Gooch wins seat on Mansfield ISD school board

By Amanda Rogers

Mansfield Record

Mansfield only had one contested race on the ballot, but it came down to the wire.

Incumbent Courtney Lackey Wilson came up 65 votes short in her bid for another three-year term at the Place 7 seat on the Mansfield ISD school board, falling to newcomer Michele Gooch.

Gooch, a leadership coach and trainer, was 18 votes short in Tarrant County, taking 3,286 votes (49.84 percent) to Wilson’s 3,304 (50.14 percent), but reigned with Johnson County voters, with 142 votes (70.65 percent) to Wilson’s 59 (29.25 percent).

Election results are unofficial until canvassed by the school board on May 12.

Wilson, a business owner, was elected to the seat five times, but had to resign in 2021 due to health reasons. She was re-elected in 2023.

Current school board president Benita Reed, a college English professor, was unopposed in her bid for a second three-year term at Place 6.

The city of Mansfield cancelled its election after both council seats up for election only drew one candidate.

Mayor pro tem Todd Tonore was unopposed for the Place 6 position. Tonore, a local business owner, was first elected to the council in November 2020.

Former Mansfield ISD Superintendent Jim Vaszauskas was unopposed for the Place 7 council seat, after incumbent Larry Broseh did not file to run after serving six terms on the council. Local business owner Eric Rozak, who had filed to run for Place 7, withdrew from the ballot before the filing deadline.