The ballots of less than a quarter of Oregon voters who participated in the special election will lead to substantial changes for school and library boards across the state.
These results will have substantial impacts on Oregonian’s daily lives.
School board members govern the state’s 197 public school districts. They are responsible for deciding each district’s priorities and goals; setting educational policies; hiring, firing and reviewing the district’s superintendent, and approving the district’s annual budget.
Cheeke, Hering win seats on the Philomath School Board
Newcomers Ryan Cheeke and Sandi Hering defeated their opponents for seats on the Philomath School Board and Benton County’s latest attempt to build a new jail and expand public safety, mental health and homelessness services went down to defeat, according to unofficial cumulative results of Tuesday’s special election. A late-night update showed Cheeke with 1,268…
They oversee decisions that affect taxpayers, tens of thousands of educators and more than 550,000 students in the state’s K-12 system.
School board positions are unpaid, and they’re supposed to be nonpartisan. But special interest groups have been upping their involvement and funding for these races, while candidates’ platforms focus more on issues often outside their role on the school board.
In many cases, it seems voters opted for more diverse candidates and avoided those running on more conservative values. But that wasn’t isn’t the case everywhere.
Three seats were up for election on the Salem-Keizer Public Schools governing board – northeast Salem’s Zone 2, south Salem’s Zone 4 and Keizer’s Zone 6. The seats are elected at-large across the district. Six people ran in Salem-Keizer this year – three on a more progressive slate and three on a more conservative slate.
LOW TURNOUT Odd-year elections and local
races are notorious for low
voter turnout. This year was
no different, at about 23% statewide.
Marion County had about 21% of
voters participate, according to
results posted late Tuesday night.
It was slightly higher in Polk County,
just shy of 22%, and higher still in
Multnomah County at about 23%.
Initial returns Tuesday night were generally too close to call, but they favored former educator Cynthia Richardson over parent advocate Casity Troutt for Zone 2; newcomer Kelley Strawn over current board director Satya Chandragiri for Zone 4; and, the only conservative candidate to take the lead over their opponent, Krissy Hudson leading comfortably over Larry Scruggs.
“I am honored to have the support of so many people in our community,” Richardson posted on Facebook Tuesday evening. Strawn also posted his thanks to those who supported him. Richardson continued, “I am humbled by the educators, parents, and so many others in Salem-Keizer who supported my campaign. Every voter deserves to have their voice heard, and I will wait for all votes to be counted before saying anything further.”
In other parts of the state, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported that the slate of three candidates who called for more parental control over education lost their races for the Canby School Board, and Eddie Wang’s win for a Portland School Board seat means the state’s largest district will soon have a majority of people of color.
It also appears there’s an ideological shift coming to Newberg’s school board as it loses its conservative majority.
But not all areas in Oregon are leaning away from conservative leaders. The Bend Bulletin reported the three conservative candidates who sparked an unexpected political spectacle in their race for the Crook County School Board were leading the incumbents, according to early returns Tuesday.
Challengers Cheyenne Edgerly, Jessica Brumble and Jennifer Knight campaigned on a platform of fighting against an alleged sexualization of materials and attitudes in schools, according to The Bulletin. The three women were referred to in campaign material as the “Mama Bears.” This messaging was similar to the conservative slate in Salem-Keizer.
Other elections this year will affect key public services as well.
In central Oregon, the May election included a pivotal race for the Deschutes Public Library System board.
According to news reports, the current board has been subject to uncharacteristic controversy in the past year, largely due to disagreement on the voter-approved $195 million library bond, which proposed a new Redmond library and a central library location in Bend when voters passed it in 2020.
Five candidates ran for the three open seats. Two candidates wanted to scrap the centralized library idea, according to the Bulletin, and the other three wanted to continue with the bond plan. Initial returns Tuesday showed Raymond Miao, one of the candidates wanting to change course, comfortably winning his seat.
Other library board elections in Oregon were faced with candidates who favored more restrictions on display and acquisition standards.
View election results from across the state at results.oregonvotes.gov.
Oregon Capital Chronicle
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