Primary-election ballots mailed out to voters this past week include a contest for the Kent School Board of Directors District 5 position, but one of three candidates announced that he is pulling out of the race, although it’s too late to exit the ballot.

Dale Smith, 48, said in an e-mail July 29 that since filing to run for office his “employment situation has changed dramatically,” which led him to the conclusion that he could not “effectively serve on the school board if elected.”

That leaves Tim Clark and Dave Watson as the two candidates vying for the seat being vacated by Sandy Collins, who is retiring from the board after serving for 32 years.

Smith said he notified King County of his decision to suspend his campaign and withdraw from the election, but did not do so before the official June 11 deadline. He also said he has not incurred any campaign expenses, received any campaign contributions or established any campaign-related financial accounts.

However, because of state election laws, Smith’s name will still appear on the ballot and he could still be selected by voters, according to King County elections spokesperson Megan Coppersmith.

“If he wins, he does advance to the general-election ballot,” she said.

Coppersmith said if Smith does move on to the general election and wins there as well, he would have to resign from the position if he does not want to serve, leaving the board to appoint a replacement.

Calling it the “awkward part of the process,” Smith said he would not serve if elected.

“It’s not fair to try and take something like that on and not do it well,” he said in a brief phone interview Wednesday, as a follow-up to the e-mail.

Smith, a geopolitical and policy analyst for Boeing Commercial Airplanes, noted his new role involves more travel and unpredictable hours.

“These are exciting, challenging opportunities, but they will not allow me to effectively manage my work schedule and travel requirements in order to appropriately campaign and, if elected, serve as a Kent School Board member,” Smith wrote.

Smith said he planned to continue his role as community co-chair of the school district’s Alliance for Diversity and Equity and would continue to work on social, equity and social justice issues within the district, especially for students at schools within the Kent-Meridian High School boundary.

With Smith effectively out of the race, the contest becomes a two-man campaign between Clark and Watson, though they must finish ahead of Smith in the August vote to make November’s general-election ballot.

Clark, 63, is a retired Kent school teacher and current member of the Kent City Council as well as a member of the adjunct faculty at Highline Community College. He also is a former president of the Kent Education Association, the union that represents teachers. Clark presently has grandchildren enrolled in the district.

Watson, 48, is a 27-year educator with experience in multiple districts. He currently works as a substitute in the Kent School District. His four children all attend Kent schools.

Clark has said previously his time on the city council gave him an understanding of the process and policy making, which combined with his teaching background make him a good candidate.

Clark, in earlier interviews, said he believes in hiring and retaining staff with high standards who can relate to a diverse population, continuing to focus on the role of technology, that achievement requires innovation and appropriate benchmarks and that athletics play a critical role in education.

Watson said he wants to help make the board more sensitive and responsive to the needs of the community. He also said the board needs to be more culturally sensitive in dealing with staff and students and that he would try to find ways to make the schools more efficient to make best use of limited funding.

Watson and his wife also presently have a legal complaint against the district regarding her termination as a para educator.

Ballots for the all-mail-in primary election must be deposited in one of the county’s 24-hour ballot boxes or postmarked by Aug. 18. Because Smith’s announcement came after the deadline to withdraw, supporters of the Clark and Watson are encouraged to vote anyway to ensure their respective candidates move forward to November.

Kent School Board positions are unpaid, four-year terms.

For more information on the role of the school board, visit http://kent.k12.wa.us/KSD/BD/boardintro.html