Richard Kanka
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2009 - Present
2027
16
Richard Kanka is an at-large representative on the Hamilton Township Board of Education in New Jersey. He was first elected to the board in 2009.[1] Kanka sought another term in the nonpartisan general election on November 3, 2015.[2] He successfully won another term on the board.[3]
Kanka was an unsuccessful 2011 Republican candidate for District 14 of the New Jersey State Senate.[4]
Biography
Kanka is a heating and air conditioning mechanic. He championed a sex offender notification law called Megan's Law, which is named after his daughter. Megan was raped and murdered by a convicted sex offender when she was seven years old.[5]
Elections
2015
Three of the nine seats on the Hamilton Township School District Board of Education were up for at-large general election on November 3, 2015. Incumbents Albert Gayzik, Richard Kanka, and Jen Barnock Riddell ran for re-election. Kanka won re-election, while challengers Susan Ferrara and Michelle Episcopo joined the board.[3] Kanka, Ferrara, and Episcopo defeated Gayzik, Riddell, George Fisher, John Kroschwitz II, and Gregory Mahon.[2] Gayzik and Kroschwitz ran together as part of a slate.[6] Garret Hengeli originally filed to run in this election, but he withdrew from the race.
Results
| Hamilton Township Board of Education, At-large, General Election, 2015 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Richard Kanka Incumbent |
18.1% | 6,379 |
| Susan Ferrara |
15.9% | 5,618 |
| Michelle Episcopo |
13.1% | 4,642 |
| Gregory Mahon | 11.6% | 4,110 |
| George Fisher | 11.6% | 4,107 |
| John Kroschwitz II | 11.3% | 3,987 |
| Albert Gayzik Incumbent | 9.5% | 3,356 |
| Jen Barnock Riddell Incumbent | 8.5% | 3,015 |
| Write-in votes | 0.29% | 101 |
| Total Votes | 35,315 | |
| Source: Mercer County, "Official Results," accessed November 20, 2015 | ||
Funding
Kanka reported no contributions or expenditures to the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission in the election.[7]
The first campaign finance reporting deadline was October 5, 2015. Candidates had to file another report on October 23, 2015, and the last report was due November 23, 2015.[8]
Endorsements
Kanka received no official endorsements in this election.
2012
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Jennifer L. Barnock Riddell |
18.1% | 10,971 | |
| Nonpartisan | Richard J. Kanka Incumbent |
16.5% | 10,003 | |
| Nonpartisan | Albert Gayzik |
13.5% | 8,158 | |
| Nonpartisan | Anthony G. Celentano | 12.4% | 7,506 | |
| Nonpartisan | Vincent McKelvey | 11.7% | 7,087 | |
| Nonpartisan | Eric W. Hamilton Incumbent | 9.5% | 5,757 | |
| Nonpartisan | Greg Schultz | 9.2% | 5,598 | |
| Nonpartisan | George W. Fisher | 9.1% | 5,492 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in votes | 0.1% | 51 | |
| Total Votes | 60,623 | |||
| Source: Hamilton Pulse, "Ticket Splitting Dominates School Board Election," accessed October 30, 2013 | ||||
2011
- See also: New Jersey State Senate elections, 2011
Kanka ran unopposed for the District 14 seat on the New Jersey State Senate in the primary on June 7, 2011. He was then defeated by Democratic incumbent Linda Greenstein in the general election on November 8, 2011.
| New Jersey State Senate District 14 General Election, 2011 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Linda Greenstein Incumbent |
55.3% | 26,206 | |
| Republican | Richard Kanka | 44.7% | 21,176 | |
| Total Votes | 47,382 | |||
Speculation
Asbury Park Press
District 14 was one of only three districts that the Asbury Park Press identified as competitive in 2011. The other two were Districts 2 and 38. The APP said that Districts 2 and 38 may have leaned more Republican after 2011 redistricting, and District 14 may have still favored Democrats. As evidence, they cited a drop in registered Democrats in Districts 2 and 38, and only a small decrease in registered Democrats in District 14. APP argued that history had shown that districts where Democrats held less than a 10,000 registered voter advantage typically favored the GOP. The Democratic registration advantage in District 14 was roughly 21,000, which was down from 25,000.[9]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Richard Kanka' 'Hamilton Township School District'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Hamilton Township School District, New Jersey
- Hamilton Township School District elections (2015)
- Incumbency no guarantee of success in Nov. 3 school board elections (November 6, 2015)
- What happened in Nov.'s top board elections? (November 4, 2015)
External links
- Hamilton Township School District
- Office website
- New Jersey Senate campaign website
- Project Vote Smart biography
Footnotes
- ↑ The Trentonian, "Crowded field: 9 candidates vying for 3 spots on Hamilton school board," August 6, 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 NJ.com, "School board candidates file petitions for November election," July 29, 2015
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Mercer County, "Unofficial Results," accessed November 3, 2015
- ↑ Star Ledger, "N.J. Assembly, Senate hopefuls rush to get required signatures under new legislative map," April 6, 2011
- ↑ NJ.com, "Richard Kanka, father behind Megan's Law, will announce N.J. Senate run in 14th District," April 5, 2011
- ↑ New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, "GAYZIK & KROSCWITZ FOR SCHOOL BOARD," accessed October 6, 2015
- ↑ New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, "View a Candidate or Election Related Committee Report," accessed November 24, 2015
- ↑ New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, "2015 Reporting Dates," accessed July 21, 2015
- ↑ Asbury Park Press, "Race for Legislature is on," September 23, 2011
| 2015 Hamilton Township School District Elections | |
| Mercer County, New Jersey | |
| Election date: | November 3, 2015 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Incumbent, Albert Gayzik • Incumbent, Richard Kanka • Incumbent, Jen Barnock Riddell • Michelle Episcopo • Susan Ferrara • George Fisher • John Kroschwitz II • Gregory Mahon |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
