In what she called a “roller coaster ride,” Nicole “Molly Bee” Molinaro officially secured the last open seat on the Proviso Township High School District 209’s Board of Education following the official certification of votes on Tuesday. This marks the second election where the Proviso 209 United slate swept all seats.
The official certified results in the April 1 Consolidated Election showed Molinaro surpassed opposing candidate Candice Ross, who ran on the 209 Student First slate, by 14 votes. Molinaro received 6,604 votes to Ross’ 6,590.
“It’s been an honor to be elected to District 209 school board and I’m humbled by the support,” Molinaro told Forest Park Review. “I will be devoted to our students and our district.”
Initial reports on Election Day had put Molinaro behind Ross, who ran on the same slate as former board member Arbdella “Della” Patterson. Ross had initially closed out the day with a 40-vote lead over Molinaro.
Ross was not able to be reached for comment.
“The work begins now, not only for our students and the district, but for the entire township,” Molinaro said. She said she hopes to work on increasing voter turnout and engagement for future elections. “We just increase voter turnout and engagement well above 20%. … let’s flip that 20% to 80% and get a true majority voice through voting.”
According to the Cook County Clerk’s office, voter turnout was 19.40%.
Molinaro’s slate mates, Rolandra Morris, William Fischer and Ebony “Nicki” Smith had secured seats on the board on April 1 while the fourth seat teetered between Ross and Molinaro.
Since Election Night, Morris has sat in the lead, receiving the majority of votes out of the eight candidates.
Certified results show Morris received 7,496 votes, while Smith received 7,050 votes and Fisher received 6,805 votes. Patterson, who lost her seat following two terms on the board, received 5,459 votes, putting her behind slate mate Jerry L. Jenkins’ 6,194 votes. Zihualpilli Hernandez, who also ran on the Student First slate, received 4,767 votes. Candidates were not able to be reached for comment.
Molinaro’s slate mates had held out hope their running partner would secure a seat following the counting of mail-in ballots. According to the Cook County Clerk’s Office, ballots had to be validated by April 15 and results certified by April 22.
“We are truly grateful and excited to have Molinaro join us on the board,” Smith said. “We thank the community for voting for change and prioritizing students, families and teachers over politics. We look forward to collaborating with [Sandra] Hixson, [Jennifer] Barbahen and [David] Ocampo, as we strive to elevate the district to new heights.”
Hixson, Barbahen and Ocampo ran in the 2023 election as slate mates on the Proviso 209 United ticket.
Molinaro said she is ready to get to work, challenging community leaders to work together to increase voter education for future elections.
“We must do better at a local level to increase our civic engagement,” she said. “We must mentor without self-interest. We must meet our voters where they are within each community. This is my commitment to District 209 and Proviso Township. I am a servant to democracy.”
The next D209 Board of Education meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 13 at Proviso Math and Science Academy.