Here’s who’s ahead in early tallies for Olympia, North Thurston school board primaries
Talauna Reed was running in third place in the Olympia School Board’s most hotly contested race, according to Tuesday’s early primary vote tallies.
Meanwhile, the North Thurston Public Schools race was too close to call with so many votes still to be tallied this week.
Olympia District 1
There are three seats opening up on the Olympia School District board of directors at the end of the year, and two current members are running against each other for the same position.
Maria Flores and Talauna Reed are both running for District 1, alongside business owner Andrew Flojo. Reed currently serves on the board for District 2, but she no longer lives in that district.
Flores and Flojo were leading in the primary election as of Tuesday’s vote tallies. Flores had 48.2%, or about 5,400 votes, and Flojo had 27.1%, or just over 3,000 votes, according to the Thurston County Auditor. The two will move on to the general election Nov. 7.
Reed, who was appointed by the board to an open position in 2022, was behind Flojo on Tuesday night with 24.5% of the vote.
Flores has been on the board since 2019, having previously served as the president.
Olympia District 2
There were four people in the running for the District 2 seat that Reed currently holds. Frank Durocher and Jess Tourtellotte-Palumbo were in the lead Tuesday night, followed by Graham Hatch and Matthew Kaphan. Tourtellotte-Palumbo had 45.1% of the vote as of 8 p.m., and Durocher had 35.7%.
Tourtellotte-Palumbo said she was celebrating with other school board candidates, students and neighbors in District 2 when she got the results. She said she was excited and felt lucky she got to share the moment with students.
“I feel like the vote is for them,” she said. “That’s exactly what all my work is about.”
Tourtellotte-Palumbo said she’s a person living with multiple disabilities, and she thinks the community wants to see that sort of representation on the school board. She also has a number of years of experience in the education and advocacy realm, including at The Evergreen State College, and as a substitute teacher.
Durocher is an OSD parent and has more than 10 years of experience in software development and construction, according to the Thurston County Voters’ Pamphlet.
Olympia District 4
Incumbent Hilary Seidel was ahead of her two opponents for her seat representing District 4 on the board with 50.8%, or 5,593 votes. She and Leslie Van Leishout were poised to advance to the November general election. Van Leishout had 37.2% of the vote. Seidel is currently the vice president and has served on the board since 2017, and Van Leishout is a former educator and member of the Thurston County Homeless Advisory Board.
The third candidate, Teresa Staal-Cowley, had received 11.3% of the vote as of Tuesday night.
About 11,200 votes had been cast for Olympia school board elections, and results will be updated as more votes are tallied over the week.
North Thurston Public Schools
Three women are vying for the District 4 school board seat that is being left vacant by longtime school board member and former Lacey mayor Graeme Sackrison.
Early returns showed that Stephanie Scott, economic development director at the state Department of Commerce, was leading the way with 5,153 votes.
Despite her lead, Scott announced Tuesday that she has thrown her support to candidate Esperanza Badillo-Diiorio, saying the two care about the same issues, such as supporting marginalized students — Black and Indigenous students of color and those in the LGBTQ community.
“We’re joining forces and I want to see her win,” Scott said.
However, if Badillo-Diiorio does not advance out of the primary, Scott said she is prepared to run a full campaign in the general election.
Badillo-Diiorio and small business owner Tiana Kleinhoff were separated by just six votes in the early tallies.
Kleinhoff had 4,175 votes, while Badillo-Diiorio, a Visiting Angels health care aide, had 4,169 votes.
“I’m incredibly proud and appreciate her support and support her fully if she advances,” said Esperanza about Scott. “We have a lot of the same platform, believe in the same things and I admire the fact that she got behind me as a woman of color. It’s incredibly brave of her to do and I appreciate that.”
Kleinhoff could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
This story was originally published August 1, 2023 at 9:06 PM.
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