One incumbent and two new faces–all newly elected–will join the D219 school board in 2021. As of April 5, the following candidates have been chosen to represent Niles Township:

• Naema Abraham (non-incumbent),
• Joe Nowik (incumbent),
• Elana Jacobs (non-incumbent).

“I’m honored to be re-elected,” commented Nowik, who captured 16% of Monday’s vote. “There is so much more to do and I’m looking forward to continu[ing] down the path of continuous improvement for this amazing district”.

Naema Abraham won 20% of the vote–more than any other candidate. She resolved to “visit more with students…once we get past this pandemic. The student perspective is vitally important to me.”

First-time candidates Irena Petryk, Kathleen W. Boyle, and Ross Sawyers did not score enough votes to earn a seat. Board incumbent Richard Evonitz lost his position.

During that same election, a ballot referendum for carbon taxes levied on fossil fuel producers was passed by a margin of just under 3,000 votes. Sixty-eight percent of voters approved the measure.

The resolution has no “legislative impact,” commented AP US Government and Politics professor Pankaj Sharma. “But it can be used by climate activists to demonstrate the broad support our community has for more aggressive efforts to combat climate change”.

Tom Henry, a member of the Niles North Climate Change Club, voiced his hearty approval of the measure.

“There needs to be a greater effort locally in reducing the harmful effects of climate change like carbon emissions,” he commented. “This [referendum] shows that the future is bright in our community”.