From the Chron, which notes that five seats are up for election this year and that until Mike Morath gives us back our power there won’t be that much for them to do.
District I
Felicity Pereyra
Felicity Pereyra, a data scientist and small business owner, is the founder of Elevate Strategies, a Houston consulting firm. She is an HISD alumna who attended Shadowbriar Elementary School, Revere Middle School and Westside High School.
Pereyra previously worked for the Democratic National Committee and presidential campaigns of former President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Vice President Kamala Harris. She is also on the board of Momentum Education and Annie’s List Training and Engagement Fund.
District V
Maria Benzon
Maria Benzon is HISD parent and public education advocate who has worked for more than 25 years in education, including as a teacher, curriculum specialist and professor. She is an HISD alumna who graduated from Booker T. Washington High School for Engineering Professions.
She was previously an assistant principal at Southwest Schools and a math teacher at Madison High School and Lawson Middle School. She also serves as the President of Bellaire Young Mothers, a Girl Scout co-leader and Odyssey of the Mind coach.
District VI
Kendall Baker
Kendall Baker, the former secretary of the HISD school board, is running for his second term. After graduating from HISD’s Forest Brook High School, Baker worked for nearly 30 years for the City of Houston, including for Houston Public Works and the Office of the Mayor.
Baker — an ordained minister — is a member of Houston Ministers Against Crime, which is a volunteer organization assisting with crime prevention. He is also a former member of the Houston Area Pastor Council and chairman of the Houston Police and Clergy Alliance.
Michael McDonough
Michael McDonough is a former Houston ISD principal, teacher and coach who worked in the district for more than 30 years before retiring. He currently works as a professor of practice at the University of Houston and as a train operator at Hermann Park.
McDonough, the parent of two HISD graduates, previously led Pin Oak Middle School and Bellaire and Westside High School as principal. He also was a math teacher at Attucks Middle School and Westbury High School.
District VII
Audrey Nath
Audrey Nath is a pediatric neurologist, HISD parent and advocate against the state takeover of the district. She earned a doctorate in neuroscience from UTHealth Houston and completed her residency at the Harvard Medical School and Boston Children’s Hospital program.
Nath is also a board member for Momentum Education, The Village Connect and Healthcare For Action. She was previously an assistant professor in the neurology department at Texas Children’s Hospital/Baylor College of Medicine.
Bridget Wade
Bridget Wade, the former second vice president of the HISD school board, is running for her second term in the role. She is a conservative, Houston native and HISD alumna who attended Briargrove Elementary School, Paul Revere Middle School and Wisdom High School.
Wade previously was the former Briargrove Elementary School PTO president, chair of the The Blaffer Museum of Art advisory board and Blanton Museum board member. She is currently a member of the Houston ISD Foundation board and The First Horizon advisory board.
District IX
Myrna Guidry
Myrna Guidry, the former first vice president of the HISD school board, is seeking re-election to her second full term in the role. She has worked as an attorney in Houston for more than 20 years and as an adjunct law professor in mediation at Texas Southern University’s Thurgood Marshall School of Law.
Guidry volunteers for several organizations, including the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Houston Volunteer Lawyers, the Star of Hope — Miles Ministry and the Riceville Mount Olive Baptist Church.
The story notes that this is an “at this time” edition and will be updated as new names emerge.
Baker, Wade, and Guidry are incumbents. Elizabeth Santos is the incumbent in District I (my district). I don’t know if she is planning to run again or not. Sue Deigaard is the incumbent in District V, and thought I have not asked her directly I’m about 99.9% certain she will not be running for re-election.
Felicity Pereyra was also a figure in the since-dismissed and highly controversial indictments brought against three staffers of County Judge Lina Hidalgo. District I is pretty blue and any serious opponent she might face (Santos or otherwise) will be a Dem, so I don’t think this will be a big issue in the race. I can’t say no one will mention it, but if they do then Pereyra will get to point out that this was a Kim Ogg obsession and that special prosecutors from Ken Paxton’s office ultimately concluded the charges were basically bunk. So again, I doubt this will amount to anything. But there it is.
Maria Benzon ran for District V in 2021, finishing third. Here’s the interview I did with her at the time.
Michael McDonough retired as principal from Bellaire High School in January 2023. He has been a critic of Mike Miles. He would be a significant improvement over Kendall Baker.
Kendall Baker is the incumbent in District VI. Don’t vote for him.
Audrey Nath is another outspoken critic of Mike Miles. I’ll be happy to have more of them on the Board. She was recently featured in a Chron story about HISD parents rallying to pick up the slack for students who were left behind by HISD’s cutback in wraparound services.
Bridget Wade knocked off Anne Sung in the 2021 election; she and Baker represented a gain for conservative candidates for Trustee. Hard to say how she might have operated if the elected Board had remained in power, but with the Board being sidelined she’s been as muted as the rest of them. Here’s the interview I did with her in 2021.
Myrna Guidry is the incumbent in District IX, winning in 2021 with 60% of the vote against two lower-profile candidates. She was appointed to the seat in December 2020, replacing Wanda Adams after Adams got elected Justice of the Peace that November. Far as I can tell she’s fine. Here’s the interview I did with her in 2021.
That’s what I know at this time. I’ll do a post on the campaign finance reports for Trustees and candidates in the near future. If you know about other candidates out there, leave a comment and let me know.