Harold ekes out D-49 school board win; challenger might seek recount
In what turned out to be a cliffhanger of a contest, Tammy Harold won a seat on the Falcon School District 49 board by a 42-vote margin.
Two other candidates running for the three open board seats -- Danielle Lindorf and Christopher Wright -- easily won their races. But the contest between Harold and Donahue Quashie, who was running on a slate with Lindorf and Wright, remained tight as the votes were counted Tuesday night.
Wednesday morning, the final results had Harold with 4,027 votes and Quashie, 3,985. El Paso County Clerk officials said there won't be an automatic recount, because state law says the difference between the candidates' votes has to be equal to or less than 1/2 of 1 percent, about a 20-vote difference, in this case.
But Harold may not be entirely in the clear. Quashie could demand a recount, although he'd have to pay for it, and it couldn't take place until the election is certified, 17 days from now. County officials said they didn't yet know how much a recount would cost him
The certification of the ballots itself could conceivably change the results as well. Some ballots weren't counted because they had problems with the signatures or other issues. Under the law, those voters are given a chance to fix the problems within eight days of the election, which would then allow their votes to count. That doesn't mean they can change their votes, however.
Quashie said Wednesday he's considering a recount.
"I will leave the option of a recount on the table. I need a few days to think about this. Right now, I'm leaning towards a recount."
Harold said she's keeping her fingers crossed that the results will stand.
"When they say every vote counts, it certainly does," she said. "I really thank everyone who told one more person to vote for me."
Lindorf pulled in 5,434 votes to lead the pack, followed by Wright with 4,412. The tally for the remainder of the seven candidates: Jackie Vialpando, 3,750, John Koster, 2,327, and Jon Rowley, 1,937.
The cliffhanger between Harold and Quashie is just another chapter in the drama that overtook the D-49 race. Most of the nine school board races in El Paso County were civil and low key, but the Falcon race made headlines because of a barrage of impassioned, sometimes nasty comments on blogs and online stories.
The political mudslinging reflected a chaotic year in which the district was hit with an unsuccessful campaign to recall two school board members, a dismal curriculum report reflecting stagnant academic achievement, the departure of its sixth superintendent in three years, the firing of a dozen administrators, and growing pains that have some schools bulging at the seams.
The board was also accused of conducting too much of its business behind closed doors.
Although school board races are nonpartisan, the Falcon Republican Club endorsed Lindorf, Quashie and Wright, and sought endorsements for them from Republican heavyweights in the region.Those opposing the slate said choosing them would mean more of the same for the district.
Vialpando said it was difficult to overcome the influence of the GOP.
“As much as we had wanted it to be a nonpartisan race, it wasn’t. The Republican machine spent a lot of money and how do you fight that?” she said. “But I wish the new board members good luck.”
Lindorf, the frontrunner, said the board has a lot of issues to address, with the most pressing being overcrowding, particularly at the middle schools. The district is the fifth-fastest growing in the state, with about 10,500 students.
Speaking about the divisiveness that has enveloped the district, Lindorf and Harold said it’s time for change.
“It’s time for the district to start healing and trust one another and have a board that is open, Lindorf said.
Harold echoed that, saying she wanted "positive change for the district."
The winners in the race will join Andy Holloman, who was appointed several weeks ago by the board to fill a vacancy, and Dave Martin, who narrowly survived a recall effort.
