BY WALTER ELLIOTT
NEWARK – Many eyes across the Garden State will be watching the potentially pioneering results of April 15’s Newark Board of Education elections.
New Jersey’s largest city – with the blessings of the State Legislature, Essex County Clerk and county Board of Elections – will be allowing 16- and 17- year olds to cast votes here for the first time. How many of the late sophomore and junior grade high schoolers’ turn out to decide which three of 11 candidates get to join the Newark Public Schools Board of Education may determine whether this practice will spread among the state’s other public school districts.
How many of the higher grade high schoolers had actually registered may be known after press time. Election workers have been verifying signatures and tabulating the voter pool count since the registration window’s 4 p.m. March 24 closing.
April 15 may be an ideal test voting case since Newark and Irvington remain the only “Local Talk” area towns with springtime school board elections.
Eight other “LT” public school districts moved their elections onto the otherwise partisan November General Election ballot over the last decade in the hope of greater voter turnout. Montclair and Orange, whose districts switched to voter-elected school boards, were the last to choose November over April.
Advocates who favored giving 16- and 17-year olds the right to vote had cited that Newark’s school board elections in the last recent years drew around three percent of the city’s eligible pool of registered voters. Another reason is that the said high school students have more ground-level education interaction than their parents or other adults.
School board elections, by state definition, are nonpartisan. State Superior Court-Newark judge Robert Gardner saw to it on Feb. 19 that there would be no confusion on April 15’s ballot by denying the Newark Democratic Committee’s request to add a special Central Ward Council election.
Judge Garner’s ruling stood on his interpretation of state election law that prohibits “piggybacking” non-partisan municipal elections with non-partisan school board elections. (Newark – like Orange and some other “LT” Towns – usually holds their nominally non-partisan municipal elections in May.)
Deputy State Attorney General Craig Kaiser, in his testimony, expressed concern that the 16- and 17-year-old Central Ward voters would be “confused” about why they can vote for the school board and not for now-Cong. LaMonica McIver’s successor. (Who will get that ward seat will now be left for the Nov. 10 election.)
The March 25-posted Newark and Irvington ballots – and perhaps the 20 others statewide for April 15 – have one other distinction: the ability to vote up or down the annual proposed school district budget.
Having the two towns voters say, “Yea” or “Nay” on the upcoming budgets were a persuasive point for keeping the elections in April. State legislation which allowed school board elections to be moved seven months later also permitted the school districts to forgo posting their budgets before the electorate except for a specific reason.
The eight LT districts who moved their elections to November may put their budgets up for a vote if the overall budget or a construction project would exceed the state’s two percent increase cap. Those eight plus Orange and Newark never had.
So, after a moment of silence for the death of the annual school board budget question, the Irvington and Newark boards of education candidate lineups:
In IRVINGTON, two incumbents and a newcomer are running unopposed for the three Irvington Public Schools Board of Education seats due up on June 30.
Board Vice President Janelle Lowery, Board Member Joseph Sylvain are joined by first-time runner Joel Wanamaker on “The Children’s Team.” Wanamaker is to succeed Luis Antilus, who declined re-election.
“The Children’s Team” had previously run under the “Irvington Schools Strong” banner. “Schools Strong,” like “Team Irvington Strong” for Township Council seats, are supported and managed by Mayor Anthony “Tony” Vauss.
The three are running unopposed unless someone mounts a write-in campaign. “Local Talk,” to date, does not know of such and effort this time.
In NEWARK, 11 candidates comprising two full slates and five independents are up for city voters’ choice.
Kanileah Anderson, David Daughtery and Louis Maisonave, Jr. are this year’s Moving Newark Schools Forward team. Incumbent Anderson, who was appointed and then elected to fill an unexpired term last year is seeking re-election.
Daugherty and Maisonave are running in the outgoing Daniel Gonzalez and Crystal Williams’ stead. Daugherty, Arts High School Class of 2020, wrote an NPS policy amendment that created the district’s first Student Governance Committee. Maisonave is president of the Newark Hispanic Firefighters Association.
A majority of city voters have installed the entire “Schools Forward” slate for three NBOE seats for the last seven years. They have the support of Mayor Ras Baraka and the endorsement of many local, county and state elected officials.
Nathanel Bartelemy, Ade Kamil Kelly and Shana Melius comprise the “Prioritizing Newark’s Children” slate. “Prioritizing Children” is running on a five point platform, from “Address Infrastructure Needs” to “Support for Special Education.”
Bartelemy is program manager at the United Vailsburg Service Organization. Kelly, who ran in 2023, is program director for the Boys and Girls Club of Newark. Melius was constituent services coordinator for the Cong. Donald Payne, Jr., ran for her late boss’ job in last year’s primary.
The remaining five candidates on the ballot are running independent solo campaigns as of March 25. Some of the five could create a team or platform before April 15.
They are, in alphabetical order:
- Elaine Asyah Aquil, “All Kids Matter,” is a practicing chiropractor.
- DeWayne Bush, 45, is making his first campaign.
- Latoya Jackson, “I Got You,” is focused on special education and parent empowerment while running for a third straight year.
- Yolanda Johnson, who ran three other times, founded the Eagles Parent Teacher Association at the George Washington Carver/Bruce Street School.
- Jordy Nivar is a West Ward civic leader.
Registered Newark and Irvington voters should receive sample ballots and Vote By Mail Ballots on or before April 8. Call the Essex Clerk’s Election Division office if you have not received one.
Consult essexclerk.com for early voting locations, hours and other details.
