OAKLAND — An Oakland school board candidate initially certified as the winner of last November’s ballot resigned from the board on Tuesday, putting an end to a controversial and contested election that the Alameda County Superior Court was scheduled to review.
In a statement, Nick Resnick acknowledged a judge-ordered review of the election outcome in the three-candidate race for the school board’s District 4 seat, which hinged on county officials’ mistaken suspension of 235 ballots where voters left the first column blank.
After another ballot count in December, county election officials concluded that Resnick’s opponent, Mike Hutchinson, actually won the seat.
“I recognize I can continue to contest this election for months and that for months we can spend precious public funds on a legal process and have uncertainty about who is ultimately going to occupy this seat,” Resnick said in part.
“At this time, I don’t think that is what’s best for this community and I don’t think that’s going to help get our schools where they need to go. Instead, I am making the choice to congratulate my opponent and share that I will no longer be opposing the election contest, and therefore resigning from the D4 seat.”
Resnick decried what he called challenges leading some to opt not only out of public education, but community at large.
“There is no bright future for OUSD schools if we can’t turn that around and figure out how to have a ton of schools that families actively choose,” Resnick said.
“I don’t know exactly how I’m going to take this on over the next few years but what I do know is that I am going to commit my time, my energy, and my voice to make progress toward a day where all families will actively choose, in every segment of our community, a local public school that inspires and delights them. I’m talking about schools in every corner of our city that families can’t get enough of. Our students desperately deserve for us to figure this out.”
Had the county followed the Oakland City Charter, the majority of Nov. 8 ballots would immediately have been transferred to third-place finisher and eventual winner Hutchinson through the city’s ranked-choice format, which allows voters to rank preferences.
In the weeks after Hutchinson’s certification, both men had been serving on the board, with Resnick making some decisions but also abstaining from a recent vote to rescind a number of widely controversial campus closures — despite the strong possibility he was not actually elected to serve.
Judge Brad Seligman had ordered a partial re-examination of election results that had been scheduled to take place earlier this month.
Hutchinson, who had held the board’s District 5 seat, had run for the seat because his home address had been redistricted to District 4. He will serve as board president this year, and the board is expected to appoint a replacement for Hutchinson’s old D-5 seat.
Hutchinson acknowledged Resnick’s resignation in a social-media post.
“I want to thank Nick for his service to OUSD, for how he ran his campaign and for how he handled the unexpected and uncomfortable course of events over the last 2 months,” Hutchinson wrote. “I look forward to us working together in the future as I am sure he will continue to find ways to serve District 4, OUSD, and the community at large.”
Staff writer Shomik Mukherjee contributed to this report. Contact George Kelly at 408-859-5180.
Source: www.mercurynews.com