Austin B. Ewell III, who served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Water and Science in the U.S. Department of the Interior in the Trump administration, is running for a seat on the State Center Community College District Board of Trustees.

Ewell qualified for the ballot on Wednesday, according to the Fresno County Elections Office. He’s running for the District 7 seat held by longtime Trustee Richard Caglia, who told a GV Wire reporter he is not seeking re-election.

If there is no incumbent in the race, the filing deadline will be extended to Aug. 7.

Ewell lists his occupation as “small businessman/attorney” on the ballot. According to the New Leadership Network website, Ewell specializes as an attorney in land use, water supply, and regulatory matters. He is president of Clarksfield Company, a real estate development firm, and president of Point Millerton Ranch LLC, Lake Millerton Marinas LLC, and owner and real estate broker of record for the Ewell Group and Zenobia Realty Company.

He is also a former member of the Fresno County Planning Commission.

He received his bachelor’s degree at the University of Southern California and his law degree at the Loyola Law School, according to the New Leadership Network website.

Other candidates who have filed for seats on the State Center board are District 3 incumbent Danielle Parra, who qualified for the ballot on July 16, and District 6 incumbent Deborah J. Ikeda, who qualified for the ballot on Wednesday.

Other Board of Education Races

In Fresno Unified, three seats are up for election. Roosevelt Area incumbent Elizabeth Jonasson Rosas filed her candidacy but had not yet qualified for the ballot by Thursday morning. Incumbent Andy Levine, who qualified for the ballot on July 16, is thus far the only candidate filing for the Fresno High Area seat. Challenger Daniel Bordona, a retired Fresno Unified teacher, qualified on July 15 for the Hoover High seat held by Claudia Cazares, who had not filed by Thursday morning.

In Clovis Unified, Molly DeFrank has qualified for the ballot and is running to take the Area 2 seat now held by her husband, David DeFrank, who decided not to seek re-election. Incumbents Hugh Awtrey and Yolanda Moore qualified for the ballot last week for their respective Area 4 and Area 7 seats and thus far have no challengers. There are no candidates yet for the Area 5 seat held by Dr. Steven Fogg.

In Central Unified, three seats are up for election but only one candidate has filed. Jaspreet Sidhu, a registered nurse, qualified for the ballot on Wednesday and is running for the Area 5 seat held by Richard Solis.

On the Fresno County School Board, incumbents Bryan Burton and Allen Clyde have filed for re-election to their respective Area 2 and 5 seats and qualified for the ballot last week. They face no challengers thus far. Itzi Robles, an Assemblymember district representative and mother, filed but has not qualified for the Area 3 seat held by James Martinez.

Related Story: Challengers, Incumbents File Early in Fresno-Area School Board Races