Huntington Elects Fehrs, Dwyer

Huntington voters elected Bari Fehrs to the Board of Education Tuesday night, and, in an extremely tight race, returned former board president William Dwyer to the board.

The $114-million budget passed easily on a vote of 1,741-608, as did two building improvement propositions.

While Fehrs was elected by a large margin, Dwyer just edged out another challenger, Deniqua Crichlow, by 11 votes. Sixty absentee ballots had to be counted to confirm his win as the vote tallies from each machine shrank or increased the gap between the two.

 A fourth candidate, Jennifer Mosden, finished a distant fourth.

The totals were:
Fehrs     1,387
Dwyer    1,024
Crichlow  1013
Mosden      907

The four were competing to fill two spots that came open when incumbents Rich McGrath and John Paci decided not to run again.

Candidates, Board of Education trustees, school officials and others crowded into the Huntington High School lobby to watch the results tabulated on a screen.

Afterwards, Crichlow said, "While I"m disappointed not to have a chance to serve, I am invested in this community" and plans to stay involved in educational issues.

Fehrs, who had previously run for the board, said work she had done within the district since her last campaign "gave me a lot more overall experience."

Dwyer was not immediately available for comment. And while they won't count, he also got two write-in votes at the South Huntington polling station.

Superintendent James W. Polansky said, "We are very pleased with the results and the confidence the residents have placed in us to manage finances effectively to address the needs of our students as well as the concerns of our taxpayers."