In early returns, Andrea McElroy took a lead over Kirsten Walsh in the special election to fill the vacant seat on the Newport-Mesa Unified School Board.
The winner will serve the remaining term of the district’s Area 5 seat after former trustee Michelle Barto was elected to the Newport Beach City Council in November.
Walsh had been appointed to the trustee seat over McElroy and other applicants by a divided school board in late January. But a petition collected enough signatures to reverse the appointment and require a public vote instead.
The two candidates on Tuesday were hopeful and confident, both saying they felt their platforms resonated with voters in District Area 5.
McElroy, 55, said she frequently volunteered as room mom, with theater programs and the tennis team when her daughter, now a college senior, was in the district.
On Tuesday, she said she was spending the evening having a private party with her family and her election team.
McElroy said she felt she most connected with voters over opposition to the state’s SAFETY Act, which prohibits school districts from requiring staff to disclose information about a student’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression to parents without the student’s consent.
“Parents do not want secrets kept from them,” McElroy said.
She said she was often told by residents during campaigning that they were happy they had an opportunity to vote for someone who represents their values, she said. “They said this is a democracy and they believe in governing by the will of the people.”
Walsh, 53, who was flying to Florida to watch her son race in rowing at the Junior National Championships in Sarasota, said she felt voters wanted to see someone on the school board whom they could trust in promoting the best interests of their children and grandchildren first.
“People that show up every day to make their schools a better place are the ones that give kids opportunity to reach their highest potential,” she said, adding that many voters she spoke with were looking for a nonpartisan candidate whose only concern is the schools and the wellbeing of the kids, not party politics.
Walsh has a sophomore and a senior at Newport Harbor High School and is the school’s PTA president.
Both candidates touted their experience in the district and said their background with Newport-Mesa Unified will enable them to make informed decisions and gain insight into what the district most needs.
Walsh said she brings “both professional expertise in child development and lived experience as an NMUSD parent,” and her time as a volunteer at schools “taught me the importance of building bridges between families, educators, and administrators.”
McElroy said her involvement in the district community “has shown me the importance of caring for our families, jumping right in, and getting things done. I’m ready for this role, committed to our students and families, and no one will out work me.”