Wes Wolfe
The race for Nassau County School Board’s District 1 took a turn this week when the Nassau Teachers’ Association (NTA) announced its endorsements in the Board’s two competitive Primaries. NTA backed Shannon Hogue against twice-elected incumbent Jamie Deonas in District 1, while putting their support with former West Nassau High School Principal Curtis Gaus in District 3.
Although Deonas is running for his third term, he previously represented District 3.
“I’m asking you for your vote,” Hogue said in a video post for early voting this week. “Why? Because I am the candidate who is completely active, vested and always present.”
Hogue wants to be a voice on the Board for the county’s students, she said.
“I will be an advocate for the kids just like I’ve been for over 20 years,” Hogue said. “I want to be the person who families know they can come to when they’re having concerns. Likewise, with all the staff, I want to be the conduit to build better relationships between families and the Board.”
Her campaign had yet to post her newest campaign finance report by noon Friday, but the week before she received a combined $1,000 from three contributions and didn’t spend anything, she reported, with $1,550 on hand.
Deonas reported no campaign finance activity in the past week, but has around $13,000 on hand. Rick Pavelock, another candidate in the nonpartisan Primary, also hadn’t posted his P6 report, but had around $144 in the campaign account as of the last report.
“I am thrilled to have earned the trust of the hardworking teachers of Nassau County Schools,” Gaus said in a statement following the endorsement. “I pledge to work with the teachers and the district to find ways to retain quality teachers and keep the Nassau County School District at the top of the state.”
Gaus is in an open-seat Primary against NAS Jacksonville civil service worker David Dew and former Yulee Elementary School teacher Albert Wagner. Their P6 reports were not up as of noon Friday either, but Wagner was the only candidate to show activity the week before, spending more than $2,500 on advertising. None had much money on hand going into August.
