Larson upsets Purcell for school board

MAT-SU — Palmer resident R. Ole Larson beat Mat-Su Borough School Board Seat D incumbent Pat Purcell in the only contested school board race in Tuesday’s election.

Larson garnered 3,964 votes over Purcell’s 3,087.

For Purcell, the decision was disappointing, but she has no regrets from her three years on school board.

“I’m a little disappointed because I really didn’t get to finish some of the things I wanted to do,” Purcell said.

Regardless, Purcell said she’s looking toward the future and hopes to stay involved with the school district.

“I might focus my advocacy efforts with the PTA, because that’s where my roots are and they have such a strong advocacy group,” she said.

Purcell also had a piece of advice for Larson: “I hope that he can learn fast and hit the ground running, because there’s a lot to learn.”

Larson was not immediately available for comment following the election.

Another Palmer resident who will be a new face on the board is Brian Sullivan. Sullivan said he’s looking forward to getting down to business as soon as he’s on the board.

“I think there’s probably a change in leadership in store for the board, and that’s something we’re going to look into pretty quick,” Sullivan said, referring to the board president position currently held by Sarah Welton.

Sullivan also trumped what he calls a shared vision for the board among his colleagues.

“I’m just excited,” he said. “There’s a group of us who have a similar outlook for the district.”

Myrl Thompson, who was appointed to Seat G in April, said he’s going to keep with what he’s been trying to accomplish on the board. Thompson was unopposed in Tuesday’s contest, and said he’s ready to move forward with making sure the district is run well.

“I’ve enjoyed working with the board we have and look forward with working with two new members now,” Thompson said.

Contact Michael Rovito at michael.rovito@frontiersman.com or 352-2252.