School Board Race and Reactions: Norgaard and Link Win

and will fill the two open spaces on the SMUSD Board of Education, according to final school board election results from the county Tuesday.



Though Link had not run for school board previously, she slightly beat out Norgaard, garnering 44.29 percent of the vote while Norgaard earned 43.61 percent of the vote. Scott Hu, also a newcomer to school board races, earned 12.1 percent of the vote.

Patch got reactions from the school board candidates after preliminary election results were reported earlier Tuesday evening, though the preliminary results differed very little from the final results since Link and Norgaard were still in a large lead with over 40 percent of the vote.

Link told Patch that she was excited with the results she was hoping for.

“Everyone has been extremely supportive,” said Link at an election night gathering at her home, after the first results came in. “I’m hoping the result is because people saw my campaign materials, heard my message and found that I was one of the most qualified candidates.”

Norgaard, who was also celebrating the unofficial results at a gathering at Link’s San Marino home Tuesday, was surprised with the first election results.

“I’ve very happy and very pleased at the support we’ve received,” said Norgaard. “I am a little surprised that’s it’s not a closer race. I expect the official results to tighten up a bit, with Hu receiving more votes.”

First-time candidate Scott Hu wasn't surprised by the current results.

"I saw this opportunity as a volunteer position and I am always willing to do whatever I can to help our schools," said Hu. "When things developed, I saw that you needed a campaign committee and had to chase people down to get their votes. I'm not surprised because I didn't do as much as the other candidates."

Norgaard, the current Board of Education President, said that experience played a prominent role in how votes were cast.

“Both Lisa and I have a similar outlook and background, we have extensive experience with the ,” said Norgaard. “Experience was the factor in voting tonight. We are the and voters want the people that got us to number one to continue to lead our district.”

As a first-time candidate, Link said that her first priority would be to get to know the Board of Education.

“I plan on getting to know the Board of Education better,” said Link. “I want to get a rundown of what the Board thinks the issues are.”

Norgaard, who has served on the Board of Education since 2003, plans on deciding how to best use the board funding.

“We are in a good budget situation and have enough resources that allow us to be protected from future budget cuts,” said Norgaard. “We now need to decide how and how much of the reserve to spend on adding teachers and programs to our schools.”

After finishing her first campaign, Link is grateful for her success so far.

"I didn't know what to expect other than it was going to be a lot of hard work," said Link. "I went into this not knowing a lot of people and came out with new friends. I am open to discuss what people's concerns are and what we can do to help them."  

Despite trailing in the polls in his first election, Hu said he would run again if a position on the Governing Board opened. 

"I will always be an active volunteer for our schools," said Hu. "I spend all the time I can afford helping our schools. I will step forward when someone needs to." 

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