Edison Township Public Schools elections (2017)
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Four of the nine seats on the Edison Township Public Schools school board in New Jersey were up for at-large general election on November 7, 2017. Three seats were up for regular three-year terms and one seat was up for a one-year unexpired term. A total of 11 candidates filed for the seats.
Board members Beth Moroney and Jingwei Shi won new three-year terms on the board and were joined in their victory by Falguni Patel. They defeated Carol Bodofsky, Elizabeth Conway, Ruchika Juneja, Aqib Virani, Sunil Vuppula, and Maria Wise. Board member Paul Distefano defeated challenger William Araujo for the one-year term.[1]
Araujo, Juneja, and Virani, Distefano, Moroney, Patel, and Shi, and Bodofsky and Conway ran in this election as separate candidate slates.[2]
Elections
Voter and candidate information
The Edison Township school board is composed of nine members elected to three-year staggered terms. Elections are held at large.
To run for a school board in New Jersey, candidates must be U.S. citizens, registered to vote in the district for which they are running, and have lived in that district for at least one year. Candidates must also submit nominating petitions with the signatures of at least 10 registered voters in the district to get on the ballot. The filing deadline for this election was on July 31, 2017.[3]
To vote in New Jersey, you must be a U.S. citizen and a resident of the county for at least 30 days prior to the election. A voter must also be at least 18 years old by the time of the next election in order to register. The voter registration deadline in this election was October 17, 2017.[4]
- See also: Voting in New Jersey and Voter identification laws by state
Candidates and results
Three-year terms (three seats)
Results
| Edison Township Public Schools, At-Large General Election, 3-year terms, 2017 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Jingwei Shi Incumbent |
17.62% | 6,401 |
| Falguni Patel |
17.27% | 6,272 |
| Beth Moroney Incumbent |
16.80% | 6,100 |
| Elizabeth Conway | 14.11% | 5,124 |
| Carol Bodofsky | 13.90% | 5,050 |
| Maria Wise | 8.24% | 2,992 |
| Aqib Virani | 4.82% | 1,749 |
| Ruchika Juneja | 3.79% | 1,378 |
| Sunil Vuppula | 3.45% | 1,254 |
| Total Votes | 36,320 | |
| Source: Middlesex County, New Jersey, "Historical Election Results: November 2017," accessed March 22, 2018 | ||
Candidates
Beth Moroney 
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Jingwei Shi
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Carol Bodofsky | |||
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| Elizabeth Conway | Ruchika Juneja | Falguni Patel
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| Aqib Virani | Sunil Vuppula | Maria Wise | |||
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One-year term (one seat)
Results
| Edison Township Public Schools, At-Large General Election, 1-year term, 2017 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Paul Distefano Incumbent |
63.94% | 7,223 |
| William Araujo | 36.06% | 4,073 |
| Total Votes | 11,296 | |
| Source: Middlesex County, New Jersey, "Historical Election Results: November 2017," accessed March 22, 2018 | ||
Candidates
| Paul Distefano
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William Araujo | ||
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Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: New Jersey elections, 2017
This 2017 school board election in New Jersey shared the ballot with elections for:
The Middlesex County Board of Elections did not have information posted on its website about any local elections sharing the ballot with this election as of October 26, 2017.
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines in this 2017 New Jersey school board race:
Endorsements
Do you know of an official or organization that endorsed a candidate in this race? Let Ballotpedia know by email at editor@ballotpedia.org.
Campaign finance
Reports
No candidate in this election except for Jingwei Shi reported campaign contributions or expenditures as of October 17, 2017, according to the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission.[2] Shi reported $18,254.50 in contributions and $8,698.00 in expenditures, leaving his campaign with $9,556.50 cash on hand as of October 17, 2017.[2]
General guidelines
School board candidates in New Jersey had to file reports of their campaign financial activity with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission. Each candidate is required to appoint a treasurer (a candidate may serve as his or her own treasurer) and create a campaign bank account and file this information with the commission. Candidates must establish a reporting committee, and no later than 10 days after establishing a committee, the candidate must file the Single Candidate Committee Certificate of Organization and Designation of Campaign Treasurer and Depository form.[5][6]
A candidate must begin filing reports with the commission on a date that depends upon when the committee's financial activity begins. If a candidate committee is set up within five months or less of the due date of the 29-Day Pre-Election Report, the committee must file a 29-Day Pre-Election Report as the initial election fund report. If the committee is established more than five months prior to the due date of the 29-Day Pre-Election Report, the committee must file a quarterly report as its initial election fund report. Beginning the thirteenth day before the election day and ending on election day, if a candidate receives more than $1,600 from a single source, the committee must file a report within 48 hours.[7]
The table below displays the campaign finance reporting dates for this 2017 school board election.
Past elections
To see results from past elections in Edison Township Public Schools, click here.
