East Valley School Board incumbent has strong primary finish

An incumbent East Valley School Board member easily topped his challengers in Tuesday’s primary.

Justin Voelker, who received 47.2% of the votes, said he hopes to help maintain the district’s strong financial position and carry on the enhancement of academic performance.

“I am grateful for the East Valley voters,” Voelker said Tuesday night. “We are at a strong position for the general election.”

It appears he will face second-place finisher, Carolyn Petersen, in the general election. Peterson captured 29.2% of the vote. She said she wants to bring kids back to school with as few restrictions possible and that she is looking forward to actively campaigning for the fall race.

Unlikely to move forward is Emelie Braxton. Her top issues were to investigate the use of critical race theory in East Valley and to remove all pandemic restrictions. Braxton received 22% of the votes.