Top view of pile of Voting stickers

According to unofficial results as of Wednesday morning, both incumbents and first-time challengers look to have won school board and park district seats in Deschutes and Crook counties. And one incumbent looks to have kept their seat on the Redmond School Board while a first-time candidate knocked off another.

Ross Tomlin and Kina Chadwick won their races for the Bend-La Pine school board, while Kevin Bradley won the lone contested race on the Crook County school board, according to preliminary results.

Cary Schneider appears to have won the contested Bend Park & Recreation District seat while Katie Jalo was leading for the Redmond Area Park and Recreation District race.

As of Wednesday morning, Ashley Proctor was leading the race for Position 1 on the Redmond School District Board, while Amanda Page was ahead by a wider margin for Position 3.

Redmond School District

The unofficial results, which include voters for the Redmond School District board in both Deschutes and Jefferson counties, had Proctor ahead by about 500 votes. She secured about 52.5 of votes in her favor, ahead of incumbent Eric Lea’s 47.5 percent haul.

Proctor, a first-generation high school graduate and a social worker for Deschutes County, said she watched the first flash of election results come in Tuesday night alongside friends and supporters. That included members of her book club, who first gave her the confidence to run for election.

“It was really nice to share that moment with everyone who worked so hard,” she said. “I’m humbled and grateful.”

Proctor said she would work to build relationships with other board members, as well as staff. She said improving services and outcomes for students with disabilities will be a priority if the results hold and she joins the board.

Lea had served on the school board since his appointment in 2023. He said he was “shocked and disappointed” by the result.

He said the number of ballot returns from registered Republicans and unaffiliated voters gave him “misplaced confidence” that the election would go his way. He said he hoped, if the current results hold, that the board remains committed to strong fiscal oversight and timely updates of its curriculum.

“This is probably the last time I will get involved in an election,” said Lea. “But I won’t disappear. I will remain involved in the school board as a community member.”

Incumbent Amanda Page, who ran for re-election for Position 3, had a different fate.

She was leading her race against challenger Joelle Beget by about 900 votes, garnering about 54 percent of those tallied.

She said Wednesday morning that she was “grateful” for the support of Redmond voters and was looking forward to returning to a new-look board with Proctor. Page said she thinks the new board will move away from “political agendas and instead focus on what’s best for students.”

She said she and Proctor had success courting voters this election “because we got out there and listened to people.”

She said that was different then previous elections, when school board candidates told voters what they should care about, rather than hear their concerns.

Michael Summers ran unopposed for Position 2 and won re-election.

Bend-La Pine Schools

Chadwick won with 72.3 percent of the vote as of Wednesday morning against Justin Van Patten for the Zone 7 at-large seat, while Tomlin won with 68.3 percent against Theo Wilhelm for the Zone 6 at-large seat, according to preliminary results.

Tomlin said he’s feeling great and is “very pleased at the results.” There’s a lot of work to do in the district, and he’s excited to continue working with the current board on its priorities.

The Bend-La Pine school board had four open seats this election. Marcus LeGrand, Jennifer Lynch and Shirley Olson ran unopposed for other seats.

Crook County Schools

Bradley was winning with 61% Wednesday morning against Eddy Howard for the Crook County school board Zone 5 at-large seat. Eric Osborne, Scott Cooper and Kelsey Swick ran unopposed for other seats.

Bradley said he’s grateful for the support he’s received and he’s glad he and Howard ran a civil race.

“I hope I don’t disappoint and I will try very hard not to,” he said.

Park boards

Jalo was narrowly leading with 54.4 percent of the vote for the Redmond park district board against Dave Cosper. Mercedes Cook-Bostick and Kevin Scoggin both ran unopposed and won their races.

Jalo said she’s excited and grateful for people’s support. She’s looking forward to figuring out how to bring additional revenue streams to the park district and is interested in possibly setting up volunteer efforts to clean up the parks.

Schneider secured 79.8 percent of the vote to win the Bend park district board seat against Austin Mazzolini. Deb Schoen and Nathan Hovekamp both ran unopposed and won re-election.