Election races for local school boards showed voters in Battle Ground Public Schools’ jurisdiction voting for appointed incumbents, while board members in Hockinson and Woodland on their way out as of the latest numbers.
Based on the Nov. 5 counts, all races for local school boards were decided, with a few close races. Boards will see new blood populate their daises, but in Battle Ground, incumbents who assumed roles after past members left look to hang onto their seats in their first tests by voters.
District 1 incumbent Mary Snitily had about 53.4% of the vote in her race, compared to challenger Chloe Seppala’s roughly 45.9%.
Snitily expressed gratitude over the votes she secured and acknowledged Seppala was a worthy opponent in the race. She noted she is a conservative member of the board and will continue on that path as she sits in the position for the next four years.
District 3’s race to fill the position that will be vacated by Battle Ground City Council candidate Troy McCoy showed Ted Champine with about 79.6% of the vote. His challenger, Diane Langan, died unexpectedly in September, though she garnered about 18.5% of the vote.
District 5 incumbent Jackie Maddux led her race with about 50.7% of the vote, against challenger Jenny Price’s roughly 48.4%. Price previously suspended her campaign.
Shortly after the first count of votes was tabulated, Maddux said she was “excited, but honestly a little scary because it’s pretty close.”
“For me, this experience has been really an adventure,” Maddux said about her time on the board. She was appointed in June 2020 during the height of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.
“I want to do a good job for the students and the community, and I just hope that I can,” Maddux said. “The things I’ve learned are beyond what I ever thought I’d get out of this.”
In the Ridgefield School District, the one competitive race has the incumbent in the lead as of Friday’s count. District 5 director Zenia Bringhurst garnered about 62.2% of the vote to challenger Chantel Nash’s roughly 37.1%.
While BGPS and Ridgefield maintained a bit of a status quo, Hockinson and Woodland are poised to see new members take over the currently-appointed leadership.
Hockinson School District’s one competitive race shows challenger Teresa VanNatta in the lead with about 51.6% of the vote, ahead of incumbent Tim Hawkins’ roughly 47.6% for Hockinson’s District 1 seat.
Woodland Public Schools’ competitive races have one incumbent in the lead and another incumbent trailing to their challenger as of the voting results from Nov. 5.
District 4 challenger Trish Huddleston had 1,602 votes or about 52.9% of the vote to incumbent Tammy Graham’s 1,412 votes, or roughly 46.6%.
Woodland’s District 5 race has incumbent Tom Guthrie leading with about 65.4% of the vote for his race, while challenger Eric Child took about 33.8% as of Nov. 5.
