ENCINITAS — The District 3 Board of Supervisors race is not the only one that has seen a dramatic change of fortunes for its candidates in the weeks after the election.
In Encinitas Union School District, Leslie Schneider, who trailed incumbent Patricia Sinay for the second spot up for grabs on the five-member school board, has surged ahead by nearly 250 votes, according to the most recent count released by the Registrar of Voters.
Schneider currently has 12,496 votes compared to 12,248 for Sinay, who led the count up until Saturday, when Schneider took a six-vote lead. Schneider has increased her lead each subsequent day.
There are still more than 161,000 mail-in and provisional ballots to be counted before the registrar can certify the election.
“Looking like things are looking up today for Mrs. Schneider, Encinitas Union School Board candidate,” Schneider texted a reporter on the day she took the lead.
Sinay, who reached out Tuesday, said she will be at peace with whatever the final results are.
“I am OK with whatever happens,” she said. “(There are) Lots of opportunities to serve our communities especially during this need to build an inclusive country with access to opportunities for all.”
The bitterly contested election pitted four challengers for two spots on the board. Rimga Viskanta, the president of the Ocean Knoll Parent Teachers Association, has clinched one of the seats as the top vote getter.
Schneider campaigned in tandem with fellow parent Anne Katherine Pingree on a shared platform of transparency and fiscal responsibility after following district affairs over the past two years and coming to the conclusion that the current school governance falls short in both categories.
