Laura Reich wins seat on Wantagh school board, beating Peter Mountanos in runoff race

Laura Reich won a seat on the Wantagh school board over Peter Mountanos in a runoff election Wednesday.

Reich received 939 votes over Mountanos, who received 795 votes for the position on the five-member panel, which carries a term of three years. Residents cast ballots from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. at Wantagh High School.

The two had tied for second place in the May 21 board election. In that vote count, which included affidavit ballots, Mountanos and Reich each received 927 votes. Affidavit ballots are paper ballots used by voters whose names are not listed at their designated polling place.

Mountanos, a lifelong district resident, is a 2012 graduate of Wantagh High School and the board president. He first was elected in 2013 and was re-elected in 2016. Mountanos is a software engineer with Google.

Reich, a 14-year Wantagh resident, is an attorney who served as president of the Wantagh Elementary School PTA from 2013 to 2015 and treasurer of the Wantagh 6-12 Association and Wantagh High School Band Wagon since 2016. She has two children in district schools and two who graduated from Wantagh High and now are in college.

Incumbent Kera McLoughlin, the top vote-getter in the May election, won this year's other open seat. Her updated total in that vote, including affidavit ballots, was 977.