Sherman

Two new faces will be joining the Hermiston Board of Education and two incumbents kept their seats in the May 18 election.

According to results posted by the Umatilla County Elections Division after 10 p.m. on May 18, incumbent Brent Pitney was defeated by Sally Anderson Hansell.

Pitney, who works for Knerr Construction, was appointed to the board in 2018. He garnered 36.7% of the 2,843 votes cast. Anderson Hansell, an attorney at Anderson Hansell PC, received 63%.

She described herself as “deeply humbled” by the results, and said she looks forward to learning more about what is going on in Hermiston schools.

“I think the election tells me that the community is looking forward to more and better communication from the board and administrators, as well as enhanced transparency as far as decisions go, and the reasons for those decisions,” she said.

After board member Mark Gomolski decided not to run again, in order to focus on his new job as director of the Agape House, newcomers Dain Gardner and Lili Gomez stepped up to vie for Position 3.

According to results posted late May 18, Gardner held a large lead at 61.2% of the vote. Both Gardner and Anderson Hansell had emphasized in their campaigns that students should have returned to in-person learning during the pandemic sooner.

Gardner, a senior trooper for the Oregon State Police’s Fish and Wildlife Division, expressed his thanks to voters and said he would work to stay in touch with them and help the board be more transparent.

“I’m just excited to get to work,” he said.

The other two current board members up for another term will retain their seats.

Karen Sherman, who has served on the board for 20 years, is in the lead for her seat, with 63.1% of the vote. The other person on the ballot for Sherman’s seat, Caitlin Melhorn, told the Hermiston Herald prior to the election that she had decided she did not want to run after all due to previous time commitments, but the deadline had passed to withdraw her name from the ballot.

Sherman said she looked forward to working with the new board, and to planning for a more “normal” school year next year.

“I appreciate the support and hope I can continue to make the Hermiston School District a strong and effective district,” she said.

Incumbent Bryan Medelez, operations manager for Medelez, Inc., was appointed to the board in 2019. He was running unopposed to retain his seat, and had 2,111 votes in his favor, with 52 write-in votes.