OUTSIDE CANDIDATES TAKE THE DAY AS VOTERS DEAL BLOW TO ESTABLISHMENT

By Joseph Back

It wasn’t a landslide, but there were some upsets—two in fact, regarding those incumbent officeholders seeking reelection.

Ousted in the November 2 school board election for ISD 200 were Board Chair Kelsey Waits and Director Scott Gergen, while victorious from the outside were Mike Reis, Carrie Banaszewski-Tate, and Jessica Dressely, polling in as the top three candidates Vice Chair and Incumbent Dave Pemble, meanwhile, did not seek another term in office, while the next chance to decide for or against the school board comes up in 2024, when four member terms expire. So who are the new school board members for ISD 200 serving Hastings and adjacent communities?

First up in the list of top vote getters/election day winners is Mike Reis.

Running an insurgent candidacy that included a quasi- motto for the current school board (“Rules for thee, but not for me”), Reis cruised to a ballot box victory on November 2, with a total of 3,124 votes district wide, the second highest. Previously awarded the 2016-2017 Community Education Lifelong Learning Award, school board will be Reis’ first elected office. He opposes mask mandates and supports a policy that would allow individuals to make decisions for themselves and their families. Reis had the following to say after results were in.

“I want to thank everyone that helped make Carrie’s, Jessica’s, and my campaign successful,” Reis shared November 3. “We couldn’t have done it without the overwhelming support from our community. If I could thank every voter, I would.” Calling the election “hard-fought,” but also wishing the defeated candidates well, Reis takes office after the new year.

Next after Mike Reis in the list of winning candidates was Carrie Banaszewski-Tate, with 3,358 votes, the highest total of all the candidates. Working as a part-time supply chain consultant, Banaszewski- Tate lists among her qualities those of being “highly analytical” and “excellent at identifying wasteful practices and spending.” Speaking November 3 after results came in, Banaszewski-Tate had the following to say.

“I want to thank everyone for their support, (loads of) free time, dedication, and ongoing encouragement throughout this campaign,” she said. “It’s been a crazy, chaotic, stressful and emotional time where I’ve been repeatedly pushed outside my comfort zone…but it was worth it!” Taking office with Reis after the new year, Banaszewski- Tate will now have a chance to prove her “highly analytical” skill for identifying wasteful spending.

Finally for the list of ballot victors on November 2 was Jessica Dressely, with 3,080 votes.

“This has truly been a community- wide effort and I am so grateful that all of you rallied around us in support of putting all of our Kids Over Politics!” the stay-at-home mother of two and Hastings area transplant shared after the vote tally was done. But with three seats for six candidates, not everyone, could triumph.

From the top three counts went down, with Kelsey Waits receiving 2,680 total votes, Scott Gergen receiving a total of 2,631 votes, and Tashina Miller polling in at 2,227 votes total.

Anna K. Sieben took 258 votes and there were 33 writeins. Sieben passed away unexpectedly on September 3, after filing had closed in August. Minnesota election law is very clear with ballot changes. Candidates must remove themselves from the election a minimum of two days prior to the filing closing date, so the ballot could not be changed, and modification of a ballot is illegal. It is also illegal to place signs in a polling place about any candidates.

So how did Waits, Gergen, and Miller take their losses? With grace, for the most part.

“I am incredibly thankful for the four years that I have been able to serve this community and be a voice for our students,” Waits shared in part once the votes were counted. “Thank you for entrusting me with this time. Thank you to everyone who has supported me and who believed in this campaign. Thank you to the amazing educators and administrators in our district. It has been an honor to work with you and learn from you. We are truly blessed to have you as a part of our community,” Waits thanked her supporters and fans. For the newly elected board members she had words of good luck.

“I wish the recently elected board members the best of luck in their new journey,” she said. Scott Gergen was more direct in his comments.

“There was an election and I lost,” he said simply. “Democracy at work. The new board members will enter in January 2022 and I sincerely wish them the best – our student, staff, and community depend on you,” he said. An eight-year member of the school board, Gergen also thanked those he worked with and district staff. “We’ve done important work together as a team of board members, superintendent, administrators, teachers, and district office leaders,” he said. “I hold you all in the utmost regard and appreciate that I was allowed to share your world of education. Thank you.”

Last in the sequence of conceding candidates was Tashina Miller, who thanked her supporters November 2.

“Thank you to everyone that supported me through this whole campaign!” she shared of the election. Calling children “our future,” Miller shared her belief that all children are important.

“I am praying that the ones who won’t keep an open mind and heart for what’s good for ALL CHILDREN NOT JUST THEIR OWN,” she said. “Or just certain people. Because THEY ALL MATTER. NO MATTER (what) sex, religion, race, or whatever makes them different from each other.”

And just like that, the election was over.w

Mike Reis

Carrie Banaszewski Tate

With three of nine precincts located in Washington County, the ISD 200 school board results are in, with Mike Reis, Carrie Banaszewski-Tate, and Jessica Dressely among the winners. In all, the vote tally for ISD 200 in Washington County comes out as contributing 28 voters for Kelsey Waits, three votes for Anna K. Sieben, 27 votes for Jessica Dressely, 30 votes for Carrie Banaszewski-Tate, 30 votes for Scott Gergen, 29 votes for Mike Reis, 22 votes for Tashina Miller, and zero write-in votes out of 33 that were cast district wide.