2 incumbents and one newcomer elected to Rochester school board – Post Bulletin

ROCHESTER — Two incumbents and a new face were elected to the Rochester School Board following Tuesday's election.

According to results early Wednesday morning, winners include incumbents Don Barlow and Karen MacLaughlin and newcomer Stephanie Whitehorn.

This is the third term for Barlow, who was first elected in 2016. According to unofficial results, he received 68.53% of the vote. This is the second term for MacLaughlin, who was first elected in 2020. She received 58.84% of the vote.

Whitehorn will fill the seat currently held by incumbent Jess Garcia, who did not seek re-election. Whitehorn received 58.82% of the vote.

While the school board has made a lot of news in recent years, none of the races have had enough candidates to field a primary.

Of the candidates who registered, two candidates – Patrick Farmer and Christina Barton – did not show up for the candidate forums.

Barton came to the public eye earlier this year when she became an outspoken critic of the school district's policies regarding the placement of transgender and gender fluid students in schools. She was later removed from the district's teachers union. In June, the school board voted not to renew her contract. Barton filed for a seat on the school board that same day.

Barton did not have a campaign website or social media presence. She also ignored interview requests from the media. The contact number provided in your application documents is no longer valid.

Farmer also had no visible campaign website or social media presence. He did, however, respond to a Post Bulletin questionnaire.

The only competitive race was between Whelan and MacLaughlin. Whelan also ran for school board in 2022 as part of a bloc of four candidates running under the slogan “4 Your Children.”