Conservatives leading in trustee race in FUHSD

Rick Monroe

Special to the Village News

Conservative candidates are leading in the two board positions on the Fallbrook Union High School races in the Nov. 8 election.

In Area 1, Courtney Hilborn has a slight lead over Jim Dooley through the voting results on Nov. 14, the newspaper deadline. Hilborn had 1,056 votes and Dooley had 903.

In Area 3, Paul J. Christensen had 2,713 votes to Karen Weisberger’s 1,368.

The results are incomplete and unofficial. The Registrar of Voters noted that the Nov. 14 totals did not include 80,000 votes not yet tabulated countywide. The official results must be completed by Dec. 8, four days before the new trustees are scheduled to take office at the board’s organizational meeting.

Three incumbents – Lita Tabish, Elana Sterling and Diane Summers – decided not to seek another term on the high school board. When they were elected in 2018, there were no regional districts. Instead, they were elected at-large.

When area sub-districts were established for the 2020 election – and then modified for the redistricting changes from the U.S. Census this year – a problem was created with Area 2. The boundary included only the Camp Pendleton area, and no one filed papers to be on the ballot. Many service members on the base retain their residences in other states so are not eligible to vote or to be elected here. The district has continued to seek applicants so they can appoint someone to fill the position through 2024, but no one has stepped forward.

It appears there will be as many firemen on the board of the Fallbrook Union High School District as incumbents. If Christiansen is declared the winner, he will join fireman Eddie Jones, president, on the five-member board. Jones and Oscar Caralampio are serving as trustees through 2024.

For the latest results, visit https://www.sdvote.com/.