Incumbent, Newcomer Win Seats in Arcadia School Board Election

Incumbent Mary Dougherty and political newcomer Joann Steinmeier easily defeated two other candidates Tuesday for seats on the school board.

Dougherty and Steinmeier will serve four-year terms on the five-member board of the Arcadia Unified School District beginning July 1.

Dougherty was reelected to a second term with 2,110 votes, or 41.5%. Steinmeier followed closely with 2,061 votes, or 40.5%.

Timothy Westlin placed third with 509 votes, or 10%, and Larry Lewis finished last with 407 votes, or 8%.

Of the 28,097 registered voters, 2,753, or 9.8%, cast ballots.

“I’m delighted to have been reelected,” said Dougherty, 53. “To me it means that the community is happy with the direction the school board is pursuing.” But she added, “I’m disappointed to see such a low voter turnout.”

Steinmeier, 43, was equally pleased with her victory.

“I’m really thrilled that the voters gave me this opportunity,” she said. “I hope to live up to their expectations.”

Dougherty said she plans to continue the board’s efforts to strengthen the curriculum, especially by emphasizing courses now required, such as English, math and science, and by making music, art and a foreign language required subjects too.

Drug education and building repairs are at the top of Steinmeier’s agenda.

New Procedures

Both women underscored a need to change the district’s contract negotiation procedures.

Negotiations should take place under “something other than an adversarial context,” Dougherty said. “With adversarial bargaining, the real losers are the children.”

Lewis said he contributed to the race by prompting other candidates to address the problem of drug and alcohol addiction among district students.

He said his winning 8% of the vote with minimal campaigning has encouraged him to run again, with a stronger effort.

Westlin congratulated the winners but said he was disappointed by the results.

He said his candidacy was probably hurt when Dougherty and Steinmeier were endorsed by Arcadians for Arcadia, a community group of about 200 residents.

Method Questioned

Westlin questioned the group’s method of assessing candidates: A seven-member panel interviewed each candidate for an hour, then recommended its selections to the community.

Westlin said Arcadians for Arcadia should have simply informed voters of the weaknesses and strengths of each candidate and “let the community make the final decision.”

Dougherty said she does not know if the endorsement helped her. Steinmeier said it probably was an asset, but added that the endorsement also triggered a backlash from some people who questioned whether it was appropriate for the group to make recommendations.

Lewis attributed his defeat in part to the group’s decision to endorse Dougherty and Steinmeier.

“I didn’t have the machine behind me,” he said.

Westlin, who plans to stay involved in school board matters, said he will make another bid for a board seat two years from now.