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Newport Mesa Unified early results show school board challenger in the lead
A special election was held this week.
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Erin Hauer / Dan Carino
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LAist
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The results as of Wednesday morning.
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Orange County Registrar of Voters screenshot
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Business owner Andrea McElroy took a strong lead in early results for the June 10 Newport Mesa Unified school board election. As of Wednesday morning, she held 54.2% of the vote. Kirstin Walsh, a pediatric occupational therapist who held the board seat for five weeks earlier this year, had 45.8% of the vote.
Who is the front runner?
McElroy is a businessperson who has said she would prioritize arts, career trade education and real-world skills in Newport Mesa schools. She has said that schools should focus on “fundamentals over Sacramento’s culture wars” and that she would work to defend parents’ rights and “limit the indoctrinating efforts of programs like ethnic studies curriculum.”
Why it matters
Newport-Mesa Unified has largely stayed out of controversies that have become heated in other Orange County school districts over issues like book banning or parental notification policies. Many of the board’s priorities are financial, like shoring up funding for transitional kindergarten programs or upgrading aging school infrastructure.
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During the election, critics highlighted a record of lawsuits against McElroy’s former businesses that alleged unpaid rent, breach of contract and other claims, but McElroy said opponents were attempting to smear her.
What's next
This election fills the remainder of the term for a previous board member who was elected to a city council seat in November. Walsh, the candidate currently in second place, was appointed by the board in a public process in January to fill the seat. But a petition collected enough signatures — 289 was the threshold — to override the appointment and launch a special election instead. This election is estimated to cost more than $400,000.
Go deeper: You can read more about the candidates and the agenda for the school board’s term in LAist’s voter guide.
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