Meet Bob Hickey, Candidate For Council Rock School Board

NEWTOWN, PA — Bob Hickey is hoping that a second time's a charm.

In 2017, the Richboro resident ran for Council Rock School Board Region 3, which includes three voting districts in Northampton Township, in a bid to unseat incumbent Democrat Denise Brooks.

Unofficial election results late on election night showed Hickey, a Republican, winning by two votes, but in the aftermath of official vote counts, election workers learned that two people who voted by absentee ballot were mistakenly issued ballots for the wrong voting district. Brooks challenged the final vote count, and Bucks County President Judge Jeffrey Finley tossed out the deciding two votes and ordered that the winner be decided by a "marble-tie breaker", which Brooks won.

Four years later, Brooks has decided not to run for re-election, and Hickey is ready to give it another shot.

Hickey grew up in Philadelphia, where he attended Father Judge High School. He graduated from Temple University in 1981 with a degree in secondary education. The corporate manager for a small electronics firm is father to eight children who have all gone through the Council Rock School District.

"The [district] was great for my kids," he said. "It was one of the reasons I moved back here in 1992."

He was previously a coach for Northampton baseball, Council Rock basketball and Council Rock soccer teams. Between 2014 and 2016, he served on a planning commission for the school district. More recently, he worked with other local parents who were pushing to get kids back in school during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The science has shown that the kids are the least affected," Hickey said. "Are we gonna shut down the schools anytime something comes along?"

Hickey is cross-filing and will appear on both the Democratic and Republican ballots in the May 18 primary election. He and Paula Barson, also of Richboro, are both running for Brooks' seat. Look for a profile of her on Patch later this week.

Editor's Note: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that Hickey defeated Brooks in the 2017 election.

See related coverage:

• Marcell Seeks Four More Years On Council Rock School Board
• Nicole Khan To Run For Council Rock School Board
• Andy Block To Run For Reelection To Council Rock School Board
• Meet Keven Gessner, Candidate For Council Rock School Board
• Council Rock Schools See Low Attendance Amid Expanded Reopening

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