Mark Carvajal
Mark Carvajal was an at-large member of the Perth Amboy Board of Education in New Jersey. He was first elected to the board in 2010. Carvajal lost his re-election bid on November 5, 2013 against eight other candidates for three available seats.
Biography
Carvajal has served as an instructor for Citizen's Campaign, a New Jersey-based nonprofit organization focused on improving local governance. He served as a member of the Perth Amboy Democratic Committee in addition to his board responsibilities.[1]
Elections
2013
Carvajal sought re-election to the board against eight other candidates in the November 5, 2013 general election. He was running with Benjamin L. Salerno as part of the United for Better Education slate until Salerno disbanded the slate in early October. Salerno stated that he wanted to separate his campaign from the tensions on the existing board.[2]
Results
| Perth Amboy Board of Education, At-large General election, 3-year term, 2013, 2013 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan |  Israel Varela Incumbent |
17.1% | 1,741 | |
| Nonpartisan | Anthony Bermudez |
16.4% | 1,666 | |
| Nonpartisan | Samuel Lebreault |
15.3% | 1,559 | |
| Nonpartisan | Mark Carvajal Incumbent | 11.4% | 1,161 | |
| Nonpartisan | Anton J. Massopust Incumbent | 10.7% | 1,090 | |
| Nonpartisan | Reyes Ortega | 10.4% | 1,061 | |
| Nonpartisan | Benjamin L. Salerno | 10.1% | 1,026 | |
| Nonpartisan | Junior Iglesia | 4.6% | 472 | |
| Nonpartisan | Damaris Isales | 3.9% | 392 | |
| Total Votes | 10,168 | |||
| Source: Middlesex County, "Election Results," November 12, 2013</ref> | ||||
Funding
Carvajal reported $10,581.09 in contributions and $1,205.00 in expenditures to the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, which left his campaign with $9,376.09 on hand.[3]
Endorsements
Carvajal did not receive any endorsements in this election.
2010
Carvajal won election to the board along with Kurt Rebovich, Jr. and Israel Varela on April 20, 2010.
| Perth Amboy Board of Education, April 20, 2010 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan | Mark Carvajal |
38.2% | 841 | |
| Nonpartisan | Kurt Rebovich, Jr. |
32.5% | 717 | |
| Nonpartisan | Israel Varela |
29.3% | 646 | |
| Total Votes | 2,204 | |||
| Source: City of Perth Amboy | ||||
Campaign themes
2013
In an interview with MyCentralJersey.com, Carvajal explained his top priorities in the 2013 campaign:[1]
|
"The first goal for myself and my running mate Benjamin Salerno will be to participate in the selection of a new superintendent of Schools since our current superintendent will be leaving at the conclusion of this school year. It is important that our new superintendent is in place as soon as possible so as not to disrupt the planning and preparations that occur during the summer. To guarantee that this occurs, I have announced as Board President my intention to form a selection advisory committee composed of different stakeholders in our community to help the Board screen the best qualified candidates. It is my intention to seek to hire the best qualified candidate who is willing to implement reforms needed to improve our district and who also will be willing to work collaboratively with different elements of our school community. A second goal is to continue to find creative ways to address the overcrowding issues throughout the entire district but most especially at Perth Amboy High School. We will need to continue to identify space in the City where we can construct new school buildings or continue to identify existing space that can be converted for public school use. This will require that the Board works to improve its relationship with the state in order to secure monies for acquisition and/or construction. We should also seriously consider seeking funds to build an addition to the existing high school as an interim step. By locating additional classroom space we can begin to reduce class size so that we can try to improve our student performance. A third goal is to support the enforcement and updating of the Student Code of Conduct. I have received too many reports from teachers that the Code of Conduct is no longer being enforced evenly across the district. This creates chaos in the district. I would strongly support setting up a committee of Board Members, administrators and Teachers to meet in order to update the Code and make sure that it is properly applied." |
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Mark + Carvajal + Perth + Amboy + Schools"
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 MyCentralJersey.com, "Mark Carvajal, candidate for Perth Amboy Board of Education," September 30, 2013
- ↑ MyCentralJersey.com, "Two Perth Amboy BOE candidates sever campaign ties," October 8, 2013
- ↑ New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, "Standard Search," accessed December 27, 2013
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