Challengers look set to unseat school board incumbents

MOSES LAKE — An upset appears to be brewing in the two races for the Moses Lake School Board as district voters appear ready to throw out two incumbents in favor of challengers who opposed this year’s school construction bond.

Vickey Melcher looks set to handily defeat one-term board member Oscar Ochoa. As of press time, Melcher was leading with 2,480 votes, or 55 percent, while the incumbent Ochoa garnered only 2,029, or 45 percent.

Results in the other Moses Lake School Board race were much closer, with challenger Elliott Goodrich maintaining a less-than-100-vote lead over two-term incumbent Kevin Donovan. Goodrich has 2,263 votes, or 51.03 percent, while Donovan has 2,172 votes, or 48.97 percent.

The results however, are unofficial, as the Grant County auditor still has votes to count and will not certify the election until later in November.

Goodrich has said in public forums that he opposed last February’s $135 million school construction bond to build a new high elementary school and a second high school, which just barely passed with 60.03 percent approval.

A group of Moses Lake voters challenged the validity of last February’s election, claiming the county auditor did not follow the law in contacting voters of disputed ballots. After losing their challenge in Grant County Superior Court, those voters appealed, and the case is currently before a state appellate court in Spokane.

Charles H. Featherstone can be reached via email at countygvt@columbiabasinherald.com.