Four incumbents, Boise student win Boise School Board races – Idaho Capital Sun

Initially posted on IdahoEdNews.org on September 6, 2022

(UPDATED, 6:02 a.m. Wednesday, with ultimate outcomes.)

4 incumbent trustees had been simply re-elected Tuesday, whereas highschool senior Shiva Rajbhandari captured a seat on the Boise Faculty Board.

Rajbhandari, a Boise Excessive Faculty pupil who just lately turned 18, unseated incumbent Steve Schmidt, appointed to the board lower than a yr in the past. Rajbhandari will serve a two-year time period.

The ultimate outcomes, launched early Wednesday morning, capped an unusually crowded and typically contentious spherical of elections within the state’s second largest faculty district.

Right here’s a have a look at the numbers:

• Race #1 (six-year phrases, prime two vote-getters elected): Beth Oppenheimer (incumbent), 15,430 votes, 41%; Dave Wagers (incumbent), 13,905 votes, 37%; Krista Hasler, 4,230 votes, 11%; Greg Woodard, 3,871 votes, 10%.
• Race #2 (four-year time period): Andy Hawes (incumbent), 13,569 votes, 70%; Neil “Gnome” Mercer, 3,367 votes, 17%; Matthew Shapiro, 2,340 votes, 12%.
• Race #3 (two-year time period): Elizabeth Langley, 11,393 votes, 60%; Nate Dean, 2,918 votes, 15%; Todd Kurowski, 2,745 votes, 15%; Daybreak King, 1,834 votes, 10%.
• Race #4 (two-year time period): Rajbhandari, 10,944 votes, 56%; Schmidt, 8,461 votes, 44%.

Turnout was up sharply from 2020, however remained low. All informed, 19,944 votes had been tallied Tuesday. Two years in the past, 7,722 voters forged ballots, translating to six% turnout.

This yr’s races drew a spate of candidates — incumbents and challengers alike.

Two six-year incumbents, Oppenheimer and Wagers, sought re-election. They had been joined by three relative newcomers: Hawes, Langley and Schmidt. All three had been appointed to fill board vacancies for the reason that September 2020 election. They had been on the poll for the primary time Tuesday, searching for election to the ultimate years on their appointed phrases.

The 5 incumbents ran as a ticket, however drew a crowd of opponents. By the tip of the submitting interval, 18 candidates had turned in paperwork. 5 challengers — all affiliated with The Nicely, a Boise church — withdrew quickly after submitting, leaving 13 candidates within the discipline.

Endorsements performed closely within the crowded races.

The Boise Schooling Affiliation, the district’s academics’ union, endorsed the 5 incumbents.

However a second group that endorsed the incumbents — Idaho College students First PAC — withdrew its help for Schmidt within the marketing campaign’s waning days. The transfer got here after Schmidt drew the endorsement of a far-right group, and didn’t disavow the help.

The Idaho Liberty Canine — a hardline group additionally on the coronary heart of a dispute over Meridian Public Library supplies — endorsed Schmidt and a slate of challengers: Hasler, Woodard, Mercer and Kurowski.

Schmidt and Mercer publicly distanced themselves from the Liberty Canine, saying they didn’t search the group’s help. Mercer stated he didn’t settle for the endorsement.

Boise’s trustee elections are a standalone, outlier race.

Most faculty districts maintain their board elections in November, along side odd-year municipal races. Boise operates beneath a governing constitution that predates statehood, which requires elections in early September.

Tuesday’s profitable candidates might be sworn in at Monday’s faculty board assembly.