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62 °F Forecast | Road Cams Friday, May 27, 2005 Today's News | Shop Our Valley | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery | Contact Us SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Britt Festival Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Biz Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA Ashland News NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend May 18, 2005 Student wins race for school board seat Complete election results By JENNIFER SQUIRES and ROBERT PLAIN for the Mail Tribune ASHLAND — Voters elected a slate of candidates who had campaigned on openness and communication to fill four Ashland School Board seats, unofficial election results show. "I think the community is making a strong statement," said Mat Marr, 24, a Southern Oregon University student who won two-thirds of the vote Tuesday night for position 2, defeating incumbent Chuck Keil. "The community is saying, ‘We want people who are going to reach out.’ " Ruth Alexander (position 1), Marr, Amy Sager-Patton (position 4) and incumbent Amy Amrhein (position 5) each received more than 60 percent of the vote in their respective races, according to a 10 p.m. update from the Jackson County Elections Department. Three of four victorious candidates —Alexander, Marr and Sager-Patton — had been endorsed by the Jackson County Pacific Green Party in April. Green Party-backed candidates also swept the November 2004 Ashland City Council election. "There seems to be a lot happening without a lot of community knowledge," Alexander said, referring to the Lincoln Elementary School closure issue as an example. "My hope is the new board is going to be a lot more open." Alexander, 61, won almost 65 percent of the vote to defeat local veterinarian Howard Miller. An author and an elementary school math tutor, Alexander said she wants to get the community more involved in some of the issues facing the school board such as school closures, funding and reinstating some programs that have been cut. Advertisement Marr, an SOU business major who attended Ashland schools, said he hopes the new board will begin reaching out to residents immediately to work on a vision plan to outline how the community would like to see the school district function in the future. He easily defeated Keil 66 percent to 33 percent, unofficial election results show. "We really need not only a long-term plan but a set of long-term goals," Marr said. "We need to know not only what we want our buildings to look like, but what we want our education to look like." Marr, whose campaign personally contacted more than 1,000 voters and registered 200 endorsements from community members, said he doesn’t plan to rest before he takes office in July. "I don’t think there’s ever really an off-season for making the world a better place for children," Marr said. "My job is to make the schools the best they can be." The Ashland School Board races attracted more candidates than any other school board race in the county. In other school board elections held in nine other Jackson County school districts, 30 candidates filed for 25 positions, including two seats in the Pinehurst School District that will not be filled. Jennifer Squires and Robert Plain are reporters for the Ashland Daily Tidings. Reach them at 482-3456. Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback Free Music Downloads Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers home equity loans helzberg diamonds Distance Education Diamonds Online Poker Auto Insurance Mesothelioma Slippers Student Loans tcg student loan consolidation teleconferencing Website Design & Marketing Memory Foam Mattress w2 forms Mortgage Calculator Free Home-Loan Referrals Payday Loans Advertisement s