Elizabeth Public Schools elections (2014)
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Three seats on the Elizabeth Public Schools Board of Education were up for general election on November 4, 2014.
Incumbents Rafael Fajardo, Francisco González, and Paul Perreira ran against challengers Ana Maria Amin, Stefano Calella, Maria Z. Carvalho, Malik J. Jackson, Anthony Padlo, and Virginia San Pedro for the seats.[1] Two slates competed for the seats. The "Continue the Progress" slate included Fajardo, Perreira, and Calella. The "Unity for Education" slate included Amin, Carvalho, and Jackson. González, Padlo, and San Pedro did not run as part of a slate, and all three candidates withdrew from the race before the general election.
Amin, Carvalho, and Fajardo won the general election.
About the district
- See also: Elizabeth Public Schools, New Jersey
Elizabeth Public Schools is located in Union County, New Jersey. The county seat is Elizabeth. Union County had a population of 548,256 residents, according to the United States Census Bureau in 2014.[2] In the 2011-2012 school year, Elizabeth Public Schools was the fourth-largest school district in New Jersey and served 23,386 students.[3]
Demographics
In 2012, Union County had a lower percentage of residents with a bachelor's degree compared to the state overall. The United States Census Bureau reported that 31.6 percent of residents aged 25 and older in the county had earned a bachelor's degree, compared with 35.4 percent for New Jersey. The median household income in Union County was $69,347, below the state median of $71,637. The poverty rate in the county was 10.4 percent, compared to 9.9 percent for New Jersey as a whole.[2]
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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.
Voter and candidate information
As of the 2014 election, the Elizabeth Board of Education consisted of nine members elected at-large to three-year terms. There was no primary election, and the general election was held on November 4, 2014. Three seats were up for election in 2014.[1]
School board candidates had to file with their county elections department during the candidate filing period, which ended on July 28, 2014. The deadline to file objections to candidate petitions was on August 1, 2014, and the deadline to withdraw was on August 26, 2014. To vote in the 2014 general election, voters had to register by October 14, 2014.[5]
Elections
2014
Candidates
At-large
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Withdrawn candidates:
- Francisco González
- Incumbent
- Graduate, Union County Technical Institute
- Design supervisor, the Mobility Unit of Alcatel-Lucent
- Anthony Padlo
- Remarketing logistics coordinator, Enterprise Holdings
- Former board member (2012, 2013)
Results
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan |  Ana Maria Amin |
17.8% | 5,772 | |
| Nonpartisan | Paul Perreira Incumbent |
17.4% | 5,642 | |
| Nonpartisan | Maria Z. Carvalho |
17% | 5,527 | |
| Nonpartisan | Rafael Fajardo Incumbent | 16.7% | 5,429 | |
| Nonpartisan | Malik J. Jackson | 16.6% | 5,400 | |
| Nonpartisan | Stefano Calella | 14.3% | 4,640 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in votes | 0.1% | 28 | |
| Total Votes | 32,438 | |||
| Source: Union County Clerk, "Official 2014 General Election Results," November 14, 2014 | ||||
Campaign finance
Candidates did not report any contributions or expenditures during the election, according to the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission.[6]
Candidates running as part of the "Continue the Progress" slate did not report any contributions or expenditures during the election. Those candidates were incumbents Rafael Fajardo and Paul Perreira and former board member Stefano Calella.
Candidates running as part of the "Unity for Education" slate did not report any contributions or expenditures during the election. Those candidates were newcomers Ana Maria Amin, Maria Z. Carvalho, and Malik J. Jackson.
Francisco González, Anthony Padlo, and Virginia San Pedro did not report any contributions or expenditures during the election.
Past elections
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2014
Issues in the election
Super PACs in local elections
The Elizabeth Board of Education approved a resolution in March 2014 calling on U.S. Sens. Cory Booker (D) and Bob Menendez (D) to pass legislation preventing Super PACs from becoming involved in local elections. In the 2013 election, a group called the "Committee for Economic Growth and Social Justice" spent $176,116 in three school board races, including the one in Elizabeth Public Schools. Elizabeth Board President A. Tony Monteiro criticized the spending and stated, "We've never experienced or expected that outside interest groups would come in and invest this kind of money into a local school board race. [...] It boggles the mind."[7] Two challengers supported by the Super PAC, Stan Neron and José M. Rodríguez, defeated incumbents Stefano Calella and Anthony Padlo. Both Calella and Padlo ran for re-election in the race on November 4, 2014.
The Super PAC was launched in August 2012 by individuals affiliated with state Senator Raymond Lesniak (D-20), who had clashed with the Elizabeth Board of Education following a federal investigation into the district’s school lunch program. The 2012 investigation resulted in two board members and two district attorneys being charged with "falsifying school lunch program applications." After the investigation concluded, Lesniak publicly supported the removal of all board members, while the board endorsed his 2011 and 2013 Democratic primary challengers.
Lesniak defended the Super PAC, to which he contributed $15,000 in 2013, noting that it voluntarily discloses its donors even though it is not legally required to do so. He also argued that the 2013 incumbents were not at a significant disadvantage, stating, “They raised hundreds of thousands of dollars a year from vendors and public school employees. They should pass a resolution barring candidates from accepting donations from public school employees and vendors if they were serious about campaign reform.”[8]
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for the Elizabeth Public Schools election in 2014:[5]
| Deadline | Event |
|---|---|
| July 28, 2014 | Last day for candidates to file nomination petitions |
| August 1, 2014 | Last day to file objections to candidate nomination petitions |
| August 26, 2014 | Last day for candidates to withdraw |
| October 6, 2014 | 29-day pre-election campaign finance report due |
| October 14, 2014 | Last day to register to vote in the general election |
| October 24, 2014 | 11-day pre-election campaign finance report due |
| November 4, 2014 | General election day |
| November 24, 2014 | 20-day post-election campaign finance report due |
Additional elections on the ballot
This election shared the ballot with general elections for a U.S. House seat, a U.S. Senate seat, and other municipal offices.[9]
See also
- New Jersey
- Elizabeth Public Schools, New Jersey
- Elizabeth Public Schools elections (2013)
- New Jersey school board elections, 2014
- List of school board elections in 2014
- School board elections, 2014
- Union County, New Jersey ballot measures
- Local ballot measures, New Jersey
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Elizabeth Public Schools, "Candidates for School Board Election," accessed August 30, 2014
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 United States Census Bureau, "Union County, New Jersey," accessed July 24, 2014
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "ELSI Table Generator," accessed April 22, 2014
- ↑ State of New Jersey Department of State, "Statewide Voter Registration Summary," accessed October 27, 2013
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Union County Election Division, "2014 Election Dates," accessed August 1, 2014
- ↑ New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, "Standard Search," accessed October 15, 2014
- ↑ USA Today, "Federal super PACs spend big on local elections," February 25, 2014
- ↑ The Star-Ledger, "Elizabeth school board wants Super PACs out of local elections," March 27, 2014
- ↑ Union County, New Jersey, "Candidate List for the General Election," accessed August 31, 2014
| 2014 Elizabeth Public Schools Elections | |
| Union County, New Jersey | |
| Election date: | November 4, 2014 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Incumbent, Rafael Fajardo • Incumbent, Francisco González • Incumbent, Paul Perreira • Ana Maria Amin • Stefano Calella • Maria Z. Carvalho • Malik J. Jackson • Anthony Padlo • Virginia San Pedro |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
