Are recounts ahead in tight Fresno-area school board races? Final tallies out
With election results all but finalized Friday, Fresno County school board elections had only a couple of surprises in store this cycle — including margins under 30 votes at times in two key races — while many incumbents held onto their seats.
In Fresno Unified, the race for the McLane High-area seat quickly became the closest to watch as a mere 25 votes separated incumbent Veva Islas from challenger and retired FUSD teacher Karen Steed by the end of election night.
Islas’ lead slowly grew with each updated tally from the county, however, and with Friday’s count of the last 2,000 vote-by-mail and provisional ballots, the trustee appeared to have finally secured her second term.
Friday’s numbers gave Islas roughly 45.1% of the vote to Steed’s 39.6%, or an advantage of 350 votes.
Neither candidate responded to requests for comment Friday afternoon.
Islas previously called the race “closer than I’d like” and said that there was an “intentional campaign” against her as one of the district’s more progressive trustees.
Steed said the unexpectedly close results election night signaled that the McLane area resonated with her message.
Islas was the favorite in the race, having outraised Steed by tens of thousands of dollars and having secured the backing of the Fresno Teachers Association. Steed received the endorsement of Fresno County’s Republican Party.
Steed has neither confirmed nor denied a claim from Islas that she was considering requesting a recount.
As for Fresno Unified’s other races, retired FUSD school psychologist Susan Wittrup appears to be the only challenger to have won a seat on the FUSD board after capturing a commanding early lead over Bullard-area incumbent Terry Slatic in the district’s most expensive race.
Incumbents Keshia Thomas (Edison) and Valerie Davis (Sunnyside) handily defeated their challengers.
Wittrup is expected to be sworn in at Fresno Unified’s last meeting of the year Dec. 14, pending certification of Fresno County’s results.
Another tight race
McLane wasn’t the only razor-thin margin to emerge in this cycle’s education races.
In the competition for the Area 1 seat on the State Center Community College District Board, incumbent Bobby Kahn is winning by only five votes over Destiny Rodriguez.
That margin shrunk from Kahn’s 28-vote advantage heading into Friday.
The trustee area includes portions of Madera County, where Kahn had an 816-vote advantage over Rodriguez.
Rodriguez had Kahn beat in Fresno County, taking 5,386 votes to his 4,575.
“I remain hopeful and grateful for the support I’ve received so far,” Rodriguez said in a text to the Ed Lab. She added that she’s not conceding until the election is certified.
Kahn didn’t respond to requests for comment Friday afternoon.
Other K-12 results in Fresno County
In Clovis Unified, Friday’s tally confirmed victories for nonprofit executive Clint Olivier in Trustee Area 1 and teacher Deena Combs-Flores in Trustee Area 6.
West Park’s election results, including the upset of two controversial incumbents, were also confirmed with Friday’s tally.
The clerk’s office estimates zero ballots remaining to be counted but will continue accepting cure letters for any ballots with signature issues through Dec. 8 before reporting those results to the state.
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Fresno County releases new vote tally from Nov. 8. See which races remain very close
