The fourth time was a charm for Allen Dyer, who won the third and final position on the Howard County school board after more than 13,000 absentee and provisional ballots were counted.
He defeated homeschool teacher Diane Butler by just 689 votes, after leading her by more than 1,000 before the other ballots were tallied.
“The first thing I felt was relief. This was a very close race,” said Dyer, a lawyer and computer consultant who ran four times for the board beginning in 2000. “I think it’s fair to say that whether Diane or I won, there was going to be someone on the board who would bring a little different perspective.”
Election officials spent most of Friday counting the second batch of absentee ballots and some additional provisional ballots, all totaling more than 4,500.
A first batch of absentee ballots was counted late this past week.
“Diane did clear a little ground,” said Guy Mickley, deputy director of the Howard County Board of Elections. “But in general, the absentee vote usually stays along the same percentage as what happened at the polling place.”
This year, six residents competed for three slots on the school board. Current board members Janet Siddiqui and Ellen Flynn Giles finished first and second, respectively, and will begin new terms with Dyer on Dec. 1.
Retired teacher Betsy Grater and college student Di Zou also ran.
Butler declined to comment on Dyer winning.
The end of the campaign turned bitter when she accused Dyer of using negative campaigning by distributing her responses to a questionnaire throughout the community.
“I really believe Ellen and Janet will do a great job for our kids,” she said. “I want to thank everyone who worked for me, especially the ones who came out to the polls.”
Still, she said losing by only 689 votes was not bad. She’s not ruling out another run for the board, or even Howard County Council.
“I’ll continue doing all the community service I do, and watch what’s happening in the county,” she said.
While Howard has counted all its votes, results are expected to be declared official by the State Board of Canvassers on Nov. 24.
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