Democrats sweep Lower Merion school board race

Lower Merion overwhelmingly voted to elect four Democrats to the school board during an election in which the county flipped multiple seats from Republican to Democrat.

Juanita Kerber, Jennifer Rivera, Kerry Sautner, and Anna Shurak are the projected winners of the Lower Merion school board of directors race, according to Montgomery County Commissioner Neil Makhija. As of the current vote tallies, the ElectLMSD Democratic slate won 75% of the vote.

Lower Merion’s school board race drew more people to the polls than previous elections, too. In 2021, the top vote-getting school board candidate received 8,000 votes. As of publishing, this election’s top vote-getter, Rivera, got 13,400 votes, Makhija said.

Voter turnout skyrocketed 15% in Lower Merion, and for election officials who consider a 3% increase in voter turnout a “huge win,” Makhija said this was “an earthquake in the work of elections.”

The Democratic school board candidates said in a joint statement they were honored by the community’s support.

“Our commitment now is to stability, collaboration, and putting all students first. We’re eager to work together with families, educators, and neighbors across Lower Merion to strengthen our schools and continue Lower Merion School District’s legacy of excellence,” said the statement shared by Kerber, Rivera, Sautner, and Shurak.

This was a contentious race, as the primary election surfaced discussions of antisemitism and complaints over controversial election mailers.

Herb Jenkin, an 86-year-old Wynnewood resident, voted for the Democratic school board candidates. While concerns over antisemitism in Lower Merion and the school board’s response to it prompted some to vote for the Republican candidates, Jenkin, who is Jewish, said he believes antisemitism was being used erroneously to “reinforce the divide” in the community.

Some voters were even crossing party lines due to concerns over district spending and financial transparency, said Orla Treacy, 39, a lifelong Democrat who cast her first vote for Republicans in the school board race yesterday. The Ardmore resident said she believed the three Republican candidates — Talia Nissim, Deena Pack, and Omer Dekel — would have guided the district in the right direction and brought some needed diversity of viewpoint.

Additionally, the school board race had 8,800 fewer votes cast than in other races on the ballot, meaning many Lower Merion voters skipped the school board election altogether, Makhija said.

Apart from Lower Merion’s school board, 15,000 voters in the township cast a ballot for Jana Lunger, the uncontested candidate for Lower Merion Township tax collector.

The Lower Merion school board wasn’t the only race to see Democrats take victory in Montgomery County, either. The county’s next jury commissioner is projected to be Democrat Andrea Baptiste, as she holds more than 60% of the votes.