Close elections seem to breed recounts, so it was no surprise when pension board incumbent Nancy Williams (UPC) demanded a recount after the first pension election results showed her losing to Lois Ashford (CORE) by 43 votes for the final teacher trustee spot. The other pension board vacancy was also won by CORE with Jay Rehak solidly in the lead by over 1,750 votes.
The recount was held on Monday, November 16th by Election Services Corporation and showed an even bigger CORE victory than first reported with both Ashford and Rehak picking up votes from the preliminary totals. This election was a test for competing caucuses before the big union elections in May. Even more importantly, the two teacher trustees will work to protect an ever shrinking pension fund and insist that the Chicago Public Schools meet their obligations to properly fund the pension fund.
