Over the past two weeks, incumbent Ingrid Gunnell and candidate Greg Krikorian have been swapping places for the lead for Glendale Unified School District Board of Education Area B seat. 

As of Tuesday, June 23, the two candidates were tied, with Krikorian and Gunnell each holding 4,557 votes, according to preliminary results.

GUSD Board of Education President Gunnell said she is allowing the election process to continue. 

“I believe in the Democratic process and will let it play out,” Gunnell said. 

Former GUSD board member Krikorian said he feels positive about where the election stands. 

“We’re very happy with where we’re at. I feel very good with where we’re at,” Krikorian said. 

The race has remained extremely close throughout the counting process, with both candidates exchanging the lead multiple times as additional ballots were processed.

Krikorian said that if the election results end in a tie, there will be a run-off election according to education code. 

“We’re confident in our message. There are about 4,600 people that believe in my values,” Krikorian said. “I love the kids. My whole campaign is students first, getting back to the basics and getting partisan politics out of our schools.”

Krikorian stated that his campaign has focused on students and education.

“We should get back to educating our kids. It’s about our students. That’s been my whole campaign. At the same time, protecting our staff,” he said. “Teachers need support. Teachers need to be supported in our classroom.”

Krikorian also commented on the voting process. 

“There needs to be an adjustment. This is too long,” he said. “I know you want to count every ballot. There needs to be an audit of the voter base. We need to make sure voting records are updated.”

When asked whether there will be a recount of the ballots, Krikorian said it may not be necessary. 

“If someone wants to pay for it,” Krikorian said. “It may not be necessary. There are ballots to still be counted.”

Krikorian also emphasized that this election proves that every vote counts.

“We’re speaking history with this election,” he said. “It actually defines the definition of every vote counts.”