School Board Races Taking Shape

[Updated] Four local residents have announced their intentions to run for school board.

Mike Crowley, Tina Wu Fredericks, Scott Harden and Jennifer Hall Lee have all confirmed their intentions to enter the Nov. 3 contest.

“I’m running for school board because I believe in our public school system which is one of the fundamental building blocks of our democracy. This is the time to give PUSD everything we have to give,” Lee said.

Lee, a PUSD parent, is a member of the Altadena Town Council and has chaired the Eliot Arts Annual Fund since 2018.

Lee and Crowley intend to run for the PUSD District 2 seat, currently held by Roy Boulghorjian.

“I’m running for Pasadena School Board because we need bold leadership with clear vision. We must work as a community to guide PUSD in the right direction,” Crowley posted on his website.

On his website, Crowley, also a PUSD parent describes himself as an education advocate.

Harden says he will challenge board president Patrick Cahalan for the PUSD District 4 seat. According to a press release, Harden has served multiple roles with Don Benito Elementary School’s PTA including four elected terms as the PTA President. Harden is a small business consultant.

“I decided to jump into this race, certainly not because the road ahead is easy,” said Harden. “We are about to face some of the most unbelievably challenging times we’ve ever faced as a community. Our children will need all of us, thinking and moving forward, together, building on each other’s great ideas for the future they want for their schools and to best mitigate the impact of what we know is coming.

Tina Wu Fredericks has also said she will run against Lawrence Torres for District 6.

“As an active PUSD mom of two, I’ve seen how the lack of communications and repeated school closures have eroded confidence in our school district leadership,” Fredericks said. “I’m running for school board, because we need to provide leadership and integrity for PUSD. By bringing parents, teachers, business people, community members, and public and non-profit service providers together, we can build a positive future for our school district.”

The PUSD districts do not comply with the City Council districts. The school district includes Altadena and Sierra Madre which are outside the Pasadena city limits.

In order to comply with the state’s Voter Participation Rights Act, the district moved its elections to comply with state’s contests. The election is scheduled on Nov. 3.

This year’s election will be a plurality election, without the possibility of a runoff.

Whoever gets the most votes will win the election even if the victory is beneath 50 percent of the vote.