Elsberry voters select new board of alderman, school board member

With nearly 79 percent of the vote, Hale will be replacing William Taylor, who didn’t seek re-election. Taylor had been previously appointed in June 2020 to fill a vacancy on the board, and was elected to his one term in 2021. 

Two other incumbent members of the board, Steve Wilch and Danielle Rockwell, succeeded in winning another two-year term on the board by defeating their respective challengers. 

In ward one, Wilch received 19 votes (61.3 percent) compare to 11 for his challenger, Robert Harrison. 

Rockwell’s race in ward three more than twice as many votes, and she won by a larger margin at 56-23 over Gary Anderson, receiving 71 percent of the total votes. 

The Elseberry School District featured an even more highly contested race with seven candidates seeking three seats on the board. All three seats included three-year terms. 

Current Board President Margaret Byers finished in third place in the balloting with 200 votes, defeating Aaron Howard by 18 votes to secure the final seat on the board. 

Fellow incumbent Matt Hartley easily received the most votes with 508, or nearly 30 percent of the total 1,221 votes cast in the race. 

Megan Pratt will be the new face on the board, receiving 381 votes, or 22 percent. She will be replacing Matt Jones who declined to seek re-election after serving four terms on the school board. 

In addition to Howard, who finished fourth with 182 votes, others running included Angela Young (174 votes), Jennifer Hunter (142) and Becky Schieffer (142).