there.”
Also I have acquaintances and allies on that board, I like the current state superintendent of education and it would be nice to be on a board where the other members and superintendent aren’t constantly conspiring against me and I could put my energy towards solutions instead of fighting everyone. Like what would that be like?
This is literally the same district as my trustee district. If you’re familiar with clark county trustee districts, district 3 for the state encompasses all of districts F and E and a little bit of C and A. and the areas in district A that are in 3, used to be in district F when I was on the board. So I was the elected education representative for majority of the people in district 3 only a year-ish ago.
Also I’m already going to be helping in several of those trustee races that have overlap with voters in district 3.
I was thinking like “It just makes sense to be on the state board representing this area.” But I was not thrilled about the idea of campaigning for the next 8 months.
Sunday night I came to an agreement with myself. Myself told myself that on Thursday, when myself… when I go to the government center to support Anna, that if either 0 people or only 1 person has signed up, I will sign up and hope that no one else does the final day, so that I can just take it or go directly to the general election in November.
Monday I checked the election website and someone had signed up to run for the seat and the name was shocking! I was like “What! How can this be??!!”
OK are you thinking that it’s Lola Brooks? It’s not Lola Brooks but Lola is in district E which is in 3 and she is not running for re-election to the CCSD board. Also she’s friends with Felicia Ortiz so when I learned that Felicia couldn’t run again, I was kinda wondering if Lola planned to take her place.
But she did not sign up so I’m still holding on to the theory I’ve had for a while now about Lola Brooks’ next step, which I believe is to become an official Student Outcomes Focused Governance Coach working under AJ Crabill to train Nevada boards in being good board members, which includes the state board. And if that happened and I joined the board, it would be HILARIOUS. Like I will never run out of podcast content.
If you have no idea what I’m talking about but you’re like this is so much drama, I must know everything”, then check out the “Houston we have a problem” episode and you’ll be all caught up.
Back to the actual person who signed up for the race and who’s now my main opponent. His name is Rene Cantu. And the reason it was shocking to see his name running for district 3 is that he was elected in 2020 to the state board and is currently a member, but for district 4.
I did a double take. And then another double take. I did a quadruple take. I legit was like is this a typo. Did the election office glitch out? How can someone be sitting on the board for a district, and concurrently be a candidate for that same board in another district. Because you have to live in the district you serve in, if you move out you forfeit your seat. And to run in a district you have to live there for 30 days… so??
Then I remembered that 2020 was the census and based on that data, everything is redistricted and new lines are drawn. For trustee districts, they can’t redistrict a seated trustee out, but state board districts are based on congressional districts and the congress member can’t be redistricted out, but a state board member unfortunately can. And was.
I have empathy for Rene about being redistricted out. I would not like it if that happened to me.
A similar thing happened to me in fact, district F had a ton of growth while I was on the board and a ton of projected growth so when lines were redrawn in 2021, I lost 60,000 of my constituents/potential voters who’s votes helped me win in 2018.
The fact is that Rene Cantu is currently on the Nevada board of Education, but he’s not the incumbent and he’s not running for re-election for district 3. It’s an open seat.
While this small detail won’t matter so much to voters, it definitely matters to PACs and groups who’s endorsement includes money to advertise to voters and people to knock on doors and make phone calls asking for votes.
In the political world, running against an incumbent who’s up for re-election is an aggressive move. And it’s considered bad form for established political groups to not support the incumbent. The incumbent would have to be loathed by a group, to not receive the endorsement and support.
I don’t believe anyone is ever entitled to a seat even an incumbent but many in political spaces do. So if that is going to be the conversation, who is the most incumbent-y person in this race… there’s an argument to be made that it’s Rene Cantu because he’s currently on the state board representing north Las Vegas in district 4.
And there’s an argument to be made that the most incumbent-y candidate is me, Danielle Ford, because I was the elected ccsd school board trustee for most of district 3, very recently.
Listen, if anyone hears anything about Rene Cantu being the incumbent or re-elect to district 3, please correct the source. And then the comments end there because as far as I know, which I think is pretty far, Rene is a good dude and a solid board member. I intend to run a clean campaign and I believe that he does as well.
I ended up signing up on Thursday and it looked like it was gonna be smooth sailing through the primary election and into the general, but alas, a third person entered the race in the last 30 minutes on the final day of the filing period.
