Parker Liu has withdrawn his candidacy

I wanted to share an important update.

Since announcing and filing for my candidacy, my life at home has become increasingly complicated. Each year, July is a busy time for our family as my partner, Chelsey, and I lead a weeklong church camp for high schoolers in Boyne Falls. On July 15th, my uncle passed away after a brief illness. For much of the 3 weeks prior to his passing, I spent a considerable amount of time supporting my cousins and extended family which took time away from other parts of my life. Finally, we are excited to be finishing our dream home in Vergennes Township in the coming months and are now busy preparing to sell our current home. All of the added stress has led to Chelsey’s chronic health condition to flare which requires time to rest whenever she can.

After personal consideration and in consultation with Chelsey, the rest of my family, and our friends, I have decided to suspend my campaign for the November 5th, 2024 election. My family will always be my first priority, and they need me more than anything else at this time.

My commitment to Lowell Area Schools has not changed. I still love this district and community deeply and look forward to an opportunity to serve again in the future. We are hopeful that Chelsey’s health will recover in the coming weeks, our current home will sell quickly, and we will move into our new home without complication. I will still look for opportunities to help when I can; I’m excited to share one of those opportunities in the coming weeks!

Unfortunately, I was not in the area by the formal deadline to withdraw from the ballot. As a result, my name will still appear on the ballot. While I appreciate your support, I plan to endorse other candidates once more information becomes available; three candidates signed up in the last 3 hours before the deadline. If one of those candidates I chose to endorse is no longer eligible to run or no longer desires the seat, I will be ready to jump back into the campaign if needed. In reality, my ability to commit fully to the Board of Education will return after we move this October or early November.

To my early supporters - Thank you so much for taking the time to share your words of encouragement and making time to sign my petitions. You are the reason that I made the decision to jump into the race in the first place! I will need your support again in 2026 (or sooner!)

While this is likely the end of the current campaign, stay tuned for updates in the coming weeks and months. I wish the best to the other candidates and encourage all voters to do your research! You have the opportunity to choose four names this Fall; it’s important that LAS has the best leaders from our community advocating for our students, staff, and administration to ensure we can continue to have Learners Today, Leaders Tomorrow, and Red Arrows for Life!