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Dejon Morris
Dejon Morris is an at-large member of the Jersey City Public Schools Board of Education in New Jersey. Morris assumed office on January 5, 2024. Morris' current term ends in 2027.
Morris ran for election for an at-large seat of the Jersey City Public Schools Board of Education in New Jersey. Morris won in the general election on November 7, 2023.
Biography
Morris resides in Jersey City, New Jersey. Morris earned a Bachelor's degree from DePaul University before moving to Jersey City to help his father establish the Mt. Olive Baptist Church, where he serves as an associate minister and counselor. He is employed as a detective with the Jersey City Police Department.[1]
Elections
2023
See also: Jersey City Public Schools, New Jersey, elections (2023)
General election
General election for Jersey City Public Schools Board of Education At-large (3 seats)
The following candidates ran in the general election for Jersey City Public Schools Board of Education At-large on November 7, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Alpa B. Patel (Nonpartisan) | 14.8 | 6,314 | |
| ✔ | George Blount (Nonpartisan) | 14.4 | 6,160 | |
| ✔ |  | Dejon Morris (Nonpartisan) | 13.3 | 5,698 |
 | Lorenzo Richardson (Nonpartisan) | 12.6 | 5,395 | |
 | Gina Verdibello (Nonpartisan) | 12.0 | 5,123 | |
| Monique Andrews (Nonpartisan) | 11.3 | 4,810 | ||
| Sumit Salia (Nonpartisan) | 10.2 | 4,360 | ||
| Renes Cruz (Nonpartisan) | 6.1 | 2,622 | ||
| Janette Scafidi (Nonpartisan) | 4.1 | 1,732 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 1.2 | 521 | ||
| Total votes: 42,735 | |||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Andres Berrio (Nonpartisan)
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Morris in this election.
2015
Elections for the New Jersey General Assembly took place in 2015. A primary election was held on June 2, 2015. The general election took place on November 3, 2015. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was March 30, 2015.[2] Since the general assembly uses multi-member districts, the top two candidates from each party in the primaries advanced to the general election. Joseph Conte and Ramon Regalado were bracketed together, Angela McKnight and Nicholas Chiaravalloti were bracketed together, Bruce Alston and Washington Flores were bracketed together and in the Democratic primary. Matthew Kopko and Herminio Mendoza were bracketed together and were unopposed in the Republican primary. Dejon Morris withdrew from the race before the Democratic primary. McKnight and Chiaravalloti defeated Kopko, Mendoza, Tony Zanowic (Your Independent Leadership) and Alejandro Rodriguez (Your Independent Leadership) in the general election.[3][4][5][6][7]
| New Jersey General Assembly, District 31 General Election, 2015 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Angela McKnight |
35.3% | 9,597 | |
| Democratic | Nicholas Chiaravalloti |
33.9% | 9,212 | |
| Republican | Matthew Kopko | 14.2% | 3,872 | |
| Republican | Herminio Mendoza | 9.6% | 2,603 | |
| Your Independent Leadership | Tony Zanowic | 3.5% | 958 | |
| Your Independent Leadership | Alejandro Rodriguez | 3.4% | 934 | |
| Total Votes | 27,176 | |||
| New Jersey General Assembly, District 31 Democratic Primary, 2015 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|
Angela McKnight |
35.2% | 5,623 |
| Nicholas Chiaravalloti |
32.6% | 5,207 |
| Joseph Conte | 10.9% | 1,748 |
| Ramon Regalado | 8.9% | 1,419 |
| Bruce Alston | 6.2% | 988 |
| Washington Flores | 5.1% | 822 |
| DeJon Morris | 1% | 157 |
| Total Votes | 15,964 | |
2013
Morris and ten other candidates challenged incumbent Gerald Lyons for one of three at-large seats with three-year terms in the general election on November 5, 2013. Lyons was a member of the "Children First" slate of candidates, which included Lorenzo Richardson and Gina Verdibello for the three-year term seats and Angel Valentin for the one-year term seat. A separate slate of candidates endorsed by Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop campaigned under the name "Candidates for Excellence," which included Micheline Amy, Jessica Daye and Ellen Simon for the three-year term seats and Carol Lester for the one-year term seat.[8]
Results
| Jersey City Public Schools, At-large General Election, 3-year term, 2013 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan | Jessica Daye |
21.1% | 9,351 | |
| Nonpartisan | Micheline Amy |
17.7% | 7,879 | |
| Nonpartisan | Ellen Simon |
10.6% | 4,702 | |
| Nonpartisan | Lorenzo Richardson | 10.2% | 4,511 | |
| Nonpartisan | Gerald Lyons Incumbent | 8.9% | 3,950 | |
| Nonpartisan | Gina Verdibello | 7.6% | 3,383 | |
| Nonpartisan | Kevaan G. Walton | 6.2% | 2,770 | |
| Nonpartisan | Denise Davis | 4.8% | 2,137 | |
| Nonpartisan | Dejon Morris | 4.3% | 1,914 | |
| Nonpartisan | Carol L. Gabriel | 2.7% | 1,214 | |
| Nonpartisan | Josephine Paige | 2.2% | 982 | |
| Nonpartisan | Susan Harbace | 2.2% | 961 | |
| Nonpartisan | Telissa E. Dowling | 1.4% | 608 | |
| Nonpartisan | Personal choice | 0.1% | 44 | |
| Total Votes | 44,406 | |||
| Source: Hudson County Clerk, "Official Election Results," November 14, 2013 | ||||
Funding
Morris reported no contributions or expenditures to the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission.[9]
Endorsements
Morris did not receive any official endorsements for his campaign.
