By SUE SUCHYTA
Sunday Times Newspapers
With voters responding in record numbers to cast votes for national and state offices, Downriver voters also had local races to decide, including school board elections in many communities.
Allen Park, Lincoln Park, Melvindale-Northern Allen Park, Riverview, Southgate, Taylor, Trenton and Wyandotte were among the cities with school board elections on the ballot.
In Allen Park, three candidates, all non-incumbents, ran for two partial terms ending Dec. 31, 2022, with Laura M. Luecke (4,390 votes) and Stephen D. Martin (4,137) winning seats, while Jennifer E. Jacobs (3,934) fell short.
Allen Park voters selected three of four candidates for full terms, with incumbents Jennifer Warren (5,806), Gordon A. Miller (5,279) and Sarah Crawford Filipiak (5,129) winning seats, while challenger Zane Belisle (3,324) did not.
In Lincoln Park, three of four candidates were elected to the school board. Incumbents Gordon Gilbert (6,080), Phyllis DeFiore (5,864) and Nadalie Sciantarelli (5,483) were returned to the board, while challenger Richard Kudrak (4,214) was not elected.
In the MEL-NAP district, five of six candidates were elected, as challengers Amber Cochrane (2,844) and Karyn Klein Lange (2,815) finished atop the list followed by incumbents Michael Kolmorgen (2,453) and Matthew D. Rader (2,442), and challenger Hamdan M. Harhara (2,060). Incumbent Malek Saif (2,026) was not re-elected to the board.
In Taylor, the school board race was more competitive, with seven candidates seeking four spots on the board.
Challengers Amber McNew (10,379), Jodi Thomas (10,283), Daryl Thomas Jr. (9,885) and Rhonda Danaj (9,545) won seats on the board, while incumbents Debbie Stellini (8,451) and Pamela Lakatos (7,510), and challenger Kyle Wright (7,918) did not.
In Trenton, three of four candidates were elected to the school board. Challengers Rebecca Caldwell (5,081) and Tom Kinney (4,480), and incumbent Heather Lynn Lear (4,346) won seats while challenger Paul Alcantar (3,163) was not elected.
In Wyandotte, two of the three school board seats were won by incumbents Dana Browning (6,621) and Rob Kirby (5,398), with challenger Kathy Kane (6,959) topping the list. Challenger Anthony Schlorman (3,782) was not elected to the board.
Both Riverview and Southgate had only enough candidates to fill its empty positions.
Four candidates ran for the same number of positions on the Riverview Community Schools Board, including incumbents Timothy Bohr and Andy Davis, and newcomers Sandy Meeks and Matthew Toth.
Gary O’Brien and Mike Pelkey, whose terms expire Dec. 31, 2020, were not on the slate.
In Southgate, incumbent Shawn Patrick Sage was the sole candidate for a partial term ending Dec. 31, 2022, while incumbents Jason Robert Craig and Darlene Pomponio ran for the two available six-year terms.
For vote counts, go to waynecounty.com/elected/clerk/election-results.aspx.