Sudhan Thomas
Sudhan Thomas was an at-large member of the Jersey City Public Schools Board of Education in New Jersey. Thomas left office on January 6, 2020.
Thomas ran for re-election for an at-large seat of the Jersey City Public Schools Board of Education in New Jersey. Thomas lost in the general election on November 5, 2019.
Thomas won the seat in the at-large general election on November 8, 2016. He was part of the Education Matters slate of candidates.
Elections
2019
See also: Jersey City Public Schools, New Jersey, elections (2019)
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 5, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Gerald Lyons (Nonpartisan) | 16.8 | 11,150 |
| ✔ | Noemi Velazquez (Nonpartisan) | 14.8 | 9,813 | |
| ✔ | Alexander Hamilton (Nonpartisan) | 14.8 | 9,805 | |
| Tara Stafford (Nonpartisan) | 13.1 | 8,640 | ||
| Darwin Ona (Nonpartisan) | 12.6 | 8,331 | ||
 | Sudhan Thomas (Nonpartisan) | 12.5 | 8,245 | |
| Asheenia Johnson (Nonpartisan) | 12.1 | 8,005 | ||
Neisha Louhar (Nonpartisan)  | 3.2 | 2,088 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.2 | 120 | ||
| Total votes: 66,197 | |||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Reginald Jones (Nonpartisan)
2016
Three of the nine seats on the Jersey City Public Schools Board of Education were up for at-large general election on November 8, 2016. No incumbents filed for re-election. Ten candidates filed in the race, including former candidate Gina Verdibello and former board member Angel Valentin. They faced eight newcomers: Asmaa Abdalla, Mussab Ali, Luis Fernandez, Kimberly Goycochea, Natalia Ioffe, Mark Rowan, Sudhan Thomas, and Matthew Schapiro. Valentin, Fernandez, and Thomas won in the general election. Three candidates filed in the race but withdrew their candidacy and did not appear on the ballot: Dominique Lee, DeJon Morris, and Jose Vasquez.[1][2]
Results
| Jersey City Public Schools, At-large General Election, 3-year terms, 2016 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Angel Valentin |
15.96% | 16,308 |
| Sudhan Thomas |
15.69% | 16,033 |
| Luis Fernandez |
13.24% | 13,534 |
| Gina Verdibello | 12.54% | 12,815 |
| Matthew Schapiro | 12.34% | 12,615 |
| Asmaa Abdalla | 11.01% | 11,252 |
| Mussab Ali | 6.15% | 6,290 |
| Natalia Ioffe | 5.27% | 5,389 |
| Mark Rowan | 4.14% | 4,231 |
| Kimberly Goycochea | 3.66% | 3,736 |
| Total Votes | 102,203 | |
| Source: NJ.com, "Hudson County real-time election results 2016," November 8, 2016 These election results are unofficial and will be updated after official vote totals are made available. | ||
Endorsements
Thomas was endorsed in the election by Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop (D), the Jersey City Police and Firefighter Department unions, and the Jersey City Education Association (JCEA).[3] He was also endorsed in the election by New Jersey Assemblyman Raj Mukherji (D-33) and the College Democrats of New Jersey.[4][5]
Campaign themes
2019
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Sudhan Thomas did not complete Ballotpedia's 2019 Candidate Connection survey.
About the district
- See also: Jersey City Public Schools, New Jersey
Jersey City Public Schools is located in northwestern New Jersey in Hudson County. The county seat is Jersey City. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Hudson County was home to 674,836 residents between 2010 and 2015.[6] The district was the second-largest school district in the state in the 2013–2014 school year and served 27,571 students.[7]
Demographics
Hudson County underperformed in terms of median household income between 2010 and 2014, compared to New Jersey as a whole. The median household income in the county was $58,973, compared to $72,062 statewide. The poverty rate in Hudson County was 17.7 percent, compared to 10.8 percent for the entire state. The Census Bureau also found that 36.8 percent of Hudson County residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree, compared to 36.4 percent statewide.[6]
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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.
Noteworthy events
Thomas charged with embezzlement, money laundering, and fraud (2020)
On November 2, 2020, federal authorities charged Thomas with 26 counts of embezzlement, money laundering, and fraud. According to NJ.com, Thomas was "accused of embezzling $45,000 from JCETP, an organization receiving federal funds, as well as wire fraud and money laundering in connection with the JCETP theft...But Thomas was also charged with wire fraud for embezzling money from his 2016 Jersey City school board campaign; wire fraud for embezzling money from his 2019 campaign; and bank fraud for stealing checks issued by and to another school board candidate’s campaign in 2018...[He] also faces mail and wire fraud counts for schemes to defraud two separate Florida companies."[9] As of November 24, 2020, Ballotpedia staff could not identify a response from Thomas.
Indicted on charges of bribery and misconduct (2021)
On February 16, 2021, New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal announced that Thomas and four other former state officials were indicted on bribery and misconduct charges after accepting illegal campaign contributions from a cooperating witness.[10] Thomas and the other politicians were originally charged with second-degree bribery on December 19, 2019, as a result of a corruption investigation spanning two New Jersey counties.[11]
Between May and July of 2019, Thomas allegedly accepted $35,000 in cash payments from a tax attorney, who served as the witness in the case, in exchange for a position as special counsel to the Board of Eduction.[11][12] Thomas later appeared in a county superior court on February 5, 2020, and pleaded not guilty to the charge.[13] That day, judge Thomas J. Critchley, Jr. set a return date of March 24, but the hearing was postponed when New Jersey courts closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.[14] Click here to read more about state court closures in response to the pandemic.
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Sudhan Thomas Jersey City Public Schools. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
2019 Elections
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- Jersey City Public Schools
- