Halsell prevails : Halsell beats out Odom in school board runoff election
Posted on Wednesday, October 8, 2008
ANTHONY REYES Northwest Arkansas Times Candidates Conrad Odom, foreground, and Jim Halsell wave to passing vehicles at the intersection of Birwin Street and Old Wire Road Tuesday before the Fayetteville school board runoff election.
The Fayetteville School District Board of Education now has a new member.
Jim Halsell was elected over short-term incumbent Conrad Odom Tuesday during the school board's runoff election for the atlarge position 1 seat. Halsell received 1, 295 votes to Odom's 1, 097, or about 54. 1 percent to 45. 9 percent.
"Obviously, I'm very pleased," Halsell said.
Halsell said he was grateful for the advice and support he received during his campaign, saying the notion that "you should always work with people who are smarter than you "held true.
Halsell will be able to take his seat once the results of the election are certified by the Washington County Election Commission. He will serve the remaining three years of John Delap's regular five-year term. Delap resigned from the board in June, and Odom was appointed to the position in July to serve through the election.
"Really, about the only thing I want to say is congratulations to Jim Halsell," Odom said. "I wish him the best of luck in his tenure on the school board, and I certainly appreciate the large turnout and everyone who helped me with my campaign. It's difficult for me to express my gratitude."
A total of 2, 392 people voted in Tuesday's runoff election. Voter turnout was lower than the general election, where approximately 2, 655 people voted.
The runoff was held after a general election in Sep- tember that featured six candidates. Halsell and Odom received the most votes in that race, but neither candidate received more than 50 percent of the vote, resulting in the runoff.
Halsell is the first new board member elected this year. In a separate race during the general election, incumbent Susan Heil was re-elected to at-large position 2.
One of the top issues the board is expected to tackle in the coming months is developing a plan to reconfigure the current high school site with a new facility.
The board has spent more than two years debating the future of the high school in its location. Last month, the board voted to declare the current site as the future high school location after negotiations to sell the campus to the nearby University of Arkansas fell through.
Halsell has long favored rebuilding the current site, and he said he looks forward to developing a plan for that location.
"A lot of the hard decisions (on location ) have been made," he noted.
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