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School board filings close with only Omerza, Coombe in race
The Ely School District is in a conundrum of sorts when it comes to this fall’s school board election.
While three board seats go up for grabs in November, only two candidates are currently in the race.
Incumbents Tom Omerza and Hollee Coombe were the only people to file for the 2024 Ely School Board race.
A third incumbent, longtime board chairman Ray Marsnik, did not file for re-election.
A two-week filing period closed Tuesday, and Omerza and Coombe will be the only candidates on the ballot.
But who will be the third person to be elected?
That remains to be seen, although a write-in campaign, or multiple writein campaigns, could be launched between now and the Nov. 5 vote.
At least once in recent history, Ely district voters elected a write-in candidate to the school board.
That was in 2003 when write-in candidate Keith Turner unseated incumbent Walt Gessler in a campaign that was decided by a recount.
The filing period in the Ely district was unusually quiet, particularly in comparison to the last school board election two years ago.
In 2022, Marsnik beat Anthony Bermel in a contest for a two-year position on the board while Rochelle Sjoberg, Tony Colarich and Jennifer Westlund won fouryear terms in a race that included seven candidates.
All three seats up for a vote in this year’s election are for four years.
The election also marks a significant change in board leadership given Marsnik’s absence from the race.
Marsnik was elected to the board in 2001, has served continuously since then and was elevated to the chair position in 2006, replacing the late Rudy Semeja.
