Howard County voters elected two newcomers to the Board of Education while passing ballot questions to establish a countywide inspector general and to protect abortion rights in the state constitution.

The state deadline for local boards of elections to count all votes was Friday, and according to Howard County Election Director Guy Mickley, the county officially certified its votes that day.

Competitive races for several Board of Education seats in the county left some races too close to call on election night, including the races for District 1 and 5.

With all votes officially counted and reported, newcomers Meg Ricks, representing District 1, and Andrea Chamblee, representing District 5, will join incumbents Antonia Watts, Jolene Mosley and current board chair Jen Mallo on the eight-member body. The two at-large seats elected countywide were not on the ballot this year and the student member of the board will continue serving through the end of the school year. Members will be sworn in on Dec. 2.

Chamblee held a narrow lead over opponent Trent Kittleman on election night, and her lead grew as more ballots were counted. She won the District 5 seat representing Western Howard County with 19,313 votes (52.47%) to Kittleman’s 17,310 (47.03%).

In a post on Chamblee’s campaign Facebook page Wednesday night after provisional ballots were counted, she announced her win, thanking voters, volunteers, and her friends and family.

“I grew up in Howard County and attended our public schools. Having the opportunity to serve my hometown is a privilege that I do not take lightly. I look forward to carrying forward the same principles on which we’ve campaigned,” Chamblee said in the post.

Friday night after the winners were declared, Chamblee shared a post on her personal account saying, “Thanks to all of you who helped keep kids safe. Now the real work begins!”

In District 1, which spans Ellicott City, Dorsey’s Search, Elkridge and Hanover, Ricks was behind opponent Andre Gao by 56 votes on election night, but took the lead as mail-in and provisional ballots were counted. Ricks won the seat with 15,671 votes (51%) while Gao received 14,904 votes (48.50%). Gao conceded the seat in a Facebook post on Nov. 10.

Ricks thanked Gao for his time and effort in a Facebook post Friday night, saying she had spoken with him earlier in the week and wished him and his family well. It was an emotional week leading up to the results, Ricks said, as she thanked voters, campaign volunteers and her friends and family.

“Our campaign was always about putting the needs of Howard County students and educators first, and that’s exactly what I plan to do on the Board of Education. The ideas we’ve shared in this campaign don’t end with this election. Now, the real work of putting them into practice begins,” Ricks said in the post.

Mallo, who represents District 4, shared a post on Friday that said, “Too many individuals to thank to put them all here,” with a screenshot of the results underneath.

Howard County Executive Calvin Ball also took to Facebook to congratulate the candidates. He shared a post on his personal Facebook page congratulating Mallo, Chamblee, Ricks, Mosley and Watts on Nov. 9. On Wednesday, which was when provisional ballots were recorded, Ball shared a post on his official county executive page congratulating the candidates again.

“Howard County’s outstanding education system is in-part due to the dedication and vision of our independently elected Board of Education, and we’re excited to continue building on the important work we’ve achieved together,” the post said.

In addition to selecting members to serve on the Board of Education, voters cast their votes on a charter amendment to establish a Howard County Office of the Inspector General. Question A passed with 145,061 votes (85.60%); 24,403 (14.40%) voted against establishing the office.

Howard County Council Vice Chair Liz Walsh proposed creating the office to find and address situations of waste, abuse and fraud in organizations that receive county funding. The council unanimously approved the addition of the charter amendment question to the ballot on Nov. 5.

“Overwhelming approval (of) the Charter Amendment means the Council can move forward with legislation to put this independent office in place. Thank you, Howard County voters!” Walsh said in a Nov. 7 post on Facebook.

Voters in Howard County also showed overwhelming support for an amendment enshrining the right to an abortion in the state constitution, which passed statewide. While the State Board of Elections has not declared the final results online, in Howard the amendment received 139,939 votes (79.37%) in support, and 36,365 votes (20.63%) against the amendment.

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