Hutton drops out, Pickard rejoins race for Moscow School Board seat

Kendra Pickard is back in the race for Zone 2 on the Moscow School Board after Phillip Hutton dropped out Sunday.

Both names, however, will appear on the ballot Nov. 2.

“Due to recent life events, work schedule and personal reasons, I do not believe I will be able to be the representative that the district needs at this time,” Hutton stated in a message to Moscow School District Standards, a parent group.

Hutton also endorsed Pickard and stated he’d be putting his full support behind her reentering the election. Hutton could not immediately be reached for comment.

Pickard dropped out of the race earlier this month to avoid splitting votes between Hutton and the current chair of the school board, Ken Faunce, who’s running for reelection.

When Pickard submitted her candidacy in September, she didn’t realize Hutton, a good friend, had also decided to run for the seat.

“What I didn’t want is for the vote to be split and no change on the board,” Pickard said. “I strongly feel the board needs to reflect the kids in school.”

Despite the last-minute switch, both of the candidates’ names will appear on the ballots because they’ve already been printed.

The last day to officially withdraw from the race was Sept. 17, according to Latah County Elections Director Jennifer Henrichs. She said the election will continue as planned.

“As far as we can tell, they all missed the withdrawal deadline,” Henrichs said. “None of these candidates have spoken to me.”

Moscow School Board Clerk Angie Packard said she also has not heard from Pickard or Hutton.

On Wednesday, the Daily News reported that 729 ballots had already been mailed out and 104 had been returned. Early voting began on Oct. 18 and ends Oct. 29.

Both Henrichs and Packard said it’s unclear how the recent changes could impact the results of the election.

Palermo can be reached at apalermo@dnews.com or on Twitter @apalermotweets.