Sean C. Morgan
Carol Babcock and Angela Clegg have won seats on the Sweet Home School District Board of Directors as write-in candidates.
Babcock will succeed David VanDerlip in the Crawfordsville zone, while Clegg succeeds Leena Ellis.
Debra Brown received the most write-in votes for the Cascadia position, but the School District has three residents named Debra Brown, said Supervisor of Elections Derrick Sterling. “We can’t determine, without a doubt, the voters’ intent on it.”
It makes no difference where the three Debra Browns reside, he said, because the seat is elected at large in a districtwide vote.
For Zone 3, Foster, Clegg received 66 votes out of 127 total write-in votes.
For Zone 4, Cascadia, Debra Brown received 61 of 107 total write-in votes.
For Zone 6, Crawfordsville, Babcock received 97 of 142 total write-in votes.
In all three zones, the maximum number of votes for other candidates was four.
Incumbents won the remaining three seats in the remaining three seats that were open. They included Jason Van Eck, Zone 5, at large; Nick Augsburger, Zone 8, at large; and Mike Reynolds, Zone 9, Sweet Home.
Zone 5 drew seven write-in votes; Zone 8, four write-in votes; and Zone 9, 11 write-in votes.
The election leaves the Cascadia seat without a winner.
“What we’ll do for that zone is to declare a vacancy at the board meeting (scheduled for Monday),” said Supt. Keith Winslow. “Then we’ll follow board policy.”
That means the seat will be open to applicants for 20 days, and at the July meeting, the board will appoint a new board member, Winslow said. Applicants must reside in the Cascadia zone. For more information, call the superintendent’s office at (541) 367-7126 or stop by the Central Office, 1920 Long St.
For Sweet Home Cemetery District director, Position 3, Dean Yoder won with five write-in votes. Mac Olsen was second with four write-in votes. Lisa Ann Landi was third with three votes.
Ten individuals drew two write-in votes each, while numerous individuals drew a single write-in vote, including Don Schlies who had filed as a candidate but lost to incumbent Tim Geil for the Sweet Home Fire and Ambulance District.
Mike Melcher, who already holds a seat on the Cemetery Board also received a write-in vote. The Cemetery Board seat had been held by Tom Hyer, who also received a write-in vote.