Lincoln Challenger Unseats Incumbent In Close Race

BOARD: Danforth Retired From Lincoln Schools

FARMINGTON — Incumbent Dax Moreton lost his bid for re-election to a third term to the Zone 4 position on Lincoln School Board by only four votes.

According to unofficial results, challenger Oleta Conner Danforth received 84 votes, 51.22 percent, to 80 votes for Moreton or 48.78 percent in the May 22 school election.

The Washington County Election Commission will certify the election results

Friday, June 1.

Jennifer Price, election coordinator, said the Commission reviewed the Lincoln race because it was so close and did not see anything that could impact the outcome of the election. She said the Commission felt “comfortable” with the numbers.

Only Zone 4 registered voters could cast votes for the two candidates and less than 20 percent of Zone 4 registered voters turned out for the school election. Zone 4 has a total of 828 registered voters, according to the Washington County Clerk’s office.

The day after the election,

Danforth, 63, said she was surprised to be elected because the incumbent was very well-known in the community and had served for many years.

“I was very pleasantly surprised and very grateful for everyone who went out and voted, for those who signed my petitions and let me put my signs in their yards.”

Danforth said she campaigned for the position with yard signs, phone calls and sending messages to Facebook friends who lived in Zone 4. One of her friends posted a “very nice endorsement” on Facebook and Danforth said she believes that helped her.

Danforth will take her seat with the rest of the school board at its June meeting, but her first appearance as a school board member was at Thursday’s graduation ceremony. Danforth sat with the other members on the stage at the front of the room.

Danforth said she plans to be involved with the school.

“Education is extremely important to me and I want everyone at the Lincoln school, all the employees, to know what a valuable asset they are to the school,” Danforth said. “I’m just real passionate.”

Danforth is retired after working for Lincoln schools for more than 25 years. During her time, she served as a Title I aide, keyboard instructor, information technologist, provided summer work and was facilitator for the Alternative Learning Environment classroom.

“I loved my (ALE) job and all the jobs I had at the school,” Danforth.

She said because she is retired she will have the time to serve as a school board member.

“I have the desire. I have the want to,” she said, adding, “I’ll do the best I can.”

Moreton has served as school board president the last year and made a comment at the board’s May 21 meeting.

He told his fellow board members that if he was not re-elected, he considered it a privilege to be able to serve Lincoln Consolidated School District as a school board member.

Tera Thompson was running unopposed for Lincoln’s Zone 1 School Board position. Thompson was appointed to fill a vacancy in October 2017 and was required to run for office in the May 22 election if she wanted to continue as a school board member.

Thompson received 77 votes in last week’s election.

The election also shows that Lincoln’s millage tax failed by 288 votes for the tax and 299 votes against the law. All school districts are required to place their current millage rate on the annual school election ballot. Unless a school district is asking for a change, such as a tax increase or to extend the debt, the outcome of this does not affect the millage rate.

Danforth