In the three-way race for two open seats on the Mehlville Board of Education Tuesday, newcomers Tori Behlke and Lisa Messmer defeated former board President Ron Fedorchak.

The newly elected board members will take office later this month, replacing outgoing board members Lisa Dorsey and Jamey Murphy.

Behlke was the top vote-getter with 3,206 votes, or 39.15 percent. Messmer was a close second with 3,165 votes and 38.65 percent of the vote across 43 precincts.

The two ran as a slate, backed by most of the current board and, although they took issue with some aspects of how the district is run, also said they were committed to keeping things running about the same as they have been in Mehlville.

“WE DID IT!” Behlke posted to her Facebook page after her win. “I’m excited to get to work for our community!”

Messmer posted on her Facebook page, “A huge and heartfelt thank you to everyone that supported and voted for me. I am excited to move on to the next phase and get to work for our kids and our community!”

Fedorchak was a distant third with 1,776 votes, or 21.69 percent. He was previously defeated for re-election as a sitting board president three years ago when Dorsey and Murphy were elected.

The former board president took a different approach to his campaign, criticizing the current board’s governance of the district and, while saying that Superintendent Chris Gaines is “brilliant,” criticizing some of his actions that Fedorchak said could lead the district down the path of the past problems at the Fox School District in the next decade.

(WITH 43 OF 43 COUNTED)
LISA MESSMER . . . . . . . . . 3,165 38.65
VICTORIA (TORI) BEHLKE . . . . . . 3,206 39.15
RONALD J. FEDORCHAK . . . . . . . 1,776 21.69
WRITE-IN. . . . . . . . . . . 41 .50