11-7-2001

only 5 candidates ran for 4 positions guaranteeing that 3 would be reelected.

Voters welcome back Cameron

BY RON BROCHU
NEWS TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

Former Duluth School Board member Mary Cameron received a significant vote of confidence from voters Tuesday and will return to the body after a two-year absence.

With all precincts reporting, unofficial tallies showed the 50-year-old human resources professional at the University of Minnesota Duluth led voting with 38.42 percent in the three-way bid for two seats.

"The public said they want change. I'm honored to have the support of so many Duluthians,'' Cameron said.

Incumbents Laura Condon and Eileen Zeitz Hudelson were separated by slightly less than one percentage point. With 30.86 percent of the vote, Condon, a teacher in the Proctor School District, edged UMD professor of Spanish Zeitz Hudelson, who received 29.89 percent.

After voting in Central Hillside, several people confessed the at-large race barely caught their attention.

"I don't really know a lot about the candidates,'' voter Kevin Watczak said.

Paula Moore, a Duluthian who teaches in Superior, said all three candidates were impressive.

"It was a difficult decision, but I voted for Cameron and Condon. I felt Eileen Zeitz Hudelson's positions were a bit more vague,'' she said.

Condon and Zeitz Hudelson joined the School Board in 1998 and will complete their terms on Dec. 31.

Cameron joined the School Board in 1995, but was defeated when she sought a second term in 1999. During that race, she was pursuing a master's degree in public administration at Syracuse University in New York.

Two candidates, 1st District incumbent Pati Rolf and 4th District incumbent Dorothy Neumann, ran unopposed.

Polly Shives, a Duluthian who teaches in Willow River, said she was disappointed by the scant interest in School Board positions.