Every vote mattered in the Lexington City School Board elections on Nov. 5.
The city’s first election of school board members saw three seats up for grabs and four candidates vying to claim them.
Tammy Dunn, Kasey Potter and Katie Masey won the three spots, according to the Virginia Department of Elections.
The department recorded a total of 4,698 individual votes in the school board race. Each voter could select up to three candidates.
Dunn, the current school board chair, secured a first-place victory with about 28% of the vote. She led all of the other candidates by at least 200 votes, according to the Department of Elections.
Then things got dicey. The department reported that each of the remaining candidates won between 22% and 24% of the vote. A difference of only 53 votes separated the three women.
Potter claimed second place. Based on early voting totals, it looked like Meghan Ferguson would take the last spot over Masey.
But Masey’s supporters came out on Nov. 5, and the Department of Elections said she led all other candidates in election-day totals. Masey slipped ahead of Ferguson by a mere 35 votes.
Washington and Lee University’s Rockbridge Report reached out to Dunn and Potter shortly after the election. Both expressed excitement about the upcoming term.
Last week, the Phi talked to Masey about her narrow win. She said her success has made her hopeful, but she added that the victory is bittersweet.
“I’m a dear, close friend with Meghan,” Masey said. The two candidates have children of similar ages, and Ferguson was the first person to congratulate Masey on her victory. “I feel like she’s equally qualified,” Masey added.
Masey said her professional experience as a counselor may have given her an edge. “I have worked with kids and families and advocated mental health for many years,” she said. “I imagine people felt like that was something that they voted on.”
She plans to bring her skills as a licensed therapist to her new position. She said she will focus on improving students’ mental health by trying to reduce screen time in the classroom and educating parents about the dangers of social media. She also emphasized supporting teachers and improving retention rates.
Though not nearly as close as the school board election, the Lexington City Council race also saw four candidates compete for three open positions. Incumbents dominated, and current council members Marylin Alexander and Leslie Straughan reclaimed their seats.
Newcomer John Driscoll got the last spot. More than 300 votes separated him and the fourth-place candidate, Madeleine Robinson, according to the Department of Elections.
One of Driscoll’s top priorities will be getting citizens more involved in City Council activities, according to a November article from the Rockbridge Report. He also wants to invest in affordable housing and implement better social services, he said.
Lexington’s only other local election was for mayor, and it was far from a nail-biter. Incumbent Frank Friedman ran unopposed and captured about 94% of the vote. Roughly 150 people voted for write-in candidates.
