Whoo-hoo! 23 hours until the polls open in Madison for our school board election! What are voters thinking about the five candidates? Have their preferences changed since last month? Let's find out!
Last week I posted a poll asking "Who gets your vote for Madison Central School Board (pick 2)?" I polled the same question back at the beginning of March. The results from both polls (the second of which just closed this morning):
| March% | March# | April% | April# | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jennie Thompson | 57% | 70 | 47% | 60 |
| Cory Allen Heidelberger | 53% | 65 | 55% | 71 |
| Corey Gunderson | 29% | 35 | 26% | 33 |
| Shawn Miller | 25% | 30 | 37% | 47 |
| Nathan Nash | 11% | 13 | 5% | 7 |
| Total Votes | 122 | Total Votes | 128 |
With slightly larger turnout for this second poll (more interest as election day approaches---that's a relief!), Jennie Thompson and I still hold the top two places, but we've switched position, with my taking and doubling her March lead (and that's without my voting for myself, honest!). Extrapolating from my past performance in my own polls, I still believe a first-place finish in my own poll means a third-place finish in the real polls.
But could I be wrong? I've stated in previous polls that Madville Times polls likely undercount the older, non-Webby voters like my neighbor Ron Barthel. My internal polling (tee hee!) indicates I'm trending with the over-65 crowd. And I am (still somewhat to my amazement) the oldest candidate on the ballot. With four people to split the "Anybody but Heidelberger!" vote, the powers that be could be in for some heartburn tomorrow night.
My optimism could be rosying my glasses, so the more significant results could be the changes among the other candidates. With all candidates now having their shot at the newspaper front page and a live audience, the only candidate who gained was Shawn Miller. Thompson dropped ten percentage points; Gunderson dropped three; nash dropped six. Miller bounced up twelve points. What public statements distinguish those four candidates? Thompson, Gunderson, and Nash all preached in favor of running the failed new gym/renovation plan again. Miller advocated cutting that plan down significantly and talked about needs versus wants.
As usual, the margin of error on any Madville Times poll is about this size of Neal and Linda McIntyre's property tax bill, so don't bet money on what you read here! Nonetheless, I welcome your armchair punditry as we head into tomorrow's school board election.
Probably going to be Jenny Thompson and Corey Gunderson elected on Tuesday, according to street and coffee talk, with either you or Shawn a tight third. That's just what I'm hearing around the community. We're fortunate to have a strong slate of candidates.
Don't forget rural voters. This is about one issue mainly, and they will vote for someone who sees alternatives to the proposed renovation plan.