Tuesday’s municipal and school board elections were unconventional as seven races were decided by write-in votes. Some of those candidates had certified themselves as write-ins, some had not. Four races, only two of which were fully in Howard County, were contested on the ballot. Additionally, two ballot propositions failed, although one eventually passed with the addition of Boone County votes.

The lack of contested races made for a light day at the polls. A total of 374 ballots were cast countywide, a turnout of just 8.41% of the county’s 4,445 registered voters. The election results remain unofficial until they are certified by Howard County Clerk Shelly Howell. Turn to page 6 of this newspaper to view the complete results.

One of two incumbents on the New Franklin school board successfully won re-election. Kara Schnell will serve another term after receiving 118 votes. Challenger Kevin Beaman won the most votes with 136. Incumbent and board treasurer Travis Hundley received 88 votes in his failed bid for another term.

The Fayette, Glasgow, and Higbee school boards opted out of holding elections since the number of candidates matched the number of open seats. Board president Skip Vandelicht will serve a second term on the Fayette Board of Education along with newcomer Kristen Gibbs. Amber Overfelt did not seek a second term. Incumbents Bob Draffen and Nikki Gouge were unopposed for new terms on the Glasgow school board. Both incumbents on the Higbee school board, BJ Westfall and Robert Whisenand were re-elected without opposition.

A three-way race for two seats on the Harrisburg Board of Education ended with both incumbents winning new terms. Hal Fisher led with 310 votes from both Howard and Boone counties. Davin Stidham narrowly edged challenger Josh Byrd 248-242.

Voters in the Harrisburg school district also gave overwhelming approval to a $3 million bond issue for the district’s building infrastructure. Proposition K.ID.S. (Keep Improving District Schools) Phase 2 lost in Howard County 8-7, but easily carried 344-158 in Boone County. According to the ballot language, the measure will not increase taxes.  

Salisbury will have two new members join the school board. Diane Cooper and Christopher Wilhoit led the balloting with 309 and 274 votes, respectively. Incumbent and board vice president Regina Boss lost her bid for another term with 233 votes. A total of 19 votes were cast for the race in Howard County.

Fayette will have a new Mayor. Northwest Ward Alderman Jeremy Dawson ran unopposed for mayor. He will succeed Kevin Oeth, who declined to seek a second term. When he is sworn in as the new mayor, Dawson will vacate his seat on the council. He will then need to appoint a new person to fill the seat in the Northwest Ward. 

However, a situation has arisen in the Southwest and Northwest wards. Peggy O’Connell won six votes after registering as a write-in candidate for the Southwest Ward. The problem is that she actually resides in the Northwest Ward. The confusion occurred because she lives on Spring Street in Fayette, which is the dividing line between the two wards. But because she lives on the north side of the street, she technically resides in the Northwest Ward.

The error was not noticed until the day prior to the election. Procedurally this could make for an awkward situation for the city council. According to Nathan Nickolaus, the city’s attorney, because O’Connell won the vote for the Southwest Ward she will be sworn into the seat. She will then immediately resign since she does not live in that ward. 

Four other names were written in for the Southwest Ward, including one for President Joe Biden. Of those four, Bekki Galloway received the most votes with two. It is not known if Galloway would accept the position on the council as of this writing.

Dawson confirmed to this newspaper that he was aware of the situation. On Monday he said that he planned to appoint O’Connell to the Northwest Ward once he vacates the seat and assumes the role as mayor.

Elsewhere on the Fayette city council, Michelle Ishmael ran unopposed to fill out the remainder of the term for the other Northwest Ward seat. She was appointed on October 12 to occupy the seat formerly held by Marc Wells who passed away on August 6. The term expires in 2023.

No candidates filed for one East Ward seat. Dr. Joe Parisi was appointed in December to occupy the seat after former alderwoman Kylie Tillman left the council when she moved out of that ward. Although Parisi did not file to fill out the term, he won two of four total write-in votes for the seat. He confirmed to this newspaper on Wednesday that he would continue to serve the East Ward on the council. The two other names written in one apiece were Marsha Broadus and Brian Barber.

The final non-contested race in Fayette was for City Marshal. David Ford was officially elected to his first full four-year term. Ford was appointed Marshal after former police chief Jeff Oswald was elected Howard County Sheriff in 2020. He ran unopposed in 2021 to finish out the original term.

The last conventionally contested race on the ballot was for Glasgow South Ward Alderman. Incumbent Joseph Gibbs defeated challenger Michael Carter 19-12 to retain the seat. Incumbents Larry Neville and Eric Monnig were each unopposed in their respective bids for Central and North ward seats.

Two races to fill vacancies for Ward 1 representative on the New Franklin city council were decided by write-in votes. Rick Newell collected eight votes as one of three certified write-in candidates vying for the seat for a partial term. The seat was originally held by Seth Newell who vacated the position. Sylvia Durban was appointed to replace Hollowell on March 14. She received six votes. Rachael Brown-Hammers received four votes.

However, Brown-Hammers is expected to take the other Ward 1 seat, this one for the full two-year term. She earned the lion’s share of the write-in votes with 15. Former Ward 1 alderman Tyler Eaton did not seek another term.

Robbey Harvey will continue his role as Mayor of New Franklin. He previously served as Ward 2 Alderman and Mayor Pro Tem and assumed the role as Mayor following the July resignation of then-Mayor Newt Arbogast.

Elsewhere in New Franklin, Ward II Alderwoman Lesley Lyons ran unopposed to finish out the term to which she was appointed after Harvey became mayor. Incumbent Todd Baslee will serve another term on New Franklin’s Ward III after running unchallenged.

The final municipal decision for New Franklin voters was Proposition A, which would have allowed the city to forgo elections if the number of candidates was the same as the number of open seats. The measure narrowly failed 51-44.

Nearby in Franklin, Tammie Hundley-Wilkerson and Tommy Howard ran uncontested for Wards 1 and 2, respectively.

The race for Mayor of Armstrong was one of seven decided by write-in votes. It appears that Harley Owen received four votes, although his name was written in with four different spellings. Jacquline Kurtz received three write-in votes. East and West ward incumbents Christopher DeGraffenreid and Korey Wood each ran unopposed.

Write-ins were also tallied for the Armstrong road and fire boards. Frank Leslie had eight of 13 votes cast for Armstrong Fire Board Director. Richie Lyons had seven of 12 votes cast for Armstrong Road Board Director.