2012
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Marilyn Roman |
20.5% | 4,501 | |
| Nonpartisan | Vidya Gangadin |
19.2% | 4,220 | |
| Nonpartisan | Sangeeta Ranade |
17.1% | 3,762 | |
| Nonpartisan | Gerald M. Lyons | 13.5% | 2,968 | |
| Nonpartisan | Frank Lorenzo | 11.3% | 2,490 | |
| Nonpartisan | Amanda Khan | 10.8% | 2,370 | |
| Nonpartisan | DeJon Morris | 5.6% | 1,233 | |
| Nonpartisan | Jayson H. Burg | 1.9% | 415 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in votes | 0.1% | 20 | |
| Total Votes | 21,979 | |||
| Source: Hudson County, New Jersey, "2012 School Board Election," accessed October 28, 2013 | ||||
Campaign themes
2023
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Dejon Morris did not complete Ballotpedia's 2023 Candidate Connection survey.
2013
Morris' campaign website listed his "ABC Plan" campaign themes for 2013:[10]
|
Accountability Everyone involved in the education of our most valuable resource, our children, should have clearly defined, measurable goals. Students, parents, teachers, staff, school board, and the community should all know specific things that they can do to improve the educational outcomes for our young people. If the expectations are known, measurements are taken, results assessed, and constructive criticism applied – the process will improve. The end result will be more graduates who are better equipped to excel as their lives progress. Budget Transparency There is perhaps no area where the sheer size of the issue creates more complications. The proposed Jersey City School District budget is about 660 Million dollars this year. In spite of the fairly continuous complaints from most of the board members about how inadequate this staggering sum is, it’s still a lot of money! And, with the economy being what it is, it’s unlikely that there will be much in the way of budget increases in coming years. These two facts make it that much more important for the school board to scrutinize details and put accountability measures in place that will insure expenditures are going directly to improving students’ educational outcomes. Every effort must be made to eliminate current wasteful spending and avoid further wasteful spending in the future. Because of the sheer size of the budget it would be impossible for the vast majority of people to go through, let alone understand, all the detail. That’s why there is a professional financial staff that should be available to answer all public inquires in a timely manner without obstacles of bureaucracy. The board is responsible for working with the staff in order to set fiscal expectations and analyze outcomes. There also need to be policies in place that insure transparency so that parents and other taxpayers can see how their tax dollars are being utilized. By requiring accountability the board will promote fiscal discipline and insure that the classroom is the beneficiary of the budget. Community Collaboration Perhaps the most important component of the ABC Plan is the following: the members of the community must actively engage in the effort to improve the educational outcomes for our students. For the maximum success to flow to our young people, everyone has to take an active role in the process, such as parents, religious leaders and leaders in our neighborhoods. The school district cannot do it alone. But the district should take the lead in reaching out to the community, promoting parental rights and bringing all representatives together. By stressing ways to develop unity, where possible, provide support and guidance, where necessary, and involve the community – with the emphasis on parents – the district will lead the way in overcoming many of the barriers that currently stand in the way of academic success for many of our students |
Note: The above quote is from the candidate's website, which may include some typographical or spelling errors.
See also
2023 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ DeJon V. Morris, "Why vote?" accessed October 31, 2013
- ↑ New Jersey Department of Elections, "2015 Primary Election Timeline," accessed February 2, 2015
- ↑ New Jersey Department of State, "Official primary results for General Assembly," accessed August 10, 2015
- ↑ New Jersey Department of State, "Official candidate list for June 2 primary," accessed May 22, 2015
- ↑ New Jersey Department of State, "Unofficial primary election results," accessed June 3, 2015
- ↑ New Jersey Department of State, "Official list for candidate for General Assembly," accessed August 10, 2015
- ↑ New Jersey Department of State, "Official general election results for General Assembly," accessed December 7, 2015
- ↑ Terrence McDonald, The Jersey Journal, "Fans, critics of Jersey City schools chief to face off in school board race," October 30, 2013
- ↑ New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, "Standard Search," accessed December 20, 2013
- ↑ DeJon V. Morris, "ABC Plan," accessed October 21, 2013
