- Preliminary results show a Democratic sweep in the hotly contested and at times controversy-laden East Penn School Board race
- The incumbent-led, Democratic-leaning slate of Jeffrey Jankowski, Joshua Levinson, Gabrielle Klotz, Shonta Ford and Tim Kelly triumphed over Republican challengers by more than 1,000 votes each
- The night also was successful for Democrats in major school board races such as Parkland and Southern Lehigh
EMMAUS, Pa. — The incumbent-led, Democratic-leaning slate of candidates appeared early Wednesday to have swept the high-spending, high-emotion, 10-candidate race for control of East Penn School Board.
Complete but unofficial results showed Jeffrey Jankowski, Joshua Levinson, Gabrielle Klotz, Shonta Ford and Tim Kelly all won by margins of more than 1,000 votes over their Republican challengers.
Early results also show Democratic-led tickets for other major Lehigh County school districts Parkland and Southern Lehigh sweeping victory.
The election took place in an eventful year for the East Penn, including discussions of a massive facilities expansion, a tax increase, detracking social studies and ELA curriculum at the high school and creating a targeted improvement plan for Lower Macungie Middle School at the state's prompting.
"Needless to say, I'm very pleased with the returns. Very proud of the the efforts that that we did in order to get our message out and secure support."East Penn School Board President Joshua Levinson
"Needless to say, I'm very pleased with the returns," board President Joshua Levinson said. "Very proud of the the efforts that that we did in order to get our message out and secure support.
"I believe that it was definitely a team effort. I give credit to to the other members of the slate and to the people in the community that really pulled together and made this happen," he said.
Ford said, "I'm hoping to bring a different perspective, a fresh perspective, and all the things that I talked about during this campaign, you know, advocating for marginalized voices, and really trying to be a good mediator and you know, a good representative for all constituents involved.
"I'm proud of the work we did — and we put in the work — whether it was talking to people, knocking on doors, making phone calls, and really making a really strong effort to connect, make real connections with people."
Other candidates did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Incumbents Jeffrey Jankowski, a Republican, and Joshua Levinson, a Democrat, joined their "pro-education" slate with political newcomers Gabrielle Klotz and Shonta Ford, both Democrats, and Republican Timothy Kelly.
The group listed priorities such as increasing mental health support, creating safe and welcoming environments, closing learning gaps and ensuring an engaging curriculum.
Jankowski, Ford, Klotz and Kelly were endorsed by the school district's teachers' union.
They opposed a Republican roster of political newcomers called Your Voice on the Board: Paul Barbehenn, Kristofer DePaolo, Lawrence Huyssen, Matt Mull and Angelic Schneider.
The slate listed its main priorities as improvement in academics, school safety and student discipline.
At a Republican gathering for Lehigh County candidates at Big Woody's Sports Bar in Emmaus, early in the night DePaolo and Schneider both appeared positive about turnout and hopes for the race.
But along with many other Republican candidates, excitement throughout the night appeared to turn to a quiet lack of confidence that their candidacy would prevail.
"Obviously the Dems had a good night across the county. I suspect the turnout numbers will show their voters were more motivated," Barbehenn said. "I'm proud of the campaign I ran. I stayed positive and constructive and focused on highlighting my experience. I wish the new board success. I'll keep rolling up my sleeves and helping our community where I can."
Matt Mull, another Your Voice on the Board candidate, congratulated the opposing slate.
"While the race did not go as I had hoped, this was a tremendous experience," Mull said via email. "I learned so much in the last 9 months. While there are some things I would do differently, I can look my family in the eye knowing I ran an honest race, and stood by my principals. Thank you to everyone who reached out, shared their experiences and supported me along the way!"
The former was endorsed by the Lehigh County Democratic Committee while the Your Voice on the Board slate was endorsed by the Republicans.
The race has been the recipient of tens of thousands of dollars of outside funding, including for the Your Voice on the Board candidates getting money from Republican PACs, local businesses and conservative culture warrior and venture capitalist Paul Martino.
The Democrat-endorsed slate got money from Democratic PACs and current board members.
The funding as well as comments implying a connection between Your Voice on the Board and the controversial groups Restoring Excellence in East Penn Education and Moms for Liberty led to accusations of extremism toward the slate.
Members of the slate denied a connection and rejected offers of affiliation from the right-wing advocacy group.
They said the donations they got did not impact their goals and priorities for the school district, particularly regarding the issue of banning books connected to the Moms for Liberty group.
They also said they did not want to be involved in "culture-war" issues.
That slate levied accusations in turn toward the majority-Democrat slate, accusing it of deeper connections between the candidates and the aggressive Valley Values PAC.
That PAC's Defend East Penn advocacy group, which supported the slate, publicized many of the accusations of extremism toward Your Voice on the Board.
Candidates on the Your Voice on the Board slate Mull, DePaolo, Schneider and Barbehenn voiced surprise to signs appearing throughout the school district the morning of Election Day attributed to "A YVOTB Candidate."
The signs appeared to attack Jankowski and Levinson for their role in district policies inclusive to transgender students' ability to use bathrooms not of their assigned sex.
Huyssen did not respond to request for comment via email.
Schneider said she was surprised, and said while it was not an untruthful statement, it was something she did not anticipate.
