Olympia school incumbents Flores, Seidel winning. North Thurston races too close to call

Olympia School Board races were lopsided after Tuesday’s first vote tally in the Nov. 7 general election. North Thurston races were much closer.

Olympia School Board

Three seats are open on the Olympia School District board of directors, and two current members are running against each other for the same position.

After Tuesday’s first vote tally, District 1 incumbent Maria Flores was leading Talauna Reed with 64.9% of the vote, according to preliminary results. Reed currently serves on the board for District 2, but she no longer lives in that district. Reed was appointed by the board to an open position in 2022

Flores has been on the board since 2019, having previously served as the president.

Flores said she was out celebrating in downtown Olympia Tuesday with Olympia and Thurston County Democrats and others. She said she’s feeling good about her lead over Reed, and she’s honored to receive the support she’s gotten so far.

“I feel like it’s a pretty big validation to the board and the work we’re doing for our students, no matter their circumstances,” Flores said.

Flores said she was happy to see none of the Moms for Liberty candidates advancing in their school board races. And she has been honored to serve on the board.

“This has been the honor of my life, and why I’ve devoted my life to public education,” she said. “I believe it changes students’ lives just like it changed mine.”

According to data from the Public Disclosure Commission, Flores raised $8,063, with major contributions from Thurston County Democrats, the Washington State Democratic Central Committee, and WEA PAC.

Reed raised $7,897, according to the PDC, with major contributions from Thurston County Democrats and the WEA PAC.

Jess Tourtellotte-Palumbo was ahead of Frank Durocher on Tuesday night for the Olympia School Board District. 2. Tourtellotte-Palumbo had 56%, or 6,087 votes. Some major contributors to her $6,500 campaign included the National Women’s Political Caucus of Washington, Washington State Democratic Central Committee and the Thurston County Democratic Club.

Tourtellotte-Palumbo has a number of years of experience in the education and advocacy realm, including at The Evergreen State College, and as a substitute teacher in Prescott. Durocher is an OSD parent and has more than 10 years of experience in software development and construction, according to the Thurston County Voters’ Pamphlet.

Tourtellotte-Palumbo said Nov. 7 that things are looking good so far, but they’re not over yet. She, too, spent the evening celebrating with other candidates, and said she’s excited to see who else moves forward in their races.

Durocher had 43.7%, or 4,748 votes on Tuesday. He raised $9,965, with major contributions from the Affordable Housing Council and local real estate and housing leaders.

On election night of the election, Durocher said he was a little disappointed. He said he knows the results are preliminary and he’s hoping votes will close the gap in the coming days. He said either way, the vote won’t change what he’s doing moving forward, and he’s learned a lot from the experience running for the school board.

He said he’s thankful that so many people have showed up for kids.

For District 4, Hilary Seidel was leading Leslie Van Leishout with 60.8% of the vote compared to Van Leishout with 38.5%. Seidel is currently the vice president and has served on the board since 2017, and Van Leishout is a former educator and member of the Thurston County Homeless Advisory Board.

North Thurston Public Schools board

North Thurston races were too close to call after early returns on Tuesday.

District 1 incumbent Gretchen Maliska was leading Veronica Shriver 52.8% to Shriver’s 46.7%, while District 4 candidate Esperanza A. Badillo-Diiorio was leading Stephanie Scott 50.6% to Scott’s 48.7%.

Maliska could not be reached on Tuesday.

After the August primary, Scott threw her support to Badillo-Diiorio because she felt they had a similar platform of wanting to help students of color and other marginalized students in the district.

Although Scott announced her support, she did not withdraw from the race, so her name appeared on the ballot.

Scott, who was on a business trip to Iceland, kept up on the Tuesday night election results and shared her thoughts with The Olympian by text.

“I’m celebrating Esperanza’s current lead,” she said. “She has devoted her life to kids and staff in the district.”

Badillo-Diiorio said she was pleased with the results, and that no matter the outcome, it would be a win for North Thurston Public Schools.

The surprise of the night: District 5 challenger Michelle Gipson was leading incumbent Dave Newkirk with 50.7% of the vote to Newkirk’s 48.9%.

Gipson shared some brief comments Tuesday night because she was about to board a plane at Sea-Tac.

She said she was really thankful for the support and the people who helped move the campaign along.

“I’m excited about the opportunity and feel blessed about where I am,” she said.