Two Rialto residents begin run for school board

July 21--Rialto -- Two Rialto residents have begun the process of seeking the two open seats on the Rialto Unified school board.

On July 14, the paperwork required to run for office in San Bernardino County for the Nov. 4 election became available.

As of Thursday afternoon, two women, Lillie M. Houston and Dina L. Walker, had picked up the candidacy documents from the San Bernardino County Registrar of Voters Office.

"I have faith in this area, here," Houston said Friday afternoon. "I've lived here, I've raised three of my grandchildren here from grade school all the way through high school. They've turned out well."

Houston, a 25-year insurance broker and local Democratic Party activist, started thinking about running for the school board when news broke that accountant Judith Oakes was accused of embezzling $1.8 million from the district's nutrition services department.

"Because of that, I said, hey, I need to get involved, I need to go to more meetings," Houston said. "Everybody has a responsibility and if they do what they're supposed to do, here in Rialto, it'll will come back to where it was before, back when I was raising my kids."

Walker, the president and CEO of the BLU Educational Foundation, could not be reached for comment Friday afternoon.

Neither of the two incumbent school board members, Joanne Gilbert or Edgar Montes, had picked up their paperwork as of Thursday afternoon.

"I have not pulled papers, but I intend on pulling papers," Montes wrote in a Thursday afternoon email.

Gilbert denied rumors that she would be running for city council instead of seeking re-election to the school board.

"I have not picked up re-election papers yet, and I am not running for Rialto City Council," she wrote in a Friday afternoon email.

Would-be candidates have until Aug. 8 to submit their completed paperwork. Candidates must be 18 years old, a citizen of California, resident in the Rialto Unified School District, a registered voter and not disqualified for holding office for other reasons.

Should Gilbert or Montes not file their paperwork by Aug. 8, there will be a five-day extension for other candidates to file, giving them until Aug. 13 to throw their hat into the ring.

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