Seattle voters put their faith in education, passing a measure to provide city help to schools, but apparently felt less trusting about the leadership of Seattle Public Schools. In the first count of votes on Tuesday (Nov. 8), one board member, School Board President Steve Sundquist, trailed a challenger, while another incumbent, Peter Maier, held a somewhat narrow lead.
Sundquist trailed challenger Marty McLaren in the ballot counting by more than 1,800 votes. McLaren had 51 percent of the total with 35,442 votes to Sundquist's 48.4 percent with 33,611 votes.
Maier had a larger margin, tallying 51.9 percent of the votes to challenger Sharon Peaslee's 47.6 percent. Maier's margin was slightly less than 3,000 votes. Two other incumbents, Sherry Carr and Harium Martin-Morris, appeared headed to re-election without any trouble.
During 2011, the school district has endured a financial scandal and the subsequent ouster of its superintendent and chief financial officer.
The next vote counting in the races is scheduled for late in the afternoon Wednesday (Nov. 9).
