Suburban School Board Races Almost Set

Memphis Daily News//Bill Dries//Augugst 17, 2012

Races on the Nov. 6 ballot for six sets of suburban school boards took shape Thursday, Aug. 16, at the noon filing deadline for candidate qualifying petitions.

The candidates that made the deadline have another week to withdraw from the races if they wish.

But at the deadline, 14 of the 32 races were one-candidate contests where the person who filed effectively won the seat.

The filing deadline is another step along a political path that includes a federal court ruling to come on the Shelby County Commission’s challenge of the constitutionality of the state laws that set the ground rules for establishing the municipal school districts.

If the laws are upheld, the elections go forward. If the August referendum results are voided they don’t.

Here are the fields of candidates based on the list published Thursday evening by the Shelby County Election Commission.

In Arlington:

Lee Mills claimed the position 2 school board seat with no opposition. So did Kay Morgan Williams in position 3 and Barbara Fletcher in position 5.

Voters will decide among Steven Bierbrodt, Will Jerden and Danny Young for position 1. Former alderman Hugh Lamar withdrew from the race Wednesday.

The race for position 4 is among Eileen M. Hinders, Dale Viox and Kevin Yates.

In Bartlett:

Erin E. Berry was effectively elected to the position 2 seat when Anne Edmiston withdrew from the race at the deadline.

The other four positions are contested races

William Busler faces Jeff Norris for position 1.

It’s Jay Culpepper and Shirley Jackson for position 3.

Donald Gregory, Christopher Maley and Donald Bryan Woodruff are the contenders for position 4.

David Cook, Rick Faith and Randall Van Voorhis are running for position 5.

In Collierville:

All five school board positions are contested.

It’s Kevin Vaughan and F. Auston Wortman III in the race for position 1.

The position 2 contenders are Wanda Chism, Margaret Kasperbauer, Derrick McNeal, Cathy Messerly and Asit Patel.

Pam Hathaway, Carr Kelsey and Jan Speare are running in position 3.

Position 4 candidates are John Mark Hansen and Vivian Jones.

And Beth S. Bohon, Wright Cox and Curtis Fields are the pack in position 5.

In Germantown:

Three of the five positions were claimed at the filing deadline because one candidate was in each.

They are Paige Michael in position 1, Mark C. Dely in position 2 and Ken Hoover in position 5.

The position 3 race is between Sammy Jobe and Natalie Williams.

Position 4 is a contest among Edgar A. Babian, Brent E. Brockway and Lisa L. Parker

In Millington:

All seven school board positions were filled at the filing deadline with one candidate each in all of the races.

The winners are: Gregory L. Ritter, position 1, Christopher Grow, position 2, Louise Kennon, position 3, Charles P. Reed, position 4, Oscar L. Brown, position 5, R. Jason Dupree, position 6, Anne M. Reed, position 7.

The Millington school board races will also depend on the certification of the vote count from the Aug. 2 municipal school district referendums there. The formation of such a school district passed. But the half-cent sales tax hike failed by three votes in the unofficial vote count. The Shelby County Election Commission votes Monday on a certified vote count from that and other August races.

If the total in the sales tax referendum stands in the certified count, the city could pursue a Chancery Court lawsuit to contest the results.

In Lakeland:

There are no positions. The top five vote getters elected at large in a single race get the five positions. There are 14 contenders.

They are: Robert Blaudow, Richard Bryant, Nikki Bufalino, Laura Campbell, Paul T. Criss, Rick Davidson, Kevin Floyd, Ariel M. Guthery, Laura Harrison, Teresa Henry, Robin M. Larrabee, Jay Tyler, Paul Vandiver and Karen Woodward.

Suburban School Board Races Almost Set