Gwinnett County voters will elect two Board of Education members in May — six months sooner than anticipated.
And unlike past years, ballots won’t designate candidates’ political parties.
Gov. Brian Kemp signed into law this week legislation that makes the county’s school board elections nonpartisan. It also pushes up the date when elections are held from November to May.
About 40% of Georgia’s 180 school districts hold partisan elections.
Republican lawmakers pushed for the change after Democrats became the school board majority last year. Within months, they voted for an early end to the contract of longtime Superintendent J. Alvin Wilbanks.
School board member Everton Blair Jr., a Democrat, criticized the new law.
“It’s another rushed, unprincipled power grab that doesn’t solve an actual problem and just creates new ones,” he said in a text message.
This year’s nonpartisan elections are May 24. That means candidates have about three months to make their case as to why they should help lead Georgia’s largest school district, which has about 180,000 students. It’s also one of the state’s most diverse school systems.
Two seats are up for grabs. Blair’s seat is one of them, but he’s not seeking to keep it. He recently announced he is running for state school superintendent. The other seat is that of Vice Chair Steve Knudsen, a Republican who is running for reelection.
Alexis Williams and Adrienne Simmons have submitted paperwork to the state campaign finance system as nonpartisan candidates for Blair’s seat.
Simmons only recently submitted paperwork and has not yet launched a campaign website. On her website, Williams doesn’t identify herself as a member of a political party, but the Republican Party of Gwinnett County shared her campaign video.
“I can’t stand by as social emotional learning, critical race theory, comprehensive sexual education and mandates are put above the safety and education of children,” Williams states on her website.
Critical race theory, a higher education framework for analyzing racism in society, has been a hotbed issue at school board meetings. Most districts, including Gwinnett, say it isn’t taught in K-12 schools.
One challenger has stepped forward for Knudsen’s seat. Michael Rudnick launched his campaign earlier this month, posting a video and social media post. At school board meetings, he often speaks against mask mandates and calls for more resources for special needs students.
Rudnick filed campaign paperwork with the state as a Republican. On his social media, he said he supported the move to make the school board elections nonpartisan.
The full field of candidates won’t be set until the end of the qualifying period March 11.
Even though the election for their seats will be in May, Blair’s and Knudsen’s terms won’t be affected and will end in December, district spokeswoman Sloan Roach said.
Brenda Lopez Romero, chair of the Gwinnett County Democratic Party and a former state representative, said the condensed election process means candidates will have less time to reach voters, resulting in an under-informed electorate.
She said that’s a purposeful move: “Republicans are trying to hold onto electoral power they no longer have based on the voter base.”
The Gwinnett County Republican Party did not immediately return a request for comment.
The Republican majority in each chamber passed the bill by comfortable margins. The Democratic majority of Gwinnett’s state representatives spoke against the bill, saying it usurps the will of voters.
They cited a 2020 primary referendum in which 70% of Gwinnett Republicans opposed making school board elections nonpartisan.
