ALAMOSA — In the end there could only be one. Of the three candidates vying for the Alamosa School District Board of Education District 1, Dr. Thom Miller was chosen to fill the seat vacated by Charlie Sanchez.

"I'd like to thank everybody that voted for me," Miller said in a phone interview, "and my family, especially my wife Candace. She's awesome. I'm excited about the opportunity to help our schools."

Miller had a total of 1,395 in his favor while his opponents Elias Heredia and Star Quintana had 1,056 and 454 votes, respectively.

"I think it's awesome that we had three people who wanted to compete to help kids in our community," said Miller. "I want to thank Star and Eli because they're great people and it's really sad that not everybody could win."

Though he grew up in Montrose, his family goes back five generations in the Valley. Miller has been at SLV Health as a pediatrician since 2014 after serving in the Navy for seven years. He has one son, 6-year-old Corbin, currently attending Alamosa Elementary School and his other son Linus, 4, will go to the school next year.

Board President Erica Romero ran for District 4 unopposed. Neil Hammer's District 3 seat and Arlan Van Ry's District 6 position remain vacant. The next board meeting is Monday at 7 p.m.