Two Park City school board candidates oppose appointment process to fill vacancy

Meredith Reed (left) and Josh Mann (right) are running for the Park City Board of Education District 4 seat that will ultimately be decided in November. Photo: Courtesy of Meredith Reed and Josh Mann

PARK CITY, Utah — Josh Mann and Meredith Reed, two candidates for Park City Board of Education District 4, said on Friday that they will not be seeking to fill the current vacancy following the resignation and passing of Kara Hendrickson.

“Meredith and I do not think that any of the current candidates should begin their tenure on the board by being appointed,” Mann told TownLift in a statement.

“We feel it doesn’t support a democratic process and it’s not healthy for our community. Currently three of four candidates on the board began that way and we don’t believe it should be four of five.”

Mann said that the two approached Mandy Pomeroy, the only other candidate for District 4, about the idea but she declined.

Pomeroy confirmed to TownLift that she applied for the vacancy.

Applications for the vacancy were due Friday, and interviews are scheduled for Tuesday.

In a joint statement, Reed and Mann write that “by appointing one of the declared candidates, the board may be implying their endorsement and conveying the benefits of incumbency to that person.”

Reed is a realtor and small business owner with a senior at Park City High School and three children at Jeremy Ranch Elementary. She previously held a position at the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs and once served as an Air Force chaplain.

Mann is a software engineer that lives in Jeremy Ranch and publishes The Park Rag. He has two children at Jeremy Ranch Elementary. In 2018 he ran a write-in campaign for Summit County Council, in which he acquired 1,100 votes but lost.

The number of school board candidates will be winnowed down to two in the June primary election.