Election returns updated Thursday evening show Rick Hamilton, Tom Di Liberto, Jenny Jonak and Morgan Munro lead in the Eugene 4J School Board races.
Retired police officer Rick Hamilton leads the Position 4 race with 58.89% of the vote. Hamilton has served on several state government diversity, equity and inclusion teams. His stated priorities include increasing school board functionality and transparency, increasing graduation rates, balancing the 4J budget, supporting marginalized students, improving student mental health and increasing safety — possibly by bringing back school resource officers. Hamilton had over $41,000 in campaign contributions according to campaign finance data.
“Thank you for all your support! I’m very excited to serve on our School Board!” Hamilton said in a Facebook post Wednesday morning.
Incumbent 4J School Board member Gordon Lafer is losing by a significant margin against Hamilton. Lafer currently has 40.61% of the vote. Lafer, a University of Oregon professor and former U.S. congressional advisor on labor and education, ran a platform of smaller class sizes, bringing back elementary school librarians and reducing student workloads. Some of Lafer’s notable endorsements included Congresswoman Val Hoyle and former Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy. Lafer had over $40,000 in campaign contributions, according to campaign finance data.
The Facebook page for Lafer’s campaign has not posted as of Thursday evening.
Retired teacher Tom Di Liberto leads the Position 1 race with 61.98% of the vote. His stated priorities include better collaboration between the board, families, students and staff; student mental health; more emphasis on subjects that aren’t on standardized tests; equity and inclusion and reducing class sizes. Di Liberto had nearly $33,000 in campaign contributions according to campaign finance data.
“This is the first time our school board has ever had a classroom teacher on the board,” Di Liberto said to the Emerald. “I’ve made a lot of friends — people who really believed in putting a teacher on the board.”
Di Liberto’s main opponent, local dentist Michael Bratland, ran on a platform of school security, class size reduction and curriculum reform. Bratland currently has 25.51% of the vote. Bratland had over $92,000 in campaign contributions according to campaign finance data.
The third candidate in the race for Position 1, Juan Carlos Valle, has received 12.33% of the vote, despite dropping out of the race over a month ago.
Lawyer and PTA co-chair Jenny Jonak leads the Position 5 race with 76.52% of the vote. Her stated priorities include reducing class sizes, giving teachers more resources, promoting career and technical education coursework, better collaboration between the School Board and parents, getting proper resources for students with disabilities, encouraging racial equity and improving academic performance. Jonak raised over $44,000 in campaign contributions, according to campaign finance data.
“I’m thrilled at the confidence the voters have shown in me,” Jonak said to the Emerald. “I’ve got three kids in the 4J school district…I’ve got one child with disabilities and making sure that we are providing children with the support that they need was also extremely important to me. Making our schools accessible for all children, making sure that all children regardless of their background feel included and valued, those are all very important priorities to me.
Jonak’s opponent, veteran and retired HR manager Grant Johnson, trails with 23.27% of the vote. Johnson ran on a platform of better school board transparency and communication with parents, promoting CTE coursework, and bringing back school resource officers. Johnson received over $1,200 in donations, according to campaign finance data.
“I do want to include my appreciation for Jenny. She was the best opponent that anyone could ever run with,” Johnson told the Emerald.
He said he will continue his involvement with the school board, where he will focus on community engagement and curriculum reform.
Management consultant, corporate trainer and PTA president Morgan Munro leads the Position 7 race, with 75.01% of the vote. Her stated priorities include increasing academic performance especially in elementary reading; creating a more welcoming environment for students of color or who are low-income, have disabilities, speak english as a second language or are LGBTQ+; more school board transparency; balancing the 4J budget; supporting career and technical education; and increasing teacher resources. Munro had nearly $30,000 in campaign contributions, according to campaign finance data.
“What an honor to be elected to serve on the school board in the district where my sister and I grew up and my mom spent her teaching career,” Munro said in a Facebook post Wednesday morning. “Getting to hear from so many neighbors has been such a powerful part of this campaign, and I look forward to lots of feedback and input in the future.”
Munro’s opponent, businessman Timothy Sutherland, trails with 24.75% of the vote. Sutherland ran on a platform of school safety, curriculum reform and improving academic performance. Sutherland had over $5,500 in campaign contributions, according to campaign finance data.
“I’m terribly disappointed in the defeat for all of my like-minded candidates,” Sutherland said to the Emerald. “I hope that the winning candidates will re-take up the issue of school safety and put resource officers back in schools.”
Candidates Denise Diamond, Zach Mulholland, Steve Mital, Kevin Alltucker and Lisa Fragala lead the Lane Community College Director races. Mulholland and Alltucker both have about 58% of the vote in their races. Fragala has 81.57% of the vote. Diamond and Mital are running uncontested.
Candidates Curt Nordling, Daniel (Drae) Charles and Robin Zygatis lead the Bethel School District races. Nordling has 51.28% of the vote in a three-way race. Charles has 56.66% and Zygatis has 57.48% in their two-way races.
Candidates Ken Kohl and Nicole De Graff lead the Springfield School District races. Kohl has 52.46% of the vote in a four-way race. De Graff has 51.63% of the vote in a two-way race.
Editor’s note: This is a developing story. Stay with us for updates. This story has been updated to reflect the correct number of campaign contributions for Michael Bratland, the correct spelling of Bratland’s first name and the correct position for the Hamilton-Lafer race.
