Schools

Bellevue School Board Member Johnson Falls to Challenger McConnell

In the last vote count before King County Elections certifies the results, Bellevue School Board Member Betsy Johnson, who was appointed to replace retiring board member Judy Bushnell a little under two years ago, fell to challenger Steve McConnell.

Bellevue School Board member Betsy Johnson's challenger Steve McConnell has come out on top in a tight race after the last general election votes were counted by King County Elections Monday night.

The race was close since election night, but McConnell maintained his lead, with a less than 2 percent lead over Johnson. Johnson was was named to the seat of retiring board member Judy Bushnell a little under two years ago.

Johnson was endorsed by the incumbent she replaced, : "Under Betsy’s leadership there has been a further push to encourage open participation in major district decisions, including effective committees for the math and gifted programs."

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But McConnell received the endorsement of the Bellevue Education Association, which called him an "advocate for increasing the transparency of the District’s decision-making process.... He has proposed a concrete plan to engage diverse stakeholder communities."

Bellevue School Board Members Christine Chew, who was appointed to the board last year, and Mike Murphy were unopposed in the election.

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Results

BELLEVUE SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 405


Ballots Cast/Registered Voters: * 36820 / 67856 54.26% Director District No. 1
Steve McConnell
14657 50.83%
Betsy Johnson
14101 48.90%
Write-in
80 0.28% Director District No. 2
Christine Chew
22584 98.87%
Write-in
258 1.13% Director District No. 4
Michael F. Murphy
22312 98.94%
Write-in
240 1.06%


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