Thompson, Lewis are elected to fill Jackson School Board seats

This story is updated to reflect actual date of Verification Board meeting.

In a four-way race for two seats on the Jackson School Board, formally known as Reorganized School District R-2, incumbent Brian Thompson and newcomer Kristen Lewis were elected.

Kristen Lewis

Unofficial tally

Brian Thompson

• Brian Thompson (inc): 1,713 (32.9%)
• Kristen Lewis: 1,190 (22.9%)
• McGraddie "Mac" Robinson: 1,164 (22.3%)
• Paul Stoner (inc): 1,133 (21.8%)

"I'm extremely excited to be able to be a voice for the people in this community and the school system," said Lewis, a 2001 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York.

"I believe the people were looking for a certain vote on the school board. I think we have seen how our country has been going for the past year and I offered the people a voice to go in the opposite direction," she said.

Lewis referred to three guiding principles she said will govern her coming service on the school board.

"I am a conservative Christian; I have a love of this country I want to pass to the kids coming up through the school system and I stand on traditional values," she said following the vote.

Lewis, who will serve a three-year term assuming Tuesday's unofficial vote is certified Monday by the county's verification board, said she is working on earning a master's degree in history from Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, with a goal of entering the educational field.

"Liberty has a great online program that is veteran-friendly," she said.

Lewis and her husband, William Lewis, operate a mobile coffee trailer called Molon Latte.

William Lewis was also elected to a one-year term Tuesday on the Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center Board of Trustees.