Edmond School Board incumbent continues campaign without challenger
For The Oklahoman
A challenger has decided to withdraw his candidacy to unseat longtime Edmond School Board incumbent Jamie Underwood.
Dave Evans, a father of two children in the district, said he recently added clients as a business consultant and his work demanded more of his time
“If I was on the board, I would have to be all in and I decided I just don’t have the time now to do that,” he said.
In December, Evans filed at the Oklahoma County Election Board to challenge Underwood for the five-year term. The incumbent has been on the board for almost 17 years.
On Thursday, Evans confirmed he was not actively campaigning for the Feb. 13 election. He planned to visit the Oklahoma County Election Board to have his name removed from the ballot.
Doug Sanderson, Oklahoma County Election Board secretary, said the deadline to do that was in December and Evans’s name would remain on the ballot. He was unclear how much the election would cost and if any of the district’s precincts had any other issue to decide.
Underwood said there are nine and a half precincts involved with the District No. 3 Edmond Board of Education seat. District No. 3 is generally the central portion of Edmond bounded by 15th Street on the south, Kelly on the west, Sooner Road on the east, and split between Covell and Danforth on the north.
Evans said it was late last week when he finally decided business priorities would make it impossible for him to serve.
“In a way, it’s (increased business) is good news,” he said. “I do remain vested in Edmond Schools. I wanted to run so all children in the district received the best education possible.”
With Evans’s name still on the ballot, Underwood plans to keep campaigning.
“I continue to remain committed to my campaign and serving on the board,” she said.
Underwood was first appointed to serve April 2, 2001, when former member Kathy Panas moved out of the district. Underwood, a mother of four, then won an outright election to the seat on Feb. 2, 2003. She was re-elected to five-year terms in both February 2008 and February 2013.
Sanderson said although Evans has withdrawn, it doesn’t affect his office’s work.
“We will certify the candidate with the most votes,” he said.
Underwood said a highlight of her work on the board in recent years was the search for a new superintendent to replace David Goin who retired after the 2014-15 school year. The board eventually hired thenassociate superintendent Bret Towne.
Underwood has a double major in accounting and marketing and at one time worked at an energy company. Her interest in her children’s education eventually drew her into being on the school board.
“I was also interested because both of my parents had been teachers,” she said.