Andrea McElroy for Newport-Mesa School Board, Trustee Area 5!

Now that the official filing period has closed, we know the two candidates for Newport-Mesa School Board Trustee Area 5: Andrea McElroy and Kirstin Walsh.

For me, McElroy is the clear choice, and I want to explain why now as we enter the compressed campaign period for this important seat. Election Day is June 10!

Why I Support Andrea McElroy

My top two priorities are rededicating Newport-Mesa to academic excellence and empowering families, and McElroy is the candidate who will accomplish these goals. Having raised her daughter in Newport-Mesa schools, she understands that family is the solution, not the problem. She stands for providing the very best schools in an environment that parents trust. Her platform emphasizes strong education, transparency, safe schools, financial stewardship, and trusting parents once again. McElroy has been consistent about promoting these values, and we can count on her as a Trustee!

Further, McElroy’s experience in business and as an entrepreneur would be a major asset on the School Board. She understands how to balance a budget and measure return on investment. She will be able to hold the district fiscally accountable and achieve results.

Lastly, McElroy has an impressive list of endorsements from respected community members. The list includes: former NMUSD Trustee Karen Yelsey, Ruth Sanchez Kobayashi, and Newport Beach Parks, Beach, and Recreation Commissioner Kate Malouf. Current NMUSD Area 4 Trustee Lisa Pearson has also stepped up to lend her support. Newport Beach Mayor Joe Stapleton, Mayor Pro Tem Lauren Kleiman, and City Councilmembers Noah Blom and Sara Weber are also endorsing. The most recent NMUSD Area 5 Trustee and current City Councilmember Michelle Barto has also endorsed, as has former Newport Beach Mayor Will O’Neill.

The Opposition Is Pushing an Anti-Parent Agenda

In contrast, the other side has prioritized Sacramento culture war issues over improving our community schools. McElroy’s opponent—supported by the Board’s partisan majority of Trustees Ashley Anderson, Carol Crane, Michelle Murphy, and Leah Ursoylu—believes that trusting a child’s parents with the child’s gender identity would actually harm the child. Divisive ideas like this only drive a wedge between parents and students, harming student outcomes.

The political consultant phrase “parent engagement” the opposition has adopted is not the same as trusting or empowering parents. Real transparency between parents and schools is necessary so that parents can support their students’ educations—not “engagement.”

Second, McElroy’s opponent has written that the role of the school board is “[t]o advise and consent” to the district administration, but this has the relationship backward. The district takes direction from the elected school board members and not the other way around. Further, she admitted to having no knowledge of Newport-Mesa’s budget and cited infrastructure as the district’s greatest need, not improving test scores or academic achievement. With no relevant experience managing a budget or making business decisions, her claims regarding fiscal accountability ring hollow.

How to Support Andrea McElroy

I hope you join me in supporting Andrea McElroy for Newport-Mesa School Board, Trustee Area 5! For more information, visit mcelroy4nmusd.com or follow @mcelroy4nmusd.

To contribute financially, make checks payable to

McElroy for School Board 2025

120 Tustin Ave., Suite C 276
Newport Beach, CA 92663