Voters cull field of candidates for Tumwater, Olympia school boards
Julie Watts and Sarah Overbay will face each other in the general election for the Tumwater School District Board of Directors District No. 1 position, while incumbent Ty Kuehl and Daniel Mies will move on to compete for the District No. 3 seat, according to early returns from Tuesday’s primary election.
In Olympia, Renee Fullerton and Rhyan Smith will advance to the general election for Olympia School Board Director District No. 3 position, while Gilbert Lamont and Emily Leddige will advance to the general election for District No. 5’s seat.
Tumwater School District Board of Directors, District No. 1
As the Tumwater School District grapples with ongoing budget shortfalls and the question of whether transgender athletes should be allowed to compete on girls’ teams, three candidates vied for the No. 1 position in the Tumwater school board race: retired soldier, teacher and counselor Dean Mings; Watts, a Deputy Director for Government Affairs at the Department of Children, Youth and Families, and Overbay, a concerned parent.
In Wednesday’s election tally, Watts had received 3,925 votes, Overbay had 2,242, and Mings received 1,252. The top two vote-getters face off in the November general election.
Watts — who campaigned in support of student learning, anti-discrimination and gender-inclusive policies — extended her gratitude to her supporters.
“I’m just super grateful tonight for all of my supporters. There were a lot of people who were out knocking on doors for me and supporting me in this election,” she said.
“I’m just excited to keep the campaign going, keep talking about what matters to Tumwater families about the school system, to keep standing up for public education and making sure that we’re making our schools a place where all our students feel safe and where they know that they belong.”
The Olympian reached out to candidate Sarah Overbay but did not receive a response.
Tumwater School District Board of Directors, District No. 3
Three candidates ran for the No. 3 position including incumbent Ty Kuehl, district parent and Department of Social and Health Services Support Enforcement Officer Daniel Mies, and Jeff “Cowboy” Curry.
Wednesday’s results showed that incumbent Ty Kuehl and Daniel Mies will be advancing to the general election ballot. Kuehl had 3,224 votes so far, while Mies had 2,652 and Curry had 1,500.
Kuehl said he was surprised by the low voter turnout. As of Wednesday, about 7,400 votes had been counted in the race.
“I’m excited with the results. I wasn’t really sure what to expect. … You know, I think I was surprised how low the turnout was, and I would anticipate the general election will have a lot more turnout,” Kuehl said.
Kuehl, who supported a policy to bar trans girls from competing in school sports, said he looks forward to attending school board meetings once they reopen.
Several recent meetings were shut down by demonstrators protesting the district’s handling of trans students’ participation in school sports.
“As you know, some of the board meetings have been a little bit hectic. … I think we’re looking forward to getting back to an open meeting here in the next meeting or two,” he said.
Mies, who advocated for curriculum alignment between schools, anti-discrimination policies, and preservation of staff positions said his main reaction to advancing in the race surrounds raising the voter turnout.
“The main thing is just get the message out and try to get a bigger voter turnout,” he said.
Mies also said he looks forward to challenging Kuehl in the general election.
“Ty is a great guy. I’m sure he’ll want to debate with me with the Women’s League, and we’ll have a chance to show our differences. I really look forward to it,” he said.
Olympia School District Board of Directors, District No. 3
Renee Fullerton, a health and social policy associate at the Washington Training and Education Coordinating Board, had the majority of the votes in the first tally of primary results. Rhyan Smith, a former OSD teacher, was in second place.
As of Wednesday’s tally, Fullerton had received 8,244 votes. Smith had 4,319 votes. Interior designer and parent Britney Johnson received 1,213 votes.
None of the candidates for District No. 3 could be reached for comment Tuesday night.
The race will fill the seat being vacated by Darcy Huffman.
Olympia School District Board of Directors, District No. 5
Gilbert Lamont, a data analyst and military veteran, is leading the race for Olympia’s District No. 5 seat being vacated by Scott Clifthorne. Lamont had 5,654 votes in the Wednesday tally of primary results.
Emily Leddige, a deputy prosecuting attorney for Spokane, Grays Harbor and Thurston counties. was close behind with 4,936 votes.
Jeremy Ruse received 3,508 votes in the early tally, and will not advance to the November general election unless election results shift.
Lamont said he wants to thank his supporters and campaign volunteers for helping him get out in the community and connect with voters. He said it’s been an experience so far, and he’s looking forward to that experience continuing to the general election.
Leddige said she thinks a lot of people were interested in the school board races, and the numbers show. She said she knows voter turnout was pretty low, but she’s honored and pleased and ready to move into the next phase of campaigning.
“It’s still, I think, kind of sinking in for me a little bit that I’ve made it this far, but I’m very excited to keep going,” she said. “I know there’s still some ballots to count, but I know that preliminary results usually are pretty telling.”
Leddige said she plans to continue speaking to folks who have reached out to her to be a part of her campaign, and to make more connections in the community to start formulating more concrete ideas and plans for the school district’s future.
“I appreciate all the questions I’ve already gotten. Some people have asked for clarification, some people have some pressing questions, especially on school closures and things like that,” she said. “So I’m really trying to go forward and continue those tough conversations and kind of formulate a plan for my vision that I see if I get through the general election.”
This story was originally published August 5, 2025 at 10:33 PM.
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