Russell, Smith-Reed, Hjort lead in St. Helens school board early election results

Published 9:01 pm Tuesday, May 20, 2025

(Editor’s note: This story has been updated with 11 p.m. May 20 election results.)

There are going to be a few new faces on the St. Helens school board.

St. Helens voted on three new board members to serve in Positions 1, 3 and 4. Positions 1 and 4 were occupied by outgoing board members Kellie Jo Smith and Trinity Monahan, who did not run for reelection. Position 3 was occupied by board Chair Mathieu Douglass, who ran for the Position 1 seat.

Here’s how the races are stacking up according to preliminary results Tuesday night:

Position 1

In the race between incumbent board Chair Mathieu Douglass and Rochelle Russell, Russell was pulling ahead with 62.6% of the vote as of 11 p.m. May 20. Douglass had 36.8% of the vote.

Position 3

Candidates Byron Brown, Reni Nowling and Christine Smith-Reed faced off for the Position 3 seat. As of 11 p.m. May 20, Smith-Reed was in the lead with 41.4% of the vote. Brown followed behind with the second largest share of the vote at 38.1%, and early results put Nowling in third place with 19.7% of the vote.

Position 4

Between candidates Reed Hjort and Nathan Tompkins, Hjort is in the lead with 59.9% of the vote, according to preliminary results. Tompkins followed behind with 38.9% of the vote.