The race to fill one of District 3’s seats on the Peoria Public Schools Board of Education is neck-and-neck, with unofficial results showing a slight edge for Sarah Howard.
As of 10:06 p.m. Tuesday, Howard, a public policy analyst, holds a lead of 44 votes over Doug Shannon, a financial professional and substitute teacher (50.37%-49.63%), with all precincts reporting. The winner will replace Larry Ivory as one of three representatives from the north-end district on the Board of Education.
Howard was endorsed by the Peoria County Democratic Party, along with Peoria Mayor Rita Ali, Illinois State Rep. Jehan Gordon-Booth and State Sen. Dave Koehler, among others. She told the Journal Star in a phone interview that she was “cautiously optimistic” about prevailing, but she didn’t want to jump the gun.
“I don’t want to jinx anything,” Howard told the Journal Star on Tuesday night. “I’m not going to declare for myself. I’ll wait until somebody else weighs in.”
Reflecting on her campaign, Howard said that she had been pushed to her limits over the past six months.
“This is the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” Howard said. “These last six months, I’ve been tested to my limits in so many ways. It’s been incredible in terms of how much I’ve grown, how much I’ve learned and the connections I’ve made in the community.”
Howard said that when the first results dropped, she felt excited, but as the race got closer, she was afraid she might lose her lead to Shannon.
“When the results came in, I was like, ‘Oh good, I’m in the lead!'” Howard said. “Then in the next round, the lead shrunk to 21 votes and I was like, ‘Oh no!’ I thought I was going to get overtaken in the next round, and it wasn’t what I expected. I wasn’t expecting the lead to grow. I was preparing myself for the worst as the night went on.”
As for a potential recount, Howard said she’s prepared, particularly with a race as close as this.
“I figured that for races that come this close that would be a possibility,” Howard said. “We’ll just follow the procedure and see what happens.”
Shannon was endorsed by the Peoria Federation of Teachers. In a statement Tuesday night, Shannon said that he would “do everything in my power to make sure every voter’s voice is heard and the integrity of our election is secure.”
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Close race between Howard and Shannon for Peoria school board seat
Reporting by Zach Roth, Peoria Journal Star / Journal Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
