‘They voted for change’: Proviso 209 United takes three of four seats on D209 board
For a second straight election, the Proviso 209 United slate candidates performed well in the Proviso Township High School’s board of education election. The slate secured three out of the open four seats in Tuesday night’s election results.
As of 10:15 p.m. on Tuesday night, Rolandra Morris, William Fisher and Ebony “Nicki” Smith earned board seats alongside Candice Ross, who ran on the 209 Student First slate.
Nicole “Molly Bee” Molinaro, the fourth slate-mate, is currently in fifth place with Ross in the lead by 40 votes. Molinaro told Forest Park Review she remains hopeful as mail-in ballots still need to be accounted for.
“Hopefully those come in favorable,” Molinaro said. “Forty votes is not a lot and there is still a lot to count. It is a win. It is a win for democracy.”
According to the Cook County Clerk’s Office unofficial results, Morris received the majority of the votes, leading the candidates with 14.68% of the votes, followed by Smith with 13.77% and Fisher, who received 13.31% of the votes.
Ross received 13.01% of the votes with Molinaro not far behind, receiving 12.92% of votes. Ross was unable to be reached for comment.
Incumbent Arbdella “Della” Patterson, who was seeking a third term, received 10.70% of votes, putting her behind slate-mate Jerry Jenkins, who came in with 12.26% of votes.
Patterson was not able to be reached for comment.
While the Proviso 209 United slate waits for mail-in ballots to be counted, Molinaro said she felt “great” about the results so far.
“Most importantly the incumbent that caused a lot of the chaos over the past several years, supporting the teacher strike, misappropriating funds. … with the former superintendent, that person cannot win and so that is a big win,” Molinaro said.
Zihualpilli Hernandez, who also ran on the 209 Student First slate, received 9.35% of votes.
Morris said she was in “awe” about her seat on the board, adding she was grateful for the opportunity to advocate for students in Proviso like she advocates for her own children.
Securing a seat alongside her slate-mates shows that the voice of parents in the community matters.
“I wanted to say thank you to the community, to the Proviso residents for trusting our slate with this opportunity,” Morris said.
Smith echoed the excitement.
“I am excited that people came out to vote and that they voted for change,” she told Forest Park Review. “I am ready to roll up my sleeves and get to work. Put students first and improve these schools.”
For Fisher, the seat on the board brings a “promise of change,” and an excitement for the possibilities that it holds for the district.
“I look forward to doing good for the current students and future students,” Fisher said.
Fisher is also waiting to see what the official vote results say but he remains hopeful the entire slate will win seats on the board and be able to improve the district together.
“The fact that the results show that three of us are there in some sense. … the prospect of all of us being on the board. … I am excited, hopeful, grateful for the voters that they believe in us,” Fisher said.
