Write-in candidate may win Wake school board seat. But he says he won’t accept.
One of the potential candidates to fill the late Kathy Hartenstine’s seat on the Wake County school board says he will not accept the position if he’s declared the winner by election officials.
Karl Rectanus, the founder of a Raleigh-based education technology firm, had launched a last-minute write-in campaign after Hartenstine, 68, died unexpectedly on Sept. 23 while running unopposed for a two-year term.
A last-minute legal controversy has emerged over whether the Wake County school board will fill Hartenstine’s seat or whether the position will go to the write-in candidate who had the most votes. The results of the election, along with who had the most write-in votes, will be made official this week.
In an open letter Tuesday, Rectanus said that as a former history teacher he had decided to run as a civics lesson for his daughters. Rectanus said he had “no expectations of winning or filling the seat” and that it should be left to the school board to pick Hartenstine’s successor.
At issue are different and conflicting parts of state law. One law says the person with the most-write in candidates wins while another statute says the seat would be declared vacant with the school board filling the position.
The Wake County Board of Elections will certify the election results on Friday. Based on unofficial results, Hartenstine received 95 percent of the vote, with 1,446 write-in ballots getting 5 percent of the vote.
In addition to Rectanus, some Morrisville parents upset with the plan to open Parkside Elementary on a year-round calendar had also encouraged a write-in campaign for other candidates.
Elections officials might have to call a special election if they say the write-in candidate should win and there’s a tie among the people with the most votes. There could also be a legal challenge filed by residents in Hartenstine’s district to block the school board from filling the seat.
In the meantime, school officials are continuing with the process of trying to fill the seat before Christmas. Applications for the District 7 seat, which includes Morrisville and parts of Cary and northwest Raleigh, are due to the school board Nov. 26.
The seat has been in flux in recent years. Hartenstine, a former principal, had been appointed to the board in January 2017. She replaced Zora Felton, who died a week after winning re-election in November 2016.
Rectanus said in his open letter he will not apply for the seat.
Wake County Commissioner Greg Ford praised Rectanus for saying he would not accept the seat if he has the most write-in votes. Ford, a friend of Hartenstine, said that voters cast their ballots this fall with the expectation that the school board would fill the seat.
“This is simply #classy,” Ford tweeted Tuesday. “Thank you @karlrectanus for leading on this, and for reinforcing public faith and trust in fair and transparent elections.”
This story was originally published November 14, 2018 at 2:20 PM.