This year's two Anchorage School Board incumbents are leading their challengers in the city election, according to the first batch of results posted Tuesday night.
Margo Bellamy is ahead with 54 percent of the vote to Alex Rosales’ 39 percent for Seat A. Kelly Lessens is ahead with 54 percent of the vote to Mark Anthony Cox’s 38 percent for seat Seat B.
Voters had until 8 p.m. on Tuesday to return their ballots. So far, just over 39,000 ballots have been tallied. Election officials will post additional results over the next two weeks, with results scheduled to be certified on April 22.
Anchorage School Board members are elected to three-year terms in area-wide, nonpartisan races. The two winning school board candidates will join the seven-member governing body for the state’s largest school district at a time when budgets are tight and in the wake of hundreds of educators getting notice that they’ll be laid off without additional state funding.
In an interview Tuesday night, Lessens said she feels confident that her lead will hold, but it's important that every vote gets counted. If she wins her race, she’ll serve her second full term on the board.
”I really do believe that voters have spoken," she said, "that they are looking for candidates and school board members in particular who support public schools, who support increases to the base student allocation, who are going to fight for the resources that all of our students need."
This will be Bellamy’s third and final term on the board after a long career with the Anchorage School District. She started as a clerk and librarian before working at the district office, and as a middle school administrator. She has said her top priority is improving student outcomes.
Bellamy was unavailable for comment Tuesday night but a spokesperson for her campaign, Matthew Beck, said the initial results show that voters trust her.
“We ran a strong issues-based campaign, while her opponent promoted, you know, race baiting and conspiracy theories, and I feel like that the initial results reflect a rejection by a significant portion of Anchorage voters, and we're grateful for that,” he said.
Bellamy’s opponent, Rosales, had come under fire for his social media posts, which included references to right-wing conspiracy theories and comments on race and gender.
He could not immediately be reached Tuesday night.
The $63.8 million bond proposition for several Anchorage School District projects was passing in initial results, with 50 percent in favor to 48 percent opposed. The projects include safety and security upgrades for schools around Anchorage, as well as school maintenance and infrastructure improvements.
Correction: This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Matthew Beck's last name.
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