Four candidates are vying for the District 5 director position on the Chehalis School Board. The position is an at-large, four-year term on a five-person board overseeing the Chehalis School District.
The top two vote-getters in the August primary election will advance to the general election in November.
Information on the candidates from the Lewis County voters’ guide is below.
Because challenger Julie Balmelli-Powe did not have information included in the voters’ guide, a Chronicle reporter contacted her to obtain a written statement.
The candidates appear in the order they are listed in the voters guide.
The full voters guide can be accessed online at https://elections.lewiscountywa.gov/current-election.
J. Vander Stoep (incumbent)
Vander Stoep was first elected to the Chehalis School Board in 2019 and is seeking a second term.
“My interest is not to build a name or glory for myself. My one and only reason for asking for a second term is to continue to help, working with many others, to make this school district better for Chehalis kids and our community,” Vander Stoep said in a written candidate statement.
Vander Stoep was born and raised in Chehalis and, with his wife, Ann, raised three children who graduated from Chehalis schools.
“I have committed enormous volunteer time supporting educational progress for Chehalis kids including the last four years on the school board,” Vander Stoep said.
Vander Stoep cited his contributions to the district’s recent successes, which include 100% of W.F. West High School graduates being admitted to college, a union apprenticeship, the military or tech school for three years running; bringing students back to the classroom by October 2020 after the COVID-19-related shutdown in March; passage of a no cellphone in class policy; and bringing parents into the curriculum review process for all school teaching materials.
Vander Stoep can be contacted at 360-269-0200 or jv@vanderstoep.com.
Julie Balmelli-Powe
Balmelli-Powe, a third-generation farmer and W.F. West graduate who raised three children in the Chehalis School District, has over 30 years’ experience as a parent, coach and in Scouts leader, in which she has witnessed how beneficial parent involvement is in kids’ success.
“I am running because I care deeply about this community, and I am very concerned withthe direction our country, our state and even some of the communities around us are going,” she stated, adding, “I want to do whatever I can to ensure Chehalis stays true to our traditional values, and that starts with our youth!”
If elected, Balmelli-Powe said “I will oppose anything that takes away a parents control, especially in regards to their child’s physical, mental and reproductive health. I will vote every time on the side of parents and transparency.”
She added that she believes parents “should have the final say in all things related to their child” and should have the right to opt their child out of curriculums such as critical race theory, diversity and inclusion training and sex education.
“I want to be the voice for the parents,” she said.
She can be reached at 360-269-4854 or bll@sipnsearch.com. While her statement is not included in the voter’s guide, more information on her campaign can be found at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100094700024595.
Matt Fagerness
An active community member and a parent, Fagerness pledges to offer “objectivity and fairness, balanced with a dedication to preserving our community values” if he is elected to the Chehalis School Board, he stated.
Fagerness holds a bachelor's degree from Washington State University, a master’s degree from Michigan State University and a doctorate from North Carolina University. His work experience includes management in local businesses, he said.
“As a community member and parent who has seen what education in other parts of the country looks like, I think we should be proud of what Chehalis has to offer our students and their families. With that said, we can also not be complacent and allow trends that are appearing around this great country of ours to negatively impact our community and our students,” he stated, adding he and his student have seen recent troubling trends in Chehalis including “declining test scores and general aptitude in academic basics, reduced transparency in curriculum content and accountability to parents, and increased promotion to students of agendas and narratives that would have been considered radical in the not-too-distant past.”
Fagerness can be contacted at 360-520-7457 or bigfinn53@gmail.com.
Anthony Mixer
Mixer graduated from high school in 2016 after being homeschooled K-12 and currently serves as an at-large board member of the Conservative Coalition of Lewis County.
“I'm running to be your next Chehalis School Director because I believe now is the time for my generation to have a seat at the table making decisions for our district and students,” he said, adding, “As a director, I will be open to meeting with students and parents to get feedback on concerns and ideas to bring forward for policy making decisions.”
If elected, Mixer said his priorities on the board would include ensuring students get caught up after COVID-19-related setbacks by “approving curriculum that teaches the basics in subjects” and planning for future infrastructure needs.
“As our community continues to grow and money is needed for expansion projects, I'll put the interest of homeowners first. With inflation and taxes continually going up, we don't need to raise property tax levels. Instead, we need to first and foremost redirect our vision back to asking the Legislature for funding for projects under the state capital budget. I will work with lawmakers on these issues,” he said.
Mixer can be contacted at 360-623-9858 or anthony.mixer@outlook.com.
