A late aligning trio of candidates for the District 200 Oak Park and River Forest High School board of education swept three open seats on the board in Tuesday’s elections.
Jonathan Livingston, Tim Brandhorst and Graham Brisben topped Brian Souders in the election. Souders offered the most critical views of the current leadership of the high school expressing concerns over finances and financing the current Project 2 capital plan.
As of Tuesday night’s April 4, unofficial election results, Livingston won the largest number of votes.
According to the Cook County Clerk’s totals, Livingston received 5,358 votes, putting him at 27.59%, followed by Brandhorst who received 5,285 votes, putting him at a close 27.16%. Brisben came in third with 4,842 votes, receiving 24.88% of votes.
Brisben, who attended Oak Park village trustee Susan Buchanan’s election night event, said he received congratulatory texts as the unofficial results came in.
“I am grateful for the confidence that the voters have placed in me to serve on the District 200 school board and I will do my best to meet the needs of OPRF 3,400 students and their families,” Brisben said.
Souders, who came in fourth with 3,964 votes, wished the three new board members good luck in “tackling the challenges that OPRF faces.”
The three new members will be filling seats left vacant by incumbents Gina Harris and Ralph Martire, who stepped down after serving one term on the OPRF school board. Board member Sara Dixon Spivy did not seek another term in the election despite filing nomination petitions early in the race.
High on the list on everyone’s minds would be the funding for the already approved $102 million Project 2. If the current board does not decide on how to fund the project in its upcoming board meetings, it is possible the new board members will get a say.
During a candidate forum hosted by Growing Community Media, Souders had expressed that due to the size of the project, the decision on how to finance it should go to a referendum.
Brisben, Livingston and Brandhorst said they felt comfortable letting the board decide how to finance the project.
“I ran my campaign not just to win a seat at the board table, but to bring attention to important issues regarding OPRF, such as the overtaxing of residents, respecting citizens and going to referendum on major capital projects, the need for a buildable long term facility upgrade plan with a budget, better communications, and a general view that the community is a vital partner with governments, not an obstacle to be avoided or a bottomless wallet,” Souders said. “I hope the board, community and media consider these things in the future.”
According to the Cook County Clerk’s website, out of the 48,715 registered voters in Oak Park there were 8,071 ballots cast in Tuesday’s election.