Becker, Lundberg leading Marysville School Board primary election

MARYSVILLE — Marysville School Board incumbent Darci Becker and challenger Pete Lundberg appear to be headed for the general election this fall.

In the wake of the Aug. 16 primary election, the results as of 4:17 p.m. on Aug. 19 show Becker, director of District 3 within the Marysville School District, with 2,605 votes, or 30.82 percent of the votes counted, and Lundberg with 2,866 votes, or 33.91 percent of the vote. Michael Hansen received 2,079 votes, or 24.6 percent of the votes counted, while Rod Rieger received 833 votes, or 9.86 percent of the votes counted.  Write-ins received 68 votes, or 0.8 percent of the votes counted.

While Becker is still waiting for the final certified election results before making any campaign plans for the general election, she's expressed an interest in visiting with various schools' PTSAs to solicit their input on the school district's operations.

"As a parent of two children still attending our schools, it is very important to listen to everyone's ideas on how to move forward," Becker said. "This is a very difficult time for all of us in the public education system and we need to glean solutions to our economic problems from every group out there. If people would like to meet with me one-on-one for coffee or anyone would like to ask questions as a group, I am willing and will do my best to give my honest opinions."

Although Lundberg laughed as he described himself as "not much of a campaigner," he's made it his goal to connect with the community, a strategy that he believes is even more important after a candidate has been elected to office.

"The bond between the school district and the general population is not as strong as it could be," Lundberg said. "There's good work being done here, but it might not seem like it to a lot of folks. We need to develop an overarching sense of trust."

Lundberg credited much of his success in the primary to the name recognition he's gained from close to a quarter-century of working in Marysville schools, but he admitted that the primary showed him that he still has a lot to learn about campaigning for elected office.

"I'd much rather be doing the job," Lundberg said. "We need to make sure our schools are serving all their students with equity. We need to instill confidence among the public in our teachers and staff, by showing them some of the wonderful things that are happening in our classrooms on a daily basis."

Hansen has no plans to become less active in his community in the wake of his third-place finish in the primary, but he's also declined to endorse either Becker or Lundberg in the fall.

"Mr. Lundberg doesn't have children attending school in Marysville," Hansen said. "I am unclear of his motivation. Having attended many Board meetings and read the minutes, Darci Becker does not impress me as the innovator that the Board needs. Whoever does win, I hope they will take the time to visit some classes and spend time in the schools seeing the challenges firsthand."

Hansen thanked his supporters and encouraged his fellow community members to attend Marysville School Board meetings and voice their concerns.

"To the Board, I would suggest that if you want the community to support you then you should respond to emails," Hansen said.

Contact Marysville Globe Reporter Kirk Boxleitner at kboxleitner@marysvilleglobe.com or 360-659-1300 Ext. 5052.

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