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R-2 Patrons Pick McCoy, Thomas for School Board
C-T Photos/Laura Schuler Chillicothe R-2 voters gave incumbent Julie McCoy a strong vote of confidence yesterday (Tuesday) at the polls and also elected newcomer Paul R. Thomas to the board during yesterday’s (Tuesday) election. McCoy, 47, of rural Chillicothe was soundly re-elected to her fourth consecutive two-year term in office, capturing just over 36 percent of the votes cast, 1,045. Thomas, 37, of Chillicothe, who was making his second run at a board seat, pocketed 768 votes (or almost 27 percent of the votes cast. He ousted Incumbent Rick Baker, who is finishing up his first two-year term on the board and currently serves as its vice president. Baker, 46, of rural Chillicothe, earned 200 less votes than Thomas and won only about 19 percent of the votes cast. The other challenger for a board seat, Robbie Skipper, 32, of rural Chillicothe, closed out the field with 482 votes, or just over 16 percent of the votes cast. Skipper was making his third consecutive attempt at securing a seat on the board, having run unsuccessfully both in the April 2007 and 2008 elections. McCoy, who watched some of the results come in at the Livingston County Courthouse, said she felt good about her showing at the polls. “It’s nice that the voters support me and have confidence in what I’m doing,” McCoy said. She added that she did not campaign much to retain her seat, outside of running some ads in the print media. What may have aided her in her re-election efforts more than anything, she said, was her name recognition as a long-time board member and her extensive business and financial experience. “I think with the financial situation (of the district) being what it is, my experience most likely helped,” she said. Starting with the tallying of absentee ballots and continuing next with the results from Wards 4 and 1, McCoy and Thomas soon outdistanced the other candidates with McCoy winning 493 votes and Thomas receiving 358. Baker followed with 288 votes with Skipper earning 210. Then, once Chillicothe Township and Rich Hill votes were counted, McCoy’s lead lengthened to 588 and Thomas’ showing stood at 442, 99 votes ahead of Baker and 180 more than Skipper. Eight minutes later, after ballots from Ward 3, Wheeling Township and Ward 2 were counted, McCoy and Thomas were the clear winners. At that point, McCoy had earned 976 votes; Thomas had 689 votes, Baker had 535 votes and Skipper had 431. McCoy earned the majority of the votes cast in three of the city’s four wards and all but two of the rural voting precincts. Her strongest showing was in Ward 1, where she pocketed 267 votes, closely followed by Ward 2, where she earned 249 votes. In Ward 3, she earned 121 votes — 37 less than Thomas, who carried that Ward. McCoy also earned 161 votes in Ward 4 to Thomas’ 122, Bakers’ 93 and Skipper’s 75. As well as winning the majority of votes cast in Ward 3, Thomas carried the combined voting precinct of Jackson and Sampsel, winning 60 votes to McCoy’s 41. Both McCoy and Thomas tied in the combined voting precinct of Cream Ridge Following her victory, McCoy said this next term will likely be her last on the board. She explained that her children will have all graduated from Chillicothe High School by that time. “I really enjoy (serving on the board), though,” McCoy said. Thomas spoke about his win this (Wednesday) morning and said that while he was glad he won a board seat, he would have been happy with the results no matter what. “I can’t say enough about the other three candidates. They are all exceptional individuals and I have known at least a couple of them for some time. No matter how (the election) would have ended up, I think the school board would have benefited,” Thomas said. His campaign, he said, comprised of some ads published in the Constitution-Tribune. However he said that “word of mouth,” advertising helped as well. “I got my name out there a little bit, but I didn’t work real hard at it,” he said. Thomas said the candidates feature recently published in the newspaper and a candidates question and answer series on the local radio provided the best exposure to all the candidates. In explaining his success in the district’s rural voting precincts, Thomas said that his parents, who live on a farm north of Mooresville, may have helped. “My parents’ contacts are pretty strong there and have grown over the years,” Thomas said. He said he decided to run for a board seat, simply to give something back to the community and school system he grew up in. He did note that his election win also served as a present of sorts for his mother, JoAnn Thomas, who was celebrating her birthday Tuesday. “So, that was pretty special,” Thomas said. |
CAPTION:
Chillicothe R-2 incumbent board member Julie McCoy (standing, second from left), offered her congratulations to Paul R. Thomas (seated at center), who successfully secured a seat on the board. McCoy received widespread voter approval Tuesday and will begin her fourth, and likely final term on the board.