1 ousted Richland school official takes to Fox News to lay blame for his loss
The recall election results ousting three Richland School Board members from office was certified Tuesday morning.
That means the three board members — Kari Williams, Misipati “Semi” Bird and Audra Byrd — who voted in favor of violating Washington’s indoor mask mandate last year are officially out of office.
Minutes later, Educational Service District 123 in Pasco began accepting applications to fill one of the vacancies — the seat held by Bird, a Richland conservative who is now running for governor as a Republican.
He went on Fox News in an interview published Tuesday to explain how the cards were stacked against them. He blamed low conservative voter turnout, high spending amounts in favor of the recall and progressives moving to Benton County for losing the recall election.
“It’s important for people to understand. They’ll say, well, Benton County is a conservative county — they don’t understand our school district and Benton County. We have a lot of progressives who have moved into our county, specifically through our federal contracting agencies who work here, specifically through Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and others. So, they were against us from the beginning,” he told Fox.
Bird insists that their campaign to fend off the recall, Resist the Recall, was outspent. But public filings on the Washington Public Disclosure Commission’s website show both sides engaged in a comparable spending and fundraising blitz, shelling out thousands for campaign signs, radio and television advertisements, and mailers.
Total expenditures show Richland School Board Recall spent about $15,600 while Resist the Recall spent nearly $13,700.
The amount of total receipts were also comparable. Resist the Recall reports roughly $17,200 while the Richland School Board Recall had $16,800.
About 36.6% of eligible registered voters in Benton County turned out for the Aug. 1 primary election.
That’s low compared with general election turnout — and especially low when you compare it with presidential election years, the next one of which will occur in 2024.
But the Aug. 1 turnout was relatively high compared with similar elections of its kind, especially the Aug 6, 2019, election, where about 22% of voters turned out.
Richland board applications
The voter-led initiative has left the school board with only two publicly elected officials, which isn’t enough to form a majority quorum required by state law to hold public meetings and conduct business.
ESD 123’s board must now appoint one board member to fix the incapacitated board, and it aims to have that work finished by Tuesday, Aug. 29.
Applications can be found online and are due back by 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 23.
ESD 123 is the regional education authority that assists local school districts with public education in Southeast Washington, from Clarkston to Prosser.
Its nine-person board will screen applicants and select up to five finalists at an Aug. 24 public meeting. Then, at another public meeting set for Aug. 29, the board will interview the finalists and select one person to fill Bird’s seat.
The chosen candidate will serve for less than three months before the voters choose a new school board member during the Nov. 7 general election. Candidates Nino Kapitula and Chelsie Beck will face off for that position.
In order to be eligible for the seat, a person must show proof of residency within the Richland School District boundaries and be a registered voter.
In order to be considered, candidates must turn in an application, answer the additional questions listed on the application and submit a resume to kvotaw@esd123.org. Paper copies can be submitted at ESD 123’s regional office, at 3924 W Court Street in Pasco.
The Richland School Board plans to hold its next meeting Thursday, Aug. 31, which will be two days after ESD 123’s appointment.
With a majority, the board will be able to begin the process of accepting applications and making their own appointments to fill out the other two vacant positions.
One of those vacancies will be filled until the November general election is certified and the other will be filled for the remaining two years of Audra Byrd’s term.
