Despite a sustained assault by the ACLU and a host of other left-wing interests, the conservative, pro-voucher slate of Douglas County school board candidates cruised to victory tonight. The race served as a proxy fight over the highly ambitious board's controversial decision to push through a school voucher program.
Even though a Denver court has temporarily stopped the program through an injunction, the voters in Douglas County re-elected the slate of three pro-voucher candidates, including two incumbents who voted for the program.
Both winning a second term, as of 8:30 pm on election night, Justin Williams took 51% of the vote in his district and Craig Richardson won a three way race resoundingly with 46% of the vote, with the runner-up taking 38%. Pro-voucher challenger Kevin Larsen won the open seat with 57% of the vote, a seat vacated by Cliff Stahl who didn't seek a second term.
This conservative victory will mean that a reform-minded board will be able to continue moving Douglas County schools in the direction of success and not teacher union stagnation. It also likely means the ACLU can expect that the voucher program will not go quietly into the night, but return with a vengeance of an electoral majority.