What was at stake?
Issues in the election
Postcard from unknown group calls for deportation of two school board candidates
A postcard was sent to Edison residences ahead of the school board election saying, "The Chinese and Indians are taking over our town. Chinese school! Indian school! Cricket fields! Enough is enough." Above these words were the photos of Falguni Patel and Jingwei Shi, two of the Edison school board candidates. The bottom of their photos was covered with the word "Deport."[8]
The back of the postcard read: "Stop the overcrowding! Stop taking over our sports fields! Stop the McMansions! Stop the multiple families living in the same house! Stop wasting school holiday! Stop the outsiders! Let's take back Edison and our schools!"[8]
The postcards were mailed anonymously, and no person or group had been credited with sending them as of November 2, 2017. Campaign finance reports also did not disclose who paid for the fliers.[9]
In a joint statement, Patel and Shi gave Buzzfeed News the following response to the mailers:[9]
| “ | We decided to run for the Edison Board of Education so we can improve educational opportunities for all the students of Edison, this is the only reason we got involved. Edison is a wonderful community full of amazing people of all backgrounds, this is our strength. So, we will not be distracted by these unfortunate attacks. They are un-American and not the Edison we know. Those who are responsible for these actions should be held accountable.
When our naysayers go low, we will go high and double our efforts to build a better future together. We will continue to focus on our campaign and work for the students and taxpayers of this town that we love.[10] |
” |
| —Falguni Patel and Jerry Shi (2017)[9] | ||
Edison mayor Thomas Lankey responded to the mailers:
| “ | Edison has proudly embraced our ethnic, cultural and religious diversity...It has become a sad reality that in our polarized political atmosphere, some people suddenly feel empowered to publicly express these vile nativist ideas. Make no mistake, we will do everything we can to expose the shameful people behind this.[10] | ” |
| —Thomas Lankey (2017)[8] | ||
Report a story for this election
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About the district
Edison Township Public Schools is located in Middlesex County in east-central New Jersey. The seat of county government is New Brunswick. Middlesex County was home to an estimated 837,073 residents between 2010 and 2016, according to the United States Census Bureau.[11] The district was the sixth-largest school district in the state in the 2014-2015 school year and served 15,060 students.[12]
Demographics
Middlesex County outperformed New Jersey as a whole in terms of higher education attainment from 2011 to 2015. The United States Census Bureau found that 41.0 percent of county residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree or higher, compared to 36.8 percent of all state residents. The median household income in the county was $79,593, compared to $72,093 for the entire state. County residents lived below the poverty level at a rate of 8.5 percent, while that rate was 10.8 percent for all state residents.[11]
| Racial Demographics, 2016[11] | ||
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| Race | Middlesex County (%) | New Jersey (%) |
| White | 61.0 | 72.4 |
| Black or African American | 11.4 | 15.0 |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.6 | 0.6 |
| Asian | 24.8 | 9.8 |
| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Two or More Races | 2.1 | 2.2 |
| Hispanic or Latino | 20.7 | 20.0 |
Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Edison Township Public Schools New Jersey election. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Edison Township Public Schools | New Jersey | School Boards |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Elisabeth Moore, "Email exchange with Cassandra Achille, Middlesex County Elections official," August 14, 2017
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, "Filings," accessed October 17, 2017
- ↑ New Jersey School Boards Association, "How to Become a School Board Member," accessed August 29, 2017
- ↑ New Jersey Department of State, "Register to Vote!" accessed August 29, 2017
- ↑ New Jersey Permanent Statutes, "Title 19:44A-11," accessed January 9, 2014
- ↑ New Jersey Permanent Statutes, "Title 19:44A-10," accessed January 9, 2014
- ↑ New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, "Compliance Manual for Candidates," accessed January 9, 2014
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 NJ.com, "Racist 'Make Edison Great Again' mailer targets Asian school board candidates," November 2, 2017
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Buzzfeed, "Racist Election Flyers Were Anonymously Sent Out Calling For Two Asian Candidates To Be Deported," November 2, 2017
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Quickfacts:United States Census Bureau, "Middlesex County, New Jersey," accessed September 5, 2017
- ↑ U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, "Common Core of Data, file ccd_lea_052_1414_w_0216161a, 2014-2015," accessed November 16, 2016
| Edison Township Public Schools elections in 2017 | |
| Middlesex County, New Jersey | |
| Election date: | November 7, 2017 |
| Candidates: | At-Large (3-year terms): Incumbent, Beth Moroney • Incumbent, Jingwei Shi • Carol Bodofsky • Elizabeth Conway • Ruchika Juneja • Falguni Patel • Aqib Virani • Sunil Vuppula • Maria Wise At-Large (1-year term): Incumbent, Paul Distefano • William Araujo |
| Important information: | What was at stake? |
