Three new directors will take seats on Forest Grove School Board
Three positions were open on the Forest Grove School Board, and three new directors will take their seats in July following Tuesday's election.
Voters had their say in an election Tuesday night.
In this newspaper’s territory, voters chose school and fire board members for the Forest Grove Rural Fire Protection District and the Forest Grove School Board.
Turnout as of early Wednesday afternoon at 4 p.m. was 20.85%. Just 83217 out of 399,107 registered voters had returned a ballot as of Wednesday.
Forest Grove School Board
Three positions were open on the Forest Grove School Board, all wide open seats after each incumbent declined to file to run for office again.
In Position 1, Brisa Franco led opponent Nicholas Hafez with 61% of the vote to Hafez’ 37.7%.
“I am immensely grateful to Forest Grove and Cornelius for trusting me to support our students, teachers, parents, and community members,” Franco said in an email to this newspaper. “I’m excited to develop more opportunities for our students to identify possible career paths, and to access mentors who can support them through their path to higher education or their career,” Franco said. “When schools are inclusive and safe, students are best able to thrive. Working hand in hand with our teachers, I look forward to working for our educators to have the resources and support that they need in order to give our students the best possible future.”
"As a twenty-four year old latina, a recent graduate of our schools, and a first generation college and law student, I look forward to bringing a new perspective to the board, and working with our community to fully represent our schools’ needs," Franco added.
In Position 2, former Forest Grove Mayor Peter Truax will see a return to elected life after beating opponent Jodi Blue with 65.3% of the vote to Blue's 30.4%.
"I thought it was gonna be closer than it was," Truax said in a phone call with the Gales Creek Journal. "I had no real feel of how we were going to do, but I'm pleased the results are where they are," he added.
Chas Hundley
"It's gonna be a learning curve for me," Truax said, noting that despite a 28 year career in education—16 years at Neil Armstrong Middle School followed by 12 years at the Forest Grove High School—things have changed a little bit.
Asked if his prior experience as an elected official would aid him in his new role when sworn in, Truax said he hoped it would, saying he believed it would.
Truax noted he wasn't claiming victory yet, citing the fact that the Washington County Elections Division was still counting ballots.
In Position 3, three candidates sought the seat, and far in the lead was Alma Lozano with 55.3% of the vote, followed by Madigan Shepherd with 24.5% and James Strother in third with 19% of the vote.
Forest Grove Rural Fire Protection District
Initial results show two candidates winning their uncontested seats on the Forest Grove Rural Fire Protection District board.
In Position 1, the results showed Dilley resident Benjamin Otto with almost 98.5% of the vote.
In Position 3, Gales Creek resident Neal Hammond saw 95.9% of the vote.
Additional election results were expected 4 p.m. Friday.
See state-level results online at results.oregonvotes.gov. State officials may lag in placing local county races into their system.
