HUDSON–City of Hudson resident Justin Elliott was elected by write-in to join the Board of Education in the May 21 school vote. He will take his seat on the board effective July 1.
Mr. Elliott’s most recent involvement in the Hudson City School District (HCSD) has been coaching the football team and volunteering at his son’s pre-kindergarten class. But, he said at the Board’s election night meeting, he has lived in Hudson all his life, received his education in the HCSD, and graduated from Hudson High School in 2006. He works as a dispatcher for the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office. On the Board, he hopes to work to “create a better environment for the kids, to show the kids that the community supports them,” and to encourage “more community involvement.” This includes more people at sports games. As a coach, he has seen “kids react differently when nobody shows up than when the bleachers are full.”
Of the board’s seven members, three are serving terms that expire this year. The election winners will serve new terms, for three years, this year through 2022. Initially, only one of the three incumbents, Willette Jones, the board vice president, decided to run for another term. No other eligible person, on or off the Board, applied to run before the deadline. Therefore, the ballot contained only Ms. Jones’ name and space for write ins. But before the election, another incumbent, Charles Parmentier, seeing how few people were running, changed his mind and let people know he was available for write-in. The third incumbent, Maria McLaughlin, will leave the Board at the end of June after five years of service.
The May 21 vote resulted in 427 votes for Ms. Jones, 145 write-ins for Mr. Parmentier, 63 write-ins for Mr. Elliott, and 34 write-ins for Ann Marie Bryant. The new Board terms went to the three people with the most votes.
