Commentary: MUSD board decision could be an issue of trust

By Doug Spoon, Editor

Call it the landslide victory that slid into controversy. And now, it's created one big mess for the Menifee Union School District Governing Board.

From the first night that election results were announced, folks around Menifee have been trying to figure out how unknown candidate William Hoag received 600 more votes than his closest competitor in a five-candidate race for the MUSD Trustee Area 5 seat. Before his name was placed on the ballot, no one had ever heard of him.

By his own admission, Hoag spent less than $700 on his campaign -- including the application fee. He posted no campaign signs. He didn't appear on any high-profile social media sites. His attendance at the Menifee 24/7 Candidates Forum was less than impressive, with Hoag appearing to know nothing about the issues and wanting to talk only about the need for better school security.

Some believe Hoag received a lot of votes because he's a Marine veteran and talked tough about school security in his one public appearance. Others wonder whether voters simply wanted a fresh face on the board -- someone who wasn't the incumbent (Jerry Bowman) nor the candidate endorsed by a special interest group (Kenyon Jenkins, by the Menifee Teachers Association).

At any rate, with some votes yet to be counted, Hoag has somehow accumulated 1,627 votes -- 33.88 percent of the total votes cast -- to far outdistance second-place Jenkins (1,039). Unfortunately, every one of the 1,627 votes might as well be tossed in the trash can.

Following a Menifee 24/7 investigation and report of alleged election rules violations, Hoag on Nov. 20 announced on his Facebook page that he is withdrawing from the race for "personal reasons." He also announced that decision in an email to the clerk of the school board, according to a document obtained by Menifee 24/7.

Hoag has denied the allegations and hasn't discussed his "personal reasons." Menifee 24/7 has documents showing Hoag falsified his address, using the local address of his ex-girlfriend and mother of his child while continuing to live in Orange County.

Wasn't Hoag's eligibility checked by the Registrar of Voters, you ask? All we know at this point is that Hoag registered to vote at the local address and apparently was approved based on that fact. The real question now is, how will the Area 5 school board vacancy filled?

It's a real shame that 33 percent of the votes cast will in effect by nullified. Those people deserve the chance to vote for a candidate who is eligible to serve, but it appears that won't happen. It's possible that the MUSD board could call for a new election, but the district would have to pay the cost -- and the Registrar would have to devote cost and resources to an election that impacts a relatively few residents of Riverside County.

Jenkins, who obviously has a major interest in this, asked that question of the Registrar's office.

"They said it was up to the new board to appoint a replacement, for the counts will not be finalized until Dec. 7," Jenkins told Menifee 24/7. "They stated that a new election was not going to happen because the level of service wouldn't warrant it. It's not like a State Assembly person or that level, is what they meant."

It seems pretty clear, then, that the new Area 5 Trustee will be appointed by the school board. The board isn't scheduled to meet again until Dec. 11, after the votes are certified. The first item of business that day will be the swearing in of Kyle Root as a replacement for the late Ron Ulibarri in Area 3 and of Jackie Johansen as a replacement for Randy Freeman in Area 4. Both candidates easily defeated their lone opponents.

That means that with the Area 5 seat undetermined because of Hoag's withdrawal, there will be four board members voting on who to appoint to the position. Those will be current board members Reg Bennett and Bob O'Donnell along with Root and Johansen.

Common sense would suggest that they appoint the second-place finisher in the race. At this point, Jenkins leads Debbi Manion by 56 votes, with Bowman and and Joe Long far behind. Theoretically, however, board members could appoint whomever they want.

Doing so certainly wouldn't improve the level of trust residents have in the school board, which is sorely lacking, based on public comments at school board meetings and on social media.

The new board has a chance to make what seems to be the logical decision and appoint the second-place finisher in the Area 5 race. Whatever the board members decide, it will be the start of a new era for a board that has had very few personnel changes in the last 10 years.

Public trust in the school board? It could depend, at least in part, on this decision.