(Photo by Gwen Sour) Voters get their IDs checked while preparing to vote at the Washington County Fairgrounds on Tuesday.

The candidate race to fill three seats on Marietta City Schools Board of Education was close according to the most recent unofficial election results from the Washington County Board of Elections.

With four candidates running, one incumbent and three county residents who were running for elected positions for the first time, results were close but wouldn’t be affected by the provisional ballots that will be counted during the canvassing process.

With all 22 precincts reporting, incumbent Cody Parman won his reelection and kept his position on the board for another four-year term.

“I consider it a great honor and a privilege to be voted in a second time,” said Parman. “It’s a privilege for the community to entrust me with this role and I’m excited to be able to continue and hopefully provide some stability going into the future.”

Steven Taylor Huffman and Chris Fennell were approved for the second and third seats on the board. Tuesday night, after election results were finalized, Fennell said he was grateful for the opportunity and “looking forward to working alongside everyone.”

Huffman made comments later Tuesday night and said, “I would like to thank the community for their support. I’m looking forward to the challenges that being on the board will bring.”

Huffman said in his candidate profile he wanted to pursue a position on the board to support the district and his family who have attended Marietta City Schools.

“I know that this group of board members are going to work well together and continue to improve Marietta City Schools,” he said.

Annika Miller was 179 votes short of securing a position on the board. When reached for comment on Tuesday night she said she was grateful for the campaign experience and getting to know the other candidates.

“The guys are great and I felt confident that no matter what the outcome was, our district would be in great hands,” she said Tuesday.

Miller said even though she didn’t win, she would find other ways to contribute to the district.

“Chris and Steven are both invested and they’re both alumni from the district,” said Parman. “They both have families that either graduated or currently go to the district so they’d want what’s best for the schools.”

Parman said everything he knows about Fennell and Huffman has been positive and he’s excited for the future of Marietta City Schools.