Obviously I support the democratic process and all that but Ugh! Now there are 3 people in my race and I will be on the ballot for the June primary election.
I haven’t looked too much into the 3rd candidate, and I know better than to underestimate anyone but I believe that Rene and I are each others strongest opponent.
Back to endorsements really quick: the ink had barely dried on my signature line before CCEA the Clark county teachers union, led by John Vellardita who loathes me, announced their endorsement of my opponent, Rene Cantu. They could have at least pretended to hold a fair endorsement process and interview me or send me a survey or flip a coin that has heads on both sides or something but no.
CCEA will give $10,000 of their members dues directly to Rene for his campaign. And they will also spend hundreds of thousands more towards his marketing and their other endorsed candidates, through CCEAs political PAC Strategic Horizons.
We will talk more about PACs and endorsements soon. I already had that planned to line that up with elections.
In fact, I’m really happy about how this all went down because I know for sure that none of the podcast content thus far or whats coming down the line is influenced whatsoever, even subconsciously by my candidacy. I’m not changing anything. Not the order of content, the naming of people, the PACs, the billionaires that fund them, nothing.
Before I was thinking that it was good to be on this side, not in the political web as a candidate or elected because it allows me to not care at all who I piss off or what people say, but now I’m a candidate and I still do not care. I do not care if I lose the race. Don’t get me wrong, I want to win and I’m going to try to win. I think I’d be a valuable addition to the board of ed, but if I don’t win, I’ll be like “ok”. I am completely detached from outcomes.
Now let’s talk about the races that I am not detached from. I am attached AF to these outcomes. I probably should do some inner work on that but that’s for a different day. We got 3 CCSD elections to win.
This year, 4 out of 7 of the Clark county school board seats are up for election.
This is a major opportunity to elect pro-public education candidates who will fix the governance policies that have silenced the trustees and the voters they represent, and who will bring positive changes to the 5th largest school district in the country.
It’s been over 25 years since the majority of the ccsd school board was truly publicly elected and community focused, and not bought and puppeteered by outside individuals aiming to destroy our school district. These are the most important elections right now, even more important than my race for the Nevada board of education.
First up is Anna Binder running for CCSD School Board Trustee in District A which consists of most of Henderson, Boulder City, Laughlin, and Searchlight.
Anna and I met by fighting with each other in facebook comments. So when someone tells you that nothing good comes from arguing with strangers on the internet, know that they are lying to you. Beautiful things can emerge. Friendships are sometimes formed. Those friendships can grow into campaigns for political office. So if you take anything from this, let it be to argue with strangers on the internet.
During school shutdowns the parent advocating the most for re-opening, on behalf of all parents, was Anna Binder. From rallying parents to give hours of public comments virtually, showing up when in-person board meetings started again, demanding supports for students with IEPs, pushing for sports to restart, speaking to reporters and consistently keeping the public informed, Anna was there every step of the way as we got back to normal.
And then she kept it up. She was appointed to the ccsd board’s school zoning committee and financial audit committee. She wasn’t well liked by some people who run the financial department and that committee, but that’s for another episode. Anna also has this mysterious ability to simultaneously piss everyone off and charm them and win them over, over and over again, but without being fake or manipulative. Like I’m very good at both of those things also but only 1 of those things per person at any given time.
It’s like everyone likes Anna even if for some it’s more “Hate to love her/love to hate her”, it’s still positive, you know what I mean? But it’s not like that for me. Nobody goes “love to hate her”/hate to love her. Everyones chosen one. Or did I choose it for them? … do I need a better personality?
Anna also serves on like 1000 education committees for the state of Nevada and the city of Henderson. Like “Ok I get it. You do all of the things and you know all of the things. You deserve a seat on the school board. I live in the Henderson area and I’m gonna vote for you for Trustee for district A. On or before June 11th. That’s what I’m gonna do.”
Next, Tameka Henry running for CCSD School Board Trustee for district C, which is North Las Vegas and includes the historic west side.
I first met Tameka when she was planning to run for the same seat a little over 4 years ago. She was new to being a candidate and wanted insight and help with marketing since I had ran and won my first election myself.
This was not too long after I went viral nationally for being racist and most of the black community still hated me so we were like “maybe we don’t disclose I’m helping behind the scenes”.
If you don’t know what I’m talking about and you’re like “wait hold on what?” then I suggest the episode “Racism in Schools” which is an interview with Akiko Cooks and Jshauntae Marshall, who are the ones who actually connected Tameka and I. Life is so crazy.
