It has been a few days since Election Day, and most results have been holding steady for the William S. Hart Union High School District, the Saugus Union School District, and the Santa Clarita Community College District as of Thursday morning.
During the early counting on Election Day, Julee Brooks was in the lead for the Hart District’s Trustee Area 2 seat and Joe Messina was in the lead for re-election to the Trustee Area 5 seat.
As of Thursday, they are both heading to victory over opponents Bryan Biggers for the Trustee Area 2 seat and Stacy Fortner for the Trustee Area 5 seat.
Brooks, who led Biggers, 53.49% to 46.51% as of Thursday morning, said she personally knocked on over 4,000 doors, spoke to community members and neighbors during her campaign.
“I think people are looking for practical leadership that can have honest conversations about how to continue to, to bring success for our kids. So, I think a lot of it is connecting with voters directly and listening to what’s important to them. And then understand that I can help to bring solutions to some of those things,” Brooks said.
Brooks added that with her background in education, she has a deeper understanding of how schools operate from policy to finance.
Messina was still in the lead against Fortner on Thursday morning, 58.88% to 41.12%.
On Election Day, Messina said he has felt like there were more fingers being pointed at each other rather than focusing on the children.
“We have to stop that … What are you doing for the kids? What are you doing to make that change? And I think, again, when you say, look at the numbers, look at who’s come up. I think people are not trusting our system anymore. It’s definitely become more like pointing fingers a little bit,” Messina said.
In the Saugus district, three candidates continue to the lead for their respective seats: Larry Grable for Saugus Union School District Area 1, Anna Griese for Saugus Union School District Area 2, and Christopher Trunkey for Saugus Union School District Area 5.
Grable’s 40.07% of the votes as of Thursday morning led opponents Kevin Kim and Natalie Epstein, who stood at 33.28% and 26.66%, respectively.
For the Santa Clarita Community College District Area 1 seat, Darlene Trevino led Reza Rassool, 56.1% to 43.9%
