Troy School Board Will See a New Face and a Familiar One

If voters wanted change on the Troy School Board this election, they didn't want much. They re-upped one incumbent, Cynthia Jo Rasmussen, but not the other, James Relyea.

The top vote-getter was challenger Kristin Ethridge with 19.58 percent of the vote. Voters also welcomed back former board member J. Terry McFadden with 19.24 percent. McFadden served on the board from 1978 to 2007, when he chose not to seek re-election.

Rasmussen grasped third with 18.23 percent.

"The first thing I am going to do, I'm going to take a look at the budget," Ethridge said. "It all starts with the financial end and we have to live within our means and provide the best eduction with the realities we face."

McFadden was celebrating the election with his son, Christopher McFadden, who won a seat on Frankfort School Board 157-C.

"We are very happy," Terry McFadden said. "It is a big night for us."

When asked what is the first thing he will do as a new board member, he said he is going to tap into his former teaching experience.

"I am going to listen at first, and I am going to try to be a good team player," he said. "I am happy that people have given me the opportunity to represent them again."

Former Joliet police Officer John "Stretch" Stefanski ranked fourth with 14.81 percent. The other challenger, Michael Dillon, came in next at 14.42 percent.  

Relyea earned only 13.05 percent, placing him last among the names on the ballot. Write-in hopeful James Newby managed 74 votes, which meant less than one percent of the total vote.

Although results are not official until April 26, there is a 378 vote difference between third and fourth place. With that large of a gap, no changes in these results are likely.

Rasmussen was unable to be reached for comment.