In the wake of Oak Harbor School Board President John Diamond’s resignation from the board, a number of Oak Harbor community members spoke in support of former board candidate Jessica Thompson at a board meeting on Monday.

Diamond announced his intention to leave the board on March 28, and board members officially accepted his resignation April 11. Diamond, who has served on the board since 2017, was only recently re-elected, beating Thompson in the general election in November by a narrow 250 votes.

Thompson’s advocates maintained that the community’s strong show of support for the candidate in November indicates that she merits the board members’ consideration as they begin to seek a replacement for Diamond.

“Jessica Thompson was right there, and that election could have went, with one slip up in either direction, in any direction,” Timothy Hazelo said. “…What I would really like you to do is to take that into consideration that within 100 votes or so, a couple hundred votes, maybe, that she would have been here anyway, that the public is already in support of her in a major way.”

Thompson’s former fellow school board candidate, Jason Uemoto, with whom she largely shared an election platform in November, also spoke on her behalf at the meeting.

“I believe that Jessica is the choice for the board, because basically, she has been qualified by the constituency already to be in this position,” he said.

Thompson was vocal about her distaste for masking policies prior to and during her school board campaign. She also claimed that students were being politically indoctrinated in schools and expressed concerns about the district’s budget.

The board has 90 days as of Monday’s meeting to replace Diamond. Superintendent Karst Brandsma said he will hold a study session before the board’s next meeting to establish a timeline and process for finding a new board member.

The process will include community outreach, opportunities for interested persons to speak with district staff and applicant interviews. Brandsma said he hopes the board can select and swear in a new member before his last day in the district, which is June 30, 10 days before the legal deadline for the selection.

Board member Jessica Aws was chosen by her fellow board members to replace Diamond as board president during Monday’s meeting.

Diamond told the board that he was resigning because he accepted a job that would require him to move off-island.

“It has truly been an honor and privilege to work with you on serving the students and community of Oak Harbor,” he wrote in his resignation letter. “This position has taught me many things about service, compassion and leadership that I will take with me into future community service.”

Board members shared their well wishes for Diamond and his family.

“I will very much miss Director Diamond’s leadership,” Aws said. “He was a wonderful presence on this board, and (I) really appreciated his perspectives and his leadership, especially for the last few years.”