ZORDICH DEFEATED IN NARROW MAY 18 ELECTION

James “Jim” Zordich, two-term Zone 2 incumbent on the MHCC District board, was narrowly defeated in the May 18 election by Boring resident Marie Teune.

Teune is a longtime Sandy-based real estate broker and current member of the Oregon Trail School District board of directors.

In her voters guide submission, Teune noted that three of her four children have attended Mt. Hood after attending local public schools. In final election results posted June 3 in both Clackamas and Multnomah counties, Teune edged Zordich by 331 votes out of just over 9,000 votes cast – winning roughly 52 to 48%.

With MHCC’s Zone 2 board territory about evenly split between the two counties, Zordich took the Multnomah County portion, 55 to 45%. But Teune won the Clackamas count by a wider margin, 58 to 41%, to secure the win.

Zordich told The Advocate he credits Teune’s school board tenure and wide recognition in the Sandy area as contributing factors to her triumph.

He said he’s confident his successor “will also be a source of unwavering support to the college.”

Teune, who cited recent illness in postponing an interview by The Advocate, is due to be sworn in as a Mt. Hood board member in July, starting a four-year term.

First elected in 2013, Zordich allowed that it will be “a bit of a transition to step away” from his responsibilities. The former Southern California museum director gained a reputation as MHCC’s unofficial historian while on the District board, and said he will remain vested in the college community. His wife, Garie, is instructional administrative coordinator for the Humanities Department at the school.

In two other MHCC District board races, both current board Chair Diane McKeel (Zone 1) and Anne Mattson (Zone 4) ran unopposed for their seats. Each earned more than 97% of the vote to win their second four-year terms.