The Hillsborough School Board runoff between Ken Allen and April Griffin is off to a hot start. Third-place primary finisher David Schmidt on Tuesday threw his support to former school administrator Allen:

“I believe that Ken’s experience and dedication to making positive changes in our school district will serve our community well,” Schmidt said in a news release from the Allen campaign. “I am extremely thankful to the thousands of voters who offered a vote of confidence in my campaign, and know that Ken supports issues in my platform that will make him an accountable, accessible and progressive school board member. I ask you to help me elect Ken Allen to the School Board.”

Schmidt got 18 percent of the primary vote. Earlier this week, Allen's campaign said it expects to announce the endorsement of the other primary opponent, Stephanie Desmarais Georgiades.

This article appears in Sep 6-12, 2006.