Trainor elected to East Valley School Board

In the Nov. 8 race for East Valley School Board Director District 5, the signs made all the difference.

Five-year board member and incumbent Wayne Stewart said his grass-roots campaign was not enough to beat newcomer Roger Trainor’s numerous campaign signs. Trainor was ahead of Stewart by 203 votes as of Thursday.

“I am disappointed, but Roger ran a strong sign campaign,” Stewart said.

Trainor, a 46-year-old real estate appraiser, will be sworn in at the first board meeting in December.

“I know it’s tough to beat someone else who has been in there a while,” Trainor said. “I feel very fortunate. I’m ecstatic.”

Trainor lives in Newman Lake with his wife, Cheryl, and two children; a fourth-grader at East Farms Elementary and a sophomore at East Valley High School.

This is Trainor’s first run for political office, and he admitted that it was not what he expected.

“It took a lot more time than I thought it would,” Trainor said. “It was a lot of door-to-door, and I didn’t think people would be as receptive as they were.”

During his campaign Trainor also was fined $200 by the Washington State Public Disclosure Commission for not filing proper paper work on time. He plans to appeal that penalty.

Trainor said he decided to run against Stewart for the open seat after attending many community meetings or workshops with board members during which he and other parents felt ignored.

“It seemed like there were board members that didn’t want the input from the parents; it just blew me away at times,” Trainor said. “What I would like to do is have parents and the public have more voice in what goes on there.”

Trainor said, coupled with his effort to get out and meet voters, the money he spent on signs was well worth it.

Stewart said he opted not to put up signs in an effort to keep costs down, but instead chose to reach voters by going door-to-door.

“It is a volunteer nonpaid position, so it’s a little hard to justify spending a lot of money for signs,” said Stewart, who was appointed to the board in May 2000 and elected in 2001. “I really have enjoyed working with the staff, and I feel the district is in good shape. Things will move on just fine.”