From left: Eden Mack, Zachary Pullin DeWolf, and Betty Patu
From left: Eden Mack, Zachary Pullin DeWolf, and Betty Patu

The Seattle School Board will have two new faces come November as Sue Peters and Stephan Blanford depart. As last night’s election results roll in, education activist Eden Mack and community organizer Zachary Pullin DeWolf look most likely to take the reins.

In District 4, which includes Ballard, Magnolia, and Queen Anne, Mack trounced her competition. Mack, who founded K-12 education funding group Washington's Paramount Duty, soared ahead candidate Herb Camet Jr. by more than 59 percent. The Seattle Education Association’s pick, Megan Locatelli Hyska, clocked in at sixth with just 3.5 percent, or about 455 votes.

In District 5, which includes Capitol Hill, the Central District, and North Beacon Hill, Pullin DeWolf, a Chippewa Cree tribal member and president of the Capitol Hill Community Council, leads the race with about 43.2 percent of votes. The spot for second place is a bit tighter. During the first round of ballot results, runner-up Omar Vasquez won about 18.2 percent of votes, while education activist Andre Helmstetter and Amazon executive Alec Cooper closely trail behind with about 17 percent and 15 percent, respectively. The next flood of election results could change that.

District 7, which encompasses much of South Seattle, looks more certain. Incumbent Betty Patu, a long-time South Seattle educator and advocate for Asian-Pacific Islander students, appears to be a shoo-in to serve her fourth term on the board. Patu leads opponent Chelsea Byers, the director of an online skills site, by more than 42 percent, or about 3,600 votes. Mystifyingly, Tony Hemphill, who withdrew from the race, still managed to get 11 percent of the vote. But even if Hemphill’s zombie camp joined forces with Byers’ supporters, the candidate would still trail behind the incumbent.