The field of candidates running for the Clovis Unified School Board Area 2 seat has gotten more crowded, with three women now vying to replace outgoing Trustee David DeFrank.

The candidates are DeFrank’s wife, Molly; Wilma Tom Hashimoto, executive director of CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) of Fresno and Madera Counties; and Janet S. Kardashian, who retired in 2010 as a Clovis Unified teacher but has maintained her teaching credential to work as a substitute and tutor.

DeFrank and Kardashian have qualified for the ballot, while Hashimoto declared her candidacy but hadn’t qualified for the ballot as of Tuesday evening.

Four Clovis Unified seats are open, but only the Area 2 seat is competitive at this point. Incumbents Hugh Awtrey, Dr. Steven Fogg, and Yolanda Moore have qualified for the ballot.

Because there is no incumbent in the Area 2 race, the deadline to qualify for the ballot is Aug. 14. For races with incumbents, the deadline is Aug. 9.

Some Races Competitive, Some Not

Incumbents are facing competition in two other Board of Education races so far:

In the State Center Community College District Area 2 race, incumbent Nasreen Michelle Johnson may be running against Pablo Villagrana, president of Iron Workers Local 155. Villagrana filed his candidacy but hasn’t qualified for the ballot. Johnson qualified for the ballot last Friday.

In the Central Unified Area 5 race, incumbent Richard Solis will face off against challenger Jaspreet Sidhu, a registered nurse. Solis qualified for the ballot on Tuesday, and Sidhu qualified on July 24.

In the other races, either only one candidate or none has qualified for the ballot.

For the Fresno County Board of Education, incumbents Bryan Burton and Allen Clyde have qualified for the ballot and face no challengers. Itzi Robles, an Assembly district representative, has qualified for the seat now held by James Martinez, who reportedly is running for the Fresno Unified Fresno High area seat but has not filed his candidacy.

Of the four State Centers seats up for election, incumbents Deborah Ikeda and Danielle Parra face no opponents. Both qualified for the ballot this month. Richard Caglia, the Area 7 incumbent, has said he doesn’t plan to seek re-election. The only candidate for that seat is Austin Ewell, a local businessman who served for several years in the Trump administration.

School Board Trustee Seat Has No Candidate

In Central Unified, three seats are up for election. Incumbent Phillip Cervantes has not file candidate papers to retain his Area 3 seat, and so far the only candidate in that race is educator Natalie Chavez. In the Area 5 race, no candidates have filed papers, including incumbent Jeremy Mehling.

In Fresno Unified, three seats are up for election. Incumbents Elizabeth Jonasson Rosas, who represents the Roosevelt High area, and Andy Levine, who represents the Fresno High area, face no opposition thus far.

Incumbent Claudia Cazares has not filed candidacy papers to retain her Hoover High area seat. If she does, her challenger will be Daniel Bordona, a retired Fresno Unified teacher who qualified for the ballot on July 15.