After months without a representative for Murrieta Valley Unified School District (MVUSD) Board of Education Trustee Area 3, voters have just a few more days to decide who will fill the vacant seat.
The June 2 special election was the result of a community effort to force the district to hold a special election after the board voted 3-1 last October to appoint Josefine Hartley to fill the seat vacated by former Trustee Yvonne Munoz last September.
While Hartley would have only served in the role until a special election could be held this coming November, the winner of Tuesday’s election will serve for the remainder of Munoz’s term, which is set to expire December 1, 2028.
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Running in the special election are former Trustee Julie Vandegrift, who lost to Munoz in 2024, and Elliot Emmer, a senior director of development at the UC Riverside School of Public Policy.
“Losing this election seems to be providential as it completely freed me to assist my elderly relative during end-of-life struggles,” Vandegrift said in her candidate statement. “During this time, I did monitor and communicate on board business.”
Vandegrift, who was appointed to the board in 2022, could not be reached for an interview.
Vandegrift’s platform includes improving respect, maintaining the mission of the district and increasing transparency, according to her campaign website.
According to her campaign finance filings, Vandegrift’s campaign has received about $7,100 in contributions. Her largest donor is Republican activist and Murrieta resident Bob Kowell, who has given $1,500 to her campaign. She’s also received $1,000 contributions from Hartley, Murrieta resident Julie MacHale and Wisconsin-based pilot Matthew Hobbs, according to her filings.
Emmer’s campaign has raised more than twice as much this year, bringing in nearly $15,000 in contributions since the start of the year, $10,000 of which has come from the Murrieta Educator’s Association Political Action Committee Fund.
“Being able to bring in more financial support, I think, allowed for greater name recognition in a very short amount of time,” Emmer said in an interview with The Record. “That was one of the key goals early on was get the name out, and then get the message out, and then get the vote out.”
Emmer, who moved to Murrieta 12 years ago with his wife, said he decided to run for the open seat because his two boys both attend MVUSD schools.
“I want to ensure that they have a great educational experience as they go through our schools,” he said. “And personally, for me, giving back and being part of the community are qualities and characteristics that are very important to me.”
For Emmer, filling the gaps around student achievement, ensuring students are prepared for what comes after graduation and improving special education programs were the three most pressing challenges facing the district.
“I won’t pretend that I have all of the answers,” he said when asked how he would tackle these issues. “I think one of the best pieces of advice that I’ve ever received is to recommend directions and ways in which we can develop those solutions.”
For special education, that meant looking at the district’s current programs and seeing if it was in line with current best practices and finding ways to address specific concerns.
As for the issues of student achievement and preparedness, Emmer said he had a lot of faith in the district’s educators and would start by asking what they needed to get their students engaged with the material and looking at how the district could better utilize technology to serve students.
When it came to more long-term goals, Emmer said he saw the issues of the upcoming bond election, infrastructure improvements and expanded career technical education as ways to build a future for the district.
Emmer said if he was elected he would continue to meet with people, hear their concerns and work together to find solutions, but said the most important thing was for people to get out and vote.
“I would love to see a greater turnout in our community and people’s voices being heard through the ballot box,” he said. “If it’s for me, thank you very much. If it’s not for me, that’s OK too, but cast your ballot.”
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