Your guide to the Twin Rivers Unified School District Trustee Area 6 race
Three candidates are vying for an open seat in Twin Rivers Unified School District in Sacramento this year.
Unlike most other races on the ballot, the June 2 election is not a primary and will determine who holds the board seat through June 2030.
Board Vice President Rebecca Sandoval was first elected to the Area 6 seat for a two-year term in 2012 and was re-elected for four year-terms in 2014, 2018 and 2022. She is retiring because she has been diagnosed with cancer for the sixth time and didn’t want to leave the district in the position of needing to have a special election to replace her if she could no longer fulfill her duties.
“I decided it’s time to turn it over to someone younger and to have that position filled through a general election,” Sandoval said.
Seats for trustee areas 2 and 4 are also up for reelection this year, but incumbents Sharon Reichelt and Stacey Bastian are running unopposed.
As is often the case for school board candidates, the three hopefuls seeking the Area 6 seat have not held elected office.
The school district covers parts of northern Sacramento County and enrolls around 25,000 students from diverse backgrounds, most of which are socioeconomically disadvantaged.
The district has had an eventful year. Last summer an audit by the state found that Highlands Community Charter and Technical Schools, a charter school under Twin Rivers Unified’s jurisdiction, received more than $180 million in public funds it was not eligible to receive. The board voted to revoke its charter in January.
Last month, the district’s 1,500 educators went on a 12-day strike, the longest in recent state history. The teachers union and the district bitterly fought about higher wages, fully-paid healthcare and classroom size caps.
Ultimately the union won a 7% raise over two years. The district alleged through the process that meeting union demands would potentially require program cuts or layoffs.
Where is Twin Rivers USD Area 6?
Trustee Area 6 covers Dos Rios, Gardenland, Northgate and South Natomas. The schools contained within that boundary are Fairbanks Elementary, Garden Valley Elementary, Morey Avenue Preschool, Rio Tierra Jr. High, Smythe Academy of Arts & Science Charter and Strauch Elementary.
Who are the candidates?
Emmanuel Amanfor is a parent and political advocate who said he was asked by community members to run for the seat. Amanfor immigrated from Nigeria when he was five years old, landing in north New Jersey. He moved to Sacramento in 2014. He boasts experience on executive leadership boards and considers himself an ally to teachers in the district.
Eduardo “Lalo” Ochoa is a parent and lifelong neighborhood resident. In an interview he said he was running to maintain Latino representation on the board given Sandoval’s retirement. He is on the board of Breakthrough Sacramento, a local nonprofit that provides free college prep for underprivileged students. For his day job, Ochoa works as a member of SMUD’s community outreach team. Ochoa is endorsed by outgoing trustee Sandoval.
Adrianne Gonzales appears to be a parent of a student at Smythe Academy, according to a 2024 school site council agenda. She previously ran for Sacramento City Council against incumbent Karina Talamantes, receiving 9.8% of the votes collected in the June 2022 primary.
Gonzales does not have a campaign website or a social media presence describing her platform. An interview request sent to the email listed on the Sacramento County roster of candidates went unanswered.
Who is funding the race?
None of the three candidates have disclosed any campaign contributions as of mid-April.
