After some media confusion late last night, the winners in the Unit 5 School Board race are confirmed:
- Meta Mickens-Baker
- Todd Ferguson
- John Puzauskas
It is clear from the outcome, and from the vote totals, that UFEA members made a big difference in this election, even though we didn’t get all 3 of our recommended candidates elected. Here is what we know:
- The two candidates with the most votes were our candidates: Mickens-Baker (an incumbent) and Ferguson (a newcomer).
- The incumbent at the top of the ballot did not get the most votes. A lot of voters mark the first name on the ballot. A lot of voters vote for the incumbent. We convinced a lot of voters to skip the first 2 names and vote for our candidates.
- The difference between the number of votes for the incumbents is 961. Even though Puzauskas was first on the ballot, Mickens-Baker got 3886 votes and Puzauskas got 2925. UFEA membership is about 950. Coincidence? I don’t think so.
So if you wore your blue UFEA shirt, “Liked” UFEA on Facebook, liked and shared the Facebook posts, passed out postcards, made phone calls, talked to your neighbors – you made a big difference in this election.
People noticed our level of involvement, and that makes a difference, too. It shows we pay attention, and it shows we care.
And it shows we can work together. We will need to work together on other issues in the near future – and we can capitalize on the connections we have made during this campaign.
Again, than you for all you did to make this a successful campaign. The future of Unit 5 and the students we serve will be better for it. So will our organization.
Some of us are old enough to remember the Bat Out Of Hell album from 1977. I can’t get this song out of my mind today:
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