With nearly 80 percent of precincts reporting in the Elk River Area School District after polls had closed on Election Day evening, incumbent candidate Holly Thompson held a commanding lead over all challengers in the race for three seats on the School Board.
Her total of 10,845 votes at that point in the night put her about 2,700 votes ahead of challenger Christi Tullbane, of Rogers. Tullbane entered the race with experience on the district’s Community Education board of directors and also the Legislative Action Team which represents the district in contacts with the area’s state legislators at work in St. Paul.
Thompson was the only incumbent running for election, as her board colleagues Sue Farber and Dan Hunt chose not to file for re-election to the seats where their terms are expiring in December.
Thompson served as chairperson for the board through part of 2016, but she stepped down from that role sometime after last spring’s election filing period (with Shane Steinbrecher moving up as board chair) and Thompson has cited personal reasons for missing some board meetings through the summer and fall.
She declined to respond to questions from the Star News for inclusion in a voters’ guide before Election Day, and Thompson was also unavailable for comment Tuesday night in regard to her lead in the race. Tullbane, too, could not be reached Tuesday to comment on what seemed to be certain election to one of the open seats.
Leading the remaining four challengers for the third available seat was Joel Nelson, executive pastor at Gateway Church in Elk River. While within 200 votes of Tullbane’s second-place total with about 80 percent of precincts reporting, Nelson was ahead of the fourth-place challenger Kristian Mortenson by nearly 500 votes.
“(The results are) kind of overwhelming for me,” Nelson told the Star News by phone on Tuesday night. He noted that he did not pay to print one sign nor did he spend any other money on the campaign. “There’s a lot more people who have voted for me than I know in Elk River or the school district.”
A native of northern Minnesota, Nelson says he is known for conservative beliefs and that he has lived in this district for more than 20 years. His wife, JoDee, is a graduate of Elk River High School.
Nelson pledged in the Star News voters’ guide to be a fiscally responsible board member while advocating for students’ best interests.
“I want to make sure our kids get a great education. That’s a number-one priority as a school board member,” Nelson said Tuesday night. “But I want to seek creative ways for reaching solutions without always throwing extra money at it.”