Even though this was the official record of the first time we met, I know our paths crossed before. The moment I sat down I said “I know you.. I’ve talked to you. Like a lot. I think.” She had no recollection. I went in reverse through all the possible places we could have met and finally got to Acelero Learning Headstart, which my kids attended over a decade earlier, when they were toddlers.
She confirmed that she worked there during that time and we discovered that we’re both passionate about early learning programs, especially Headstart. And then glimpses of images of memories started popping in my mind and I tried for a good 15 minutes to get her to remember meeting me.
“Ok I’m seeing… a park. It’s a splash pad park.its very hot outside. Some sort of family event… did you have a family event for Headstart families at a splash pad park?” She says yes. Ok I’m seeing blue… some sort of blue treat, perhaps popsicles. Wait wait.. there were hotdogs. There were definitely hotdogs. We were sitting across from each other at a picnic table. Are you getting anything?” She says no.
I gave up trying to tap into that memory for that meeting, but I haven’t completely given up and I’m certain that if that memory was essential to solving a cold case or something, that a professional hypnotist contracted by the fbi could retrieve it.
They’d be like “Danielle stop looking at the hot dogs for a second. What was the murderer wearing? No no no ignore the blue dessert that may or may not be popsicles. The man covered in blood. What color is his shirt?”
I’m certain that if I was put through that exercise, I wouldn’t be any help to solve the murder but I’d know for sure those were popsicles and is maybe be able to recall what Tameka and I talked about at that picnic table.
Anyway, I ended up designing Tameka’s brand, building her website and running her online ads.
Tameka’s nonprofit The Obodo collective serves her community in many ways including providing a community garden in the middle of a food desert.
Tameka does so many things and is everywhere. At events, in publications, in my hazy memories…
If you’re in Vegas and you haven’t noticed Tameka Henry before now, you will. You know when you get a new car and then you see the exact car at every turn? It’s that except instead of your car it’s Tameka’s face.
Last up we have Kamilah Bywaters running for CCSD School Board Trustee for District E, which is Summerlin and west Las Vegas.
Kamilah is a licensed special education teacher, a doctoral student and president of the Las Vegas Alliance of Black School Educators. She’s a defended of public education and is desperately needed in the fight against privatization happening in Nevada.
The main reason I’m helping is I’m scared of her. I’m only half joking. She’s an absolute sweetheart, highly educated, intuitive, and passionate. You do not want to be in the middle of Kamilah and someone doing wrong by kids. No sir-ee . We need someone Kamilah level scary on the board. That’s called balance.
I know this because I’ve witnessed Kamilah show up and speak up at school board meetings for years. She does the research on agenda items, brings relevant facts, and offers viable solutions.
Despite being ignored and publicly mocked by the majority of the board and Jara over and over again, for years, Kamilah kept showing up and kept speaking out in the media. Then she signed up to win a seat and demand to finally be listened to.
I’m planning to have Anna, Tameka, and Kamilah on as guests before the primary election, or possibly host a q&a session or something, so let me know in the YouTube comments what questions you’d like me to ask. You can find links to their websites in the description and on the individual episode page.
2024 Election Dates for Nevada
In Nevada, early voting is open from May 25th to June 7th
And The primary Election Day is June 11th, 2024.
And now I have a few asks of you:
First, producing Unraveling Education takes a lot of work and tech and software, and it’s dependent on donations from viewers and listeners. To support the podcast visit Unravelingeducation.com/sponsor. Everything helps!
Next, Anna, Kamilah, Tameka and I are all seeking donations for our campaigns. You can find links to help us all win our elections in the description and the webpage as well.
Donation links:
Anna Binder: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/friends-for-anna-marie-binder-1
Tameka Henry: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/tameka-henry-committee-to-elect-2
Kamilah Bywaters: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/kamilah4trustee
Danielle Ford: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/friends-of-danielle-ford-2
Next, consider volunteering for any of the campaigns, there are lots of ways to help from knocking doors to making phone calls to addressing envelopes or helping with admin.
Most importantly, make sure you’re registered to vote and find your voting locations!
And lastly, share this episode with your friends and on social media! Especially with anyone who lives in those voting areas.
All of these things add up!
Thanks so much for tuning in. We’ll be doing special election episodes periodically through campaign season! Here we go…