Jeanette Wolfberg is reporting for The Columbia Paper on the three candidates who ran successfully for the Hudson school board. Voters chose two new members and re-elected the only incumbent on the ballot in the May 18 budget vote and board election. Selha Graham and Mark DePace conducted a write-in campaign; Lucinda Segar was re-elected to a new three-year term, effective July 1. Segar received 504 votes. Graham, with 81 write-in votes, will also begin a three-year term on July 1. DePace, with 80 write-in votes, was sworn in May 18, to serve the remaining year of a former member's term. DePace launched his campaign after learning that no one had come forward to run. He “recognized there is a need for more community involvement in the school” and he wanted the school board and administration to know “they have support.” DePace has a son at Montgomery C. Smith Elementary School, and “we’ve had a great experience there,” he said. DePace said as a board member he hopes to “bridge the gap between the community and the schools.” DePace grew up in Newburgh and has lived in Hudson since 2018. He owns a company that produces commercials. Graham decided to seek a seat on the board because as a mother of seven children she has already been involved in the Hudson school community and attended numerous pertinent meetings. Three of her children graduated from Hudson High School; others are still enrolled in the Hudson system. “It’s easy to critique something when you’re not on it,” but by being on the board, one learns why it makes the decisions it does. Instead of complaining about a situation, one can be part of the solution, by getting involved, she said. Graham is a businessperson. Her ventures have included paid consulting, tax preparation, managing a grocery story, a U-haul franchise, and operating a neighborhood laundry. She is also a member of the Hudson Tourism Board and an on-air volunteer programmer for WGXC-FM. Segar said she intends to continue to work hard to: “help the district improve its goals. We hope the students who graduate from the [district] are college, career, and citizenship ready.” She also wants to “push for a rigorous curriculum and engaging extracurricular activities,” and to “help the district collaborate with the community.” Segar is employed as a high school teacher by the Catskill school district. Read the full story in The Columbia Paper.