LaShae Collins won the primary election for a seat on the San Diego Unified School District Board of Education now held by appointed Trustee Sharon Whitehurst-Payne.
Collins, the district director for Assemblywoman Shirley Weber, D-San Diego, received 59 percent of the vote to 41 percent for Whitehurst-Payne, a longtime educator and school volunteer, in Tuesday’s election.
However, the two candidates will face each other again in the district-wide general election in November.
Whitehurst-Payne was appointed to fill the remainder of Marne Foster’s term earlier this year, after Foster resigned and pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of violating the Political Reform Act by accepting an excessive donation from a single donor. She represents District E, which includes southeast San Diego neighborhoods in the Lincoln High, Morse High and portions of the Crawford High areas.
Incumbent board member John Lee Evans, a psychologist and former teacher, bested Stephan Groce, but will face him again in November.
Trustee Richard Barrera, a labor union leader, was unopposed for a third term to represent District D covering south and central San Diego.
— City News Service