Gilroy - Two newcomers posted a wire-to-wire victory in the school board race, and one incumbent surged from behind two others to take the last slot when the final numbers came in at 1am today.

Retired principal Pat Midtgaard held a strong lead, with about 25 percent of the votes most of the night. Rhoda Bress, a district parent, was the clear winner of the second seat.

Midtgaard, also a former classroom teacher who campaigned on her Gilroy Unified School District experience and teacher support, finished with 6,399 votes. That was nearly 1,500 more votes than Bress, a vocal critic of the district who called for a back-to-basics approach to academic success. Bress strengthened her hold as the night went on and finished with 4,983 votes.

Midtgaard said the more than 20 years she spent as an employee of GUSD helped her secure her four-year seat.

"I think it was the experience I've had with different groups in the community - teachers, parents, principals," Midtgaard said. "Hopefully, people looked at my experience and looked at what I've done and chose me based on that."

But the race for the third seat was a three-way tossup between incumbents John Gurich, Bob Kraemer, and Jaime Rosso until the last few precincts reported. Kraemer led by fewer than 100 votes early on, with Rosso and Gurich close behind.

As more precincts came back, Gurich gained a narrow lead over Rosso with Kraemer further behind. In the end, though, Rosso pulled just ahead of Gurich by just 35 votes. Kraemer finished 415 votes behind Gurich for fifth place. Robert Heisey received 2,601 votes.

Kraemer invited all the candidates to his Butch Drive home in the hills east of Gilroy. Midtgaard and Rosso joined him there with another dozen well-wishers and several other board trustees.

Heisey and other friends gathered at Bress' home Tuesday night to watch the results come in. The two challengers - who were the only candidates with children currently enrolled in Gilroy Unified schools - are both members of the parents' reform group, The Alliance for Academic Excellence, and spent time campaigning together.

The election of two challengers is a reflection on the current board, Bress said.

"Two out of the three are not incumbents," she said. "I think people were looking for change.

"I think it was definitely my campaign issues, my perspective as a parent and my emphasis on excellence: Not willing to accept mediocre standards for anybody, any student. I think that resonated."

Her message of focusing on the classroom, supporting communication and hearing parents' voices got out to voters early and clearly, Bress said, as she thanked Gilroy voters and her campaign committee.

"This is where the hard work really starts," she said. "I'm looking forward to digging in, and I'm looking forward to working with the other board members, and I congratulate anyone else who won."

Rosso, the winner of the third seat and only incumbent re-elected, was accepting his win with crossed fingers in the early morning hours Wednesday. He beat Gurich by a narrow 35-vote margin.

"I think it's still up in the air," the current board president said. "It's close."

With all precincts reporting, Rosso had 4,219 votes, but Gurich finished a close fourth with 4,184.

As he returns to another term with GUSD, Rosso said he hears what Gilroy voters have to say.

"They'd like to see some changes, they are feeling that we need to do something different, so I think we get a little bit of that message," Rosso said.

But the close race is a testament to the quality of all six candidates, he said.

"Hopefully ... the board will be able to work closely together," Rosso said. "I think that is the key, because if the board can work together and have its disagreements but still come up with collective decisions that are supportive of the needs of the district, that's the challenge. And I think we'll be able to do that."

At several polling places Monday evening, voters were mixed on the importance of the school board race and trustees' performance over the past four years.

At Las Animas Elementary School, Kathy Hart said she was satisfied with the performance of the three incumbents, although she said she did not closely follow the race.

Lupe Fausto, who voted at Antonio Del Buono Elementary School with the help of her daughter, who attends a Gilroy middle school, also said she approves of the direction of the existing school board.

"I think they're doing a good job," she said.

Tuesday's winners will be sworn in during a December meeting and will serve a four-year term.

Local winners

Gilroy Unified School District Board

Pat Midtgaard 6,399

Rhoda Bress 4,983

Bob Kraemer 3,774

Bob Heisey 2,601

Morgan Hill Mayor

Dennis Kennedy 5,979

Greg Sellers 4,118

Morgan Hill City Council

Larry Carr 5,241

Julia Starling 1,963

Allan Abrams 1,683

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