Nine Hopefuls Have Declared Candidacy for Three Banning School Board Seats to be Contested Nov. 8

Nine candidates have pulled paperwork to run for three seats on the Banning Unified School District board that are up for election on Nov. 8, the Riverside County's registrar of voters said in an interview this week.

Three of the nine had completed their filings, as of Thursday morning, according to registrar records.

They are retired administrator Ray "Coach" Curtis, child care worker Alejandro "Alex" Cassadas, and retired science teacher Larry Ellis, and they have each been endorsed by the Banning Teachers Association, a union that claims to represent more than 200 teachers in the Banning Unified School District.

Of the three incumbents, one, Deborah Ann Dukes, had declared candidacy as of Thursday morning. Dukes had not completed her filing, and the other two incumbents, Amy Ranee Herr and Laurence Silverman, had not declared candidacy, according to registrar records.

The other five non-incumbents who have declared candidacy are David T. Vanden Heuvel, Maxine Israel, Bonnie L. Calder, Marian Gayle Putnam and Alfredo Andrade.

Nov. 8 elections are also scheduled for the Beaumont Library District and Cabazon Water District boards, Riverside County Registrar of Voters Kari Verjil said.

Anyone interested in running for school district or special district office in the Nov. 8 election may file papers for candidacy until 5 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 12, Verjil said.

If an incumbent fails to file, the deadline is extended for that office, for non-incumbents only, to 5 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 17, Verjil said.

One candidate has filed so far for two seats on the Beaumont Library District board, and three candidates have declared candidacy for two seats on the Cabazon Water District board, according to registrar records.

Cabazon Water District board hopefuls Kerri Mariner, an elementary parent liaison, and Frances A. Magness, a social services worker, had completed their filings as of Thursday morning, and incumbent Robert Ray Lynk had not, according to registrar records. Incumbent Paul Edward Howser had not declared candidacy.