Bao and Thavisak “Lucky” Syphanthong. | Photo: Isabella Vanderheiden


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At a special meeting on Tuesday, the Eureka City Schools (ECS) Board of Trustees will interview five applicants looking to fill a vacant seat for Trustee Area 2. One of the people vying for the position is Eureka City Council Ward 4 candidate Thavisak “Lucky” Syphanthong.

Eureka City Schools’ Trustee Area 2 is the big green section on this map. Click to enlarge.| Image: ECS

Being an avid local volunteer with two teenagers attending schools in the district, it’s no surprise Syphanthong applied for the vacant seat. However, he can’t hold both offices at once. Doing so would conflict with California Government Code § 1099 which “restricts the ability of public officials to hold two different public offices simultaneously if the offices have overlapping and conflicting public duties.”

In an email exchange included in next week’s agenda packet – linked here – Micalyn Harris, executive assistant in the Eureka City Schools’ Superintendent’s Office, said she had discussed the matter with ECS Superintendent Gary Storts and the district’s legal counsel and advised Syphanthong to rescind his application.

“Unfortunately, our Legal Counsel was advised that we should not move you through the possible Trustee 2 appointment process, due to the conflict between the two positions,” the Sept. 25 email states. “He [legal counsel] has advised that since you are mostly through the electoral process for the City Council seat, and cannot take your name off the November ballot if appointed, it would be better to let that process play out without the complication of a conflicting school district appointment.”

“We value your contributions within our community and specifically within Eureka City Schools,” Harris added. “It’s always nice to speak to someone whose reputation precedes them, as is true in your case, as you are well-known and admired within our community.”

In the email exchange, the district’s legal counsel cited the same section of Government Code mentioned above, including a passage stating that “an office is incompatible with another office if one of them has supervisory, auditory, removal, or veto power over the other.” 

“The Attorney General has concluded on numerous occasions that the offices of a school district trustee and a city councilman are incompatible if the two political entities have territory in common,” the email states. “This is quite obvious here, given that your District’s name is the ‘Eureka City Schools,’ and likely the territory of the City and the District are either congruent, or that the territory of one of them is entirely within the other’s territory.”

In a follow-up email to the district, Syphanthong said he would be more than willing to recuse himself from “any decisions having to do with the Eureka City Schools and vice versa” if elected to the city council. Syphanthong emphasized that “there is no guarantee” he will win the election, noting that this is his first time running for office and his opponent Scott Bauer “is still very popular among voters.”

“Couldn’t I still continue with your application process and if I am elected to City Council in November, I would vacate the Trustee Area 2 seat so there would be no conflict of interest?” Syphanthong’s Sept. 25 email states. “But if I were not elected to City Council, then I would be able to accept the Trustee Area 2 seat? I would hate to not get either seats in November when I know I would be one of the best candidates for the Trustee Area 2 seat.”

Harris did not address Syphanthong’s questions in her response but said the school board president and clerk would review the email exchange and let him know how he should proceed. 

Reached for additional comment, Syphanthong told the Outpost he has an extensive history of volunteering for local school districts, including the Cutten-Ridgewood PTA and ECS Citizens’ Oversight Committee. “The opportunity came up so I thought I’d throw my hat in the ring,” he said. “I want to make the school district a better place for not just my kids but all of the kids in Eureka.”

Syphanthong said he would be willing to step down from the school board if he were to win the upcoming city council election but reiterated that his opponent “is still very popular” among Fourth Ward voters.

“Who’s to say that I’m going to win or not,” he said. “I didn’t want to miss the boat on this opportunity.”

There are four additional applicants for Trustee Area 2, including elementary school teacher Tamika Bighead, Yurok Tribe Planner Cynthia Bones, local business owner Wendy Davis and retired school administrator Jan Schmidt.

Former ECS Board Trustee Mike Duncan vacated his position on the board last month before the end of his term. ECS trustees serve four-year terms and may be re-elected to successive terms.

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The ECS Board of Trustees will meet at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 22 at the Board of Education for Eureka City Schools – 2100 J Street in Eureka. Click here for the agenda.

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