Humboldt school board candidates want your vote on Election Day

HUMBOLDT, Tenn. — Humboldt voters will not only vote for city leaders but also for school board trustees.

On Election Day, three school board positions are up for grabs in the Humboldt City School system.

Former city alderman Bobby Barnett is running for the Ward 1 trustee position against the current Vice Chair Terry Johnson and Thomas Red Porter.

“I feel like I could help the school board,” Ward 1 school board trustee candidate Bobby Barnett said. “I feel like the superintendent needs support. I’m going to serve to the best of my ability.”

Lori Coleman will be competing against the current board chairman Phillip Hardee. If elected, she says she’d be the only member with a student currently in the system.

“I think that is very important to have a voice of a parent when you’re making decisions for our children,” Ward Three school board trustee candidate Lori Coleman said.

In Ward 5, Charles “Papa Chuck” Samples is seeking re-election.

“We’ve just made a lot of headway in the last four years,” Samples said. “This is not the same system it was four years ago, and it’s because of the help of the public and the backing, support we’ve gotten.”

Research and developer Valeria Wedley says raising three college graduates who went to Humboldt schools would help her as Ward 5 trustee.

“The only thing that can make a community better is our youth,” Ward 5 school board trustee candidate Valeria Smith-Wedley said. “So if we don’t invest in our youth, we lose our community as a whole.”

The candidates explain why a vote for them would benefit the students.

“An advocate is someone who tries to support the system, not tear it down, lift it up,” Samples said. “We want to fix the things that are wrong, but we want to talk about the things that are good.”

“Want somebody with experience, and [who has] been on the board, that’s why they should vote for me,” Barnett said.

“My kids are highly involved in everything in the schools, so I know the ins and outs of how the school works,” Coleman said. “And like I said, a parent on the board would be very important.”

“I want to be a liaison between the people,” Wedley said. “With our youth, we’ll entice our college students to come back to Humboldt and help build Humboldt. That’s why I want to run for school board.”

Wayne McLemore is running unopposed for Ward 4 trustee.