Inmate wins seat on school board (in CA)

[question everything]

Inmate wins seat on school board

By Mason Stockstill, Staff Writer
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin

CHINO - Among the inmates at the California Institution for Men, there's one who could soon be setting policy for a small Riverside County school district.

Randy Logan Hale was elected to the governing board of the tiny Romoland School District in Tuesday's election. He finished third out of five candidates running for three seats, receiving 831 votes.

The problem is, Hale was incarcerated at the state prison in Chino on Election Day. He'd returned to prison on a parole violation stemming from a previous conviction. The situation has left officials at the district unsure of how to proceed.

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Hale, 40, has been convicted of several felonies and misdemeanors in the last 20 years, including robbery, spousal abuse and drug possession. He was most recently incarcerated at CIM for violating his parole.

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Despite the fact that he bested the next-closest candidate by 5.6 percentage points, Hale may never take a seat on the school board. State law forbids felons on parole from registering to vote, and candidates must be registered to vote in order to run for office.

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http://www.dailybulletin.com/news/ci_3207913

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Mason Stockstill can be reached by e-mail at [email protected] or by phone at [phone].