Candidate, State Board of Education, District 7 · Democratic
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James Martin is a candidate for State Board of Education, District 7. The ballot lists James Martin, Democratic. The district covers all or part of Salt Lake County.
James Martin's campaign describes a 28-year education career that includes elementary teaching, principal and assistant-principal positions, principal supervision and work as a Utah State Board of Education specialist. He says he taught grades ranging from kindergarten through sixth grade and represented educators through Utah Education Association and National Education Association leadership roles. [1]
His campaign lists an elementary-education bachelor's degree from Westminster College, graduate degrees in teaching and educational leadership from the University of Utah, and an MFA in theatre arts from the University of Idaho. It also describes long-running involvement with Wasatch Theatre Company. These are candidate-supplied biographical details. [1]
Arts, teacher autonomy and public schools
Martin's platform emphasizes arts education, adequate public-school funding, professional autonomy for teachers and greater reliance on USBE staff expertise. He says arts programs should be available throughout a child's education rather than treated as expendable when budgets tighten. [2]
He also supports early-childhood education, mental-health resources, social and emotional learning, restorative practices and measures of student progress that extend beyond standardized testing. His critique is that state board decisions have become too political and too focused on compliance; that is his campaign's assessment, not a neutral finding about every board action. [2]
Martin's priorities page lists six headings: protect the arts, promote pro-public-school policy, trust board staff and their expertise, trust teachers and educators, focus on what matters to students, teachers and families, and support quality public education from pre-K through 12th grade. Under the staff heading he calls for ending what he describes as micromanagement of State Board of Education staff. Those are his characterizations of the current board, not findings about particular votes. [2]
What he told voters in October 2026
In the Salt Lake Tribune's October 12 questionnaire, Martin said shrinking enrollment in some communities requires careful review of resources and collaboration with families and educators. He opposed public funding for private education and argued that local communities should have more control over challenged books. [3]
He also said immigration enforcement should stay away from schools, opposed third-grade retention in the survey's yes-or-no question and supported a bell-to-bell cellphone ban. These are his stated campaign positions. They should not be read as votes he has cast on the state board. [3]
The seat and policy responsibilities
Martin is running against incumbent Erin Longacre in District 7. The Tribune identifies the district's communities as Sandy, Draper, Cottonwood Heights and Alta. This is a contest for the state board, rather than a local school district's governing board. [3]
USBE rules distinguish statewide core standards from curriculum selected by local education agencies. That division matters when evaluating a candidate's proposals about what Utah students learn and how schools teach it. [4]
The board's member page lists incumbent Erin Longacre as representing Sandy, Draper, Cottonwood Heights and Alta, and says she is serving a first term after being appointed in 2025. The seat is therefore on the ballot for the first time since that appointment. [5]
Education, arts and union service
Martin's campaign biography says he was born in Bountiful, raised in Salt Lake City and attended East High School. After a bachelor's degree in elementary education at Westminster College, it lists a Master of Teaching and Learning and a doctorate in educational leadership and policy at the University of Utah, followed by a Master of Fine Arts in theatre arts at the University of Idaho. [1]
The same biography says he taught kindergarten and first, second, fourth, fifth and sixth grades, and that he has led Wasatch Theatre Company since 1997. It describes service on the Utah Education Association board for the Salt Lake, Tooele and Murray education associations and as an NEA state director, roles in which he says he traveled to Washington, D.C., several times a year. It also says he has published on psychological safety in school workplaces and on coaching support for principals. These are candidate-supplied details. [1]
The Salt Lake Tribune's questionnaire summary notes that Martin reads with his theatre students at a prison, a detail the Tribune attributes to his responses. [3]
From the campaign website
The campaign website says James Martin spent 28 years in Utah public schools as a K-6 teacher, principal and assistant principal, principal supervisor and State Board of Education specialist, and served as a Utah Education Association board member and NEA state director. Martin also led the Wasatch Theatre Company for nearly 30 years. [6]
The site lists a bachelor's degree in elementary education from Westminster, a master's degree (MTL) and a doctorate in educational leadership and policy from Utah, and a master of fine arts in theatre arts from Idaho. Stated priorities are trusting teachers, equity and protecting the arts. [6]
This is the candidate's own campaign material, condensed by The Utah Ledger and not independently checked. [6]
Profile sources
Profile refreshed October 30, 2026. Candidate statements describe the candidate's own experience or positions; official records and reporting are labeled separately.
