A look at the seats up for election on Sacramento County’s Board of Education

In the March 3 primary election, Sacramento County voters will have the chance to cast their ballots for trustees of the county’s Board of Education — though there might not be a whole lot of choice.

Although four seats are up for election — more than half of the seven-person board — three of them stand uncontested, meaning a virtual guarantee of reelection for those candidates, who do not appear on the ballot.

Only Joanne Ahola, a trustee serving Citrus Heights, Orangevale, Fair Oaks and Carmichael in Area 4, faces opposition.

Running against the incumbent is Pervez Akhtar.

Akhtar was born in Pakistan, where he studied medical technology. Since moving to the U.S. in 1983, he has worked for Kaiser Permanente and also as a security officer.

In an email to The Sacramento Bee, Akhtar said some of the most important issues in the area include classroom size, school safety and student poverty. His granddaughter is a student at American River College.

Ahola is an advocate for charter schools and has worked at the California Charter Schools Association for six years. She currently serves as CCSA’s director of political engagement.

She was elected as board member of area 4 in 2016 with 57 percent of the vote. CCSA contributed nearly $75,000 to her campaign.

Heather Davis, who represents Elk Grove, Rio Vista and other southernmost reaches in Area 6, is running unopposed. Davis’ area is the largest in the county.

Davis was a childbirth educator for Mercy hospitals and is married to former Elk Grove Mayor Gary Davis.

Gary Davis is the managing director of civic and political affairs for CCSA, which contributed $86,100 to Heather Davis’ election campaign in 2016.

During her time in office, Davis helped launch the Family and Community Engagement Program. She is the mother of three school-age children.

Board member Alfred Brown Sr., who represents Folsom, Rancho Cordova and vast swaths of the county’s eastern territory, is also running unopposed.

Brown was a criminal justice professor at Sacramento State for 28 years, leaving in 2001. Previously, he served as a special assistant to UC Davis’ vice chancellor of academic affairs, where he helped to write an affirmative action plan in 1973.

He is the CEO of California FairPlay, a summer camp designed for children with asthma based in Rancho Murieta.

Also running without an opponent is Harold Fong, of Area 7, which includes Oak Park, Pocket and Meadowview.

Fong, the son of Chinese immigrants, was born and raised in Sacramento, and attended local schools, including UC Davis and Sacramento State.

Fong later worked as a teacher in the Sacramento City Unified School District and was a child protection social worker.

Fong was the only board member to vote against reauthorizing Fortune charter schools — designed as an alternative to help close the achievement gap in African American students — arguing in 2015 that they promoted segregation.

His comments drew criticism from the community, with one former SCOE board member calling him “politically tone deaf.”