A candidate for Sequim School Board who said she was withdrawing from the race soon after she filed is leading after initial returns in the Clallam County 2021 Primary Election.

As of Aug. 6, Kristi Schmeck has 3,032 votes, or 28.9 percent of ballots cast, with Virginia R. Sheppard in second with 2,986 (28.5 percent) in second and Rachel Tax in third with 2,809 votes (26.8 percent). Derek Huntington, with 1,632 votes (15.6 percent), was fourth after the Aug. 6 count.

Another count is slated for Aug. 11.

The race was in both the Jefferson County and Clallam County ballots, with Tax earning the most Jefferson County votes (42), followed by Schmeck (32), Huntington (30) and Sheppard (26).

Schmeck said in a June 1 email to the Sequim Gazette that “I am in the process of withdrawing my candidacy for the At-large school board position due to personal reasons.”

Her name, however, remained on the ballot, and initial returns have her leading the four-candidate race.

Early this week, Schmeck said in an email she is still in the race.

Clallam County Auditor Shoona Riggs said that candidates who file for election must withdraw by the Monday after filing week for their names to not appear on the primary and general election ballots.

“Since (Schmeck) did not formally withdraw by the Monday following candidate filing week she will remain on ballots unless our office is given a court order to remove her,” Riggs said.

Bruce Cowan, chair of 24th Legislative District Democrats, said Wednesday that Schmeck essentially suspended her race.

“Candidates use the wrong terminology sometimes and don’t understand that their name cannot be taken off the ballot. They are not out of the race,” he said. “They are just not campaigning any more. They can still jump in later.”

Riggs said if Schmeck wins and decides she does not want to hold office she would have to notify the Sequim School Board, and then the board would be responsible for appointing a new member.

“There’s no way I can take her name off the ballot … unless I have a court order,” Riggs said.

Two director positions with the Sequim School Board of Directors were up for election this year after both incumbents declined to run for re-election. School board president Brandino Gibson, director-at-large, and Brian Kuh, District 2 director, both declined to file for their positions during the mid-May filing period.

While four candidates filed for Gibson’s seat just one, Patrice (“Pat”) Johnston, filed for Kuh’s District 2 position.

Candidate backgrounds

In the Clallam County Voter’s Guide, Schmeck lists her professional experience as an educator/coach for more than 25 years and a charter school athletic director.

“I created a mentoring program for elementary and high school students at the Charter school,” she wrote.

She also volunteered as a middle school youth group leader at a church for the past two years, ran an after-school program at Sequim Middle School (2019-2020) and volunteered for sports programs as a coach and manager for basketball, baseball and swimming teams.

“As a Mother and Grandmother, I’m committed to the health and future success of our youth,” Schmeck wrote. “Running for School Board gives me the opportunity to bring my passion and years of experience to the next level, and collaborate to make positive changes that are visibly needed in our schools.”

Sheppard, a long-time Clallam County resident, said in a press release in May that she will be focused on “an educational environment that fosters growth, community and citizenship.”

“(The race) is not easy but most rewarding,” Sheppard said by email on Aug. 4. “Getting to really meet and make new friends has been the best part.”

Sheppard is a mother of two and a grandmother, with four grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. She has experience in the schools as a former volunteer art teacher, teacher’s aide, as well as a treasurer for parent-teacher groups.

“I am concerned about the move toward implementing subjects like Critical Race Theory imprudently which if implemented without proper community vetting can serve only to divide and discriminate,” she said a candidate statement. “I believe our children can benefit from learning about accurate history, learning about the Constitution, reading, writing and math.”

Last week, Sheppard wrote that she’s hearing from parents, citizens and students who are concerned about Critical Race Theory and sex education curriculum touted by Gov. Jay Inslee.

“Parents and grandparents want their right to raise their children and to have the schools get back to being teachers instead of pseudo parents under government control,” she wrote.

“I’m also hearing from individuals that I have good ideas about how our students can achieve their goals whether they are aspiring to go to college or an out of school career.”

Tax is a mother of four, with her oldest graduating kindergarten at the end of this school year and her second-oldest starting kindergarten this fall.

“It is a pretty tight race,” she said on Aug. 4, after the initial ballot count. “There are still ballots to be counted, hopefully enough to push me into the top two.”

She said she thought her background as a mother with children in the school district likely resonated with voters.

“I want the schools the best they can be not just for my kids, but all the kids in the district,” Tax said in a late May interview, not long after filing for office.

A Sequim-area resident the past four years, Tax said she’d like to see some change in demographics on the current board — a governing board that will affect her children’s schooling for years, she noted.

“The current board (is) all men; I think we need a mom on the board,” Tax said in May.

In May, Huntington said he is familiar with Sequim schools, enrolling at Helen Haller Elementary at the start of his fourth grade year and graduating from SHS in 2004. He’s lived in Sequim for 25 years.

He said he filed to run for school board because he disagreed with the way some situations were handled at the school board level, including the placing on leave of three administrators.

“I think I could bring some change,” Huntington said.

As for major issues facing the board, he said, “the biggest thing is getting back into school regularly.”