HOWELL – Jennifer Okerson has won a one-year term on the Howell K-8 School District Board of Education.
No Howell resident filed a nominating petition to run for the unexpired term and on Election Day, Nov. 7, Okerson received 112 write-in votes to claim the seat.
“I am excited to see what we can do for the kids,” she said after being informed she had won the seat on the nine-member board.
Okerson said she would not describe herself as “campaigning” for the school board seat, but said she was aware that some people intended to write in her name when they went to the polls.
Okerson was not the only person to receive write-in votes on Election Day.
Angel Sanchez, a school board member who was unsuccessful in his bid to win a full three-year term, received 52 write-in votes for the one-year term and Jacqueline Everitt received 49 write-in votes for the one-year term, according to results posted by the Monmouth County Clerk’s Office.
Okerson has two children attending Howell public schools. One child attends the Adelphia School and one child attends the Ardena School. Okerson is a member of the parent-teacher board at both schools.
In the race for three three-year terms on the school board, incumbents Al Miller and Denise Lowe were re-elected on Nov. 7. Ira Thor, who was unsuccessful in a run for the board in 2016, was a winner on his second attempt. Those terms will run from January 2018 through December 2020.