Cronin, Gregory, Park cruise in trustee election

Brian Cronin and incumbents Nancy Gregory and Doug Park were elected to fill trustee positions for the Boise School District.

Seven candidates battled for three positions in Tuesday’s election.

Cronin defeated Travis Jones, 5,004 to 1,110 — collecting 80 percent of the vote.

Brian CroninCronin – once voting is deemed official on Wednesday — will finish out a two-year board term. The seat is open because Shauneen Grange, appointed in 2013, decided not to run to complete the term.

Cronin is relatively well-known in Idaho political circles. The Boise Democrat served two terms in the Legislature and aided a campaign to overturn Propositions 1, 2 and 3. Jones, a former aide to Republican Sen. Larry Craig, is executive director of the Idaho Grain Producers Association.

Gregory (40 percent) and Park  (33 percent) were the top two vote-getters in the five-way race, and will serve six-year terms on the board. Challengers John Hruby, Tony Shallat and Grant Walden each had collected support from less than 11 percent of voters. Total votes:

  1. Gregory: 4,848.
  2. Park: 4,011.
  3. Hruby: 1,158.
  4. Walden: 1,061.
  5. Shallat: 961.

Gregory has already served two six-year terms on the Boise School Board.

“My charge as a trustee is to ensure that our public school system will continue to be a quality educational choice for families in our community,” said Gregory, in her biography on the district’s website.

Park was appointed to the board in 2013.

“I feel my change management experience; business acumen and history of service will contribute to the long-term success of the board, the district, and to many of those I serve,” Park said.

A verification audit will be conducted on Wednesday to make the results official.

A total of 6,196 voters cast ballots, representing 6.3 percent of the 98,319 registered voters in the Boise School District. During the last Boise School Board election, in September 2010, 1,581 voters participated, or 1.6 percent of the 100,130 registered voters in the district.  

Click here for results from the Boise School District site. To read more about the candidates, click here for their biographies.

Jennifer Swindell

Jennifer Swindell

Managing editor and CEO Jennifer Swindell founded Idaho Education News in 2013. She has led the online news platform as it has grown in readership and engagement every year, reaching over two million pageviews a year. Jennifer has more than 35 years of experience in Idaho journalism. She also has served as a public information officer for Idaho schools and as a communication director at Boise State University. She can be reached at [email protected].

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