Howard’s Board of Education race to be narrowed in Districts 1, 4 and 5

After the primary election votes are tallied, Howard County’s Board of Education race will be narrowed from a field of three candidates to two in councilmanic District 1, District 4 and District 5. The other districts’ races were uncontested in the primary.

Board of Education candidates are nonpartisan. Primary elections are held if there are more than two candidates seeking a seat. The top two vote-getters will face each other in November’s General Election.

Howard’s school board has seven members, five of whom are elected by voters in their respective County Council districts. Those seats are up for election this year. The remaining two members are elected at-large, meaning any registered voter can vote for them. The at-large seats will be up for election in 2026.

In District 1, which includes Elkridge and part of Ellicott City, three candidates were on the ballot: Andre Gao, Pravin Ponnuri, and Meg Ricks.

In District 4, candidates include Hiruy Hadgu, Julie Kaplan, and incumbent board member Jen Mallo. This district has Clarksville, Fulton, and some of Columbia in its boundaries.

In District 5, which includes Dayton, Lisbon, and Woodbine, Catherine Carter, Andrea Chamblee, and Trent Kittleman are all on the ballot.

The District 2 race will be decided in November, with Larry Doyle and incumbent board member Antonia Watts competing for the seat that represents East Columbia and Elkridge. In District 3, only incumbent board member Jolene Mosley is in the race for the seat to represent North Laurel and Jessup.

Bob King, 53, of West Friendship, a Democrat and an emergency medical services instructor at Howard Community College, voted in person on Tuesday. He said the U.S. Senate and Board of Education races are the most important ones to him.

“For the Board of Education, I wanted somebody who has my same values, has common sense about gun control and safety in schools, and has some good liberal values, if you will,” he said, adding that he voted for Chamblee in the District 5 BOE race.