C.A.R.E.S. candidates carry day in Dover
C.A.R.E.S. candidates carry day in Dover
CHRISTINA KAUFFMAN The York Dispatch - 05/16/2007
The last remaining Dover Area School Board member who voted to include intelligent design in science classes did not garner enough votes yesterday to appear on the ballot this fall.Heather Geesey was not up for re-election two years ago when eight of her pro-intelligent design colleagues on the board were ousted by voters.
The same five candidates advanced on the Republican and Democratic ticket. All five are members of the citizens group Dover C.A.R.E.S (Citizens Actively Reviewing Educational Strategies), which defeated the pro-intelligent design group during the last school board election.
C.A.R.E.S. incumbents Larry Gurreri, Phil Herman and Judy McIlvaine were the top vote-getters. The group's other two candidates, newcomers John "Rick" Dapp and Roger Gorman also scored ballot positions.
Gurreri received the most combined votes, 1,500, followed by McIlvaine (1,480), Dapp (1,475), Herman (1,458) and Gorman (1,398).
Defeated candidate Christine Peters garnered 1,227 votes. Geesey followed with 1,162, and Carol "Casey" Brown took 934 votes.
Brown served more than 10 years on the board before resigning in protest in 2004 after her colleagues, including Geesey, voted to include intelligent design in ninth-grade biology curriculum. That earlier school board lost a subsequent civil lawsuit filed by parents who said intelligent design, which attributes the origins of life to a higher being, is a religious movement.
Results 'speak': Gurreri, who got the nod from Dover's voters but lost his bid to appear on the ballot for county commissioner yesterday, said he isn't surprised that the C.A.R.E.S. candidates were successful.
"(The results) are another statement from the people that they like what we're doing and the direction that we're going in," he said. "We've been on a positive direction mode for quite a while. We've got people out there, we're talking, knocking on doors. The results speak for themselves."
All of the seats up for election this fall are four-year terms, and all candidates cross-filed as Republicans and Democrats. The fall race will not be contested, unless there is a write-in candidate.
Not seeking re-election is incumbent C.A.R.E.S. member Patricia Dapp, the wife of candidate John Dapp
-- Reach Christina Kauffman at 505-5436 or ckauffman@yorkdispatch.com.