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Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Wagner, Hamilton lead Mattozzi, Evans
HARRINGTON-Two challengers are leading incumbents in contested races for the Harrington School Board, though one race was more lopsided than the other after first returns were announced Tuesday, Nov. 7.
Challenger Britney Wagner leads incumbent Darren Mattozzi 170 votes to 64 in the race for Director No. 1.
Wagner, a stay-at-home mother and substitute teacher with the school district, had a comfortable lead over Mattozzi, a School Board veteran.
The incumbent Mattozzi, the Prevention Director for Northeast Washington ESD 101 and the Reardan-Edwall School District, has been on the Board for 12 years.
And challenger Tony Hamilton had a slight lead over incumbent Jon Evans 121 votes to 112 in the race for Director No. 2.
Hamilton, the pastor of Harrington Community Church, spent 19 years with the school district as transportation/maintenance supervisor. Evans, a Lincoln County Sheriff's Office deputy, has been on the board for two years.
The election is not over. The next count was expected before 4 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 16 after the newspaper went to press.
Candidates sent the following statements after the first count was announced:
Jon Evans
"It is not a shock to me that Tony is leading by 9 votes, If I was up by 9 it still would not be a shock. Tony is a good guy and I think he will do what he thinks is right if the vote continues his way. The biggest three issues for me at the school right now are the low education standards, the sports coop, and the targeting of children by the state with their sexual education curriculum. I think if Tony gets in he will be standing up for the kids and against the sex ed junk, he will want better education standards, and I think he sees that the sports coop is the only way we can offer sports in Harrington right now. Really its a win-win situation no matter who gets in between Tony and I.
I was very happy to see Britney Wagner win, and she didn't just win, but it was a landslide. I think everyone knew her win was going to be easy as she was the clear favorite from the day she declared. Britney is a very strong willed and outspoken person who won't settle for less. She will want to see change happen at the school and won't accept the current level of performance. We have talked a lot about the issues at the school and about how change needs to happen. She will be the change that is needed in her position on the school board.
For the second straight election you may see three new board members elected to the Harrington School Board. That alone should tell you that people are not happy with the poor performance of our school. I would expect to see a decline in student population again next year as families continue leaving the "sinking ship" that we have allowed in Harrington. Whoever is on the board has a long way to go to build the school back up.
I wish Tony good luck over the next few days as the last few votes come in and I wish him well on the school board if the vote continues his way."
Britney Wagner
"I was very shocked to see how many people support me in this new endeavor. I really thought it was going to be a closer race."
Darren Mattozzi
"It's not the outcome I was looking for; however, hopefully, my opponent can make decisions based on what's best for ALL students, not a select few."
Drew Lawson is the editor of the Davenport Times. He is a graduate of Eastern Washington University.
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