<strong>Career and Technical Education construction programs immerse Oregon high school students in the construction trades. What challenges await this next generation of builders?</strong>
HERMISTON â Two new faces will be joining the Hermiston Board of Education and two incumbents kept their seats in the May 18 election.
According to results posted by the Umatilla County Elections Division after 10 p.m. on May 18, incumbent Brent Pitney was defeated by Sally Anderson Hansell.
Pitney, who works for Knerr Construction, was appointed to the board in 2018. He garnered 36.7% of the 2,843 votes cast. Anderson Hansell, an attorney at Anderson Hansell PC, received 63%.
She described herself as âdeeply humbledâ by the results, and said she looks forward to learning more about what is going on in Hermiston schools.
âI think the election tells me that the community is looking forward to more and better communication from the board and administrators, as well as enhanced transparency as far as decisions go, and the reasons for those decisions,â she said.
Given that most school boards races were uncompetitive in past years, even first-time candidates would often forgo fundraising on their way to certain victory. While many candidates are still choosing to run low or no-cost campaigns, a few candidates are collecting thousands of dollars to secure a seat on a board.
In Hermiston, Position 4 incumbent Brent Pitney is slightly outraising his challenger, attorney Sally Anderson Hansell, as of Friday, May 14.
According to the Oregon Secretary of Stateâs Office, more than 90% of Pitneyâs campaign contributions have come from two sources: Knerr Construction, his employer, and Goller Health Insurance Agency, a Hermiston business owned by Hermiston School Board Chair Josh Goller.
2021 Election: Hermiston School Board candidates make their case hermistonherald.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from hermistonherald.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Thereâs no question that during most school board races, many incumbents face no competition for their seats. This year, for whatever reason, thatâs not the case in Hermiston with six candidates running for four open seats.
Incumbents Bryan Medelez and Karen Sherman are both running unopposed, Medelez for Position No. 2 and Sherman for Position No. 6.
Medelez, an operations manager for a Hermiston trucking company, has served since being appointed in 2019. While Sherman does have an opponent on the ballot, Caitlin Melhorn told the
East Oregonian that she was dropping out of the race due to the time commitments she already has. Sherman has served on the Board of Education for 20 years and is a retired teacher. Both have done a good job and voters should have no hesitancy in checking their names on the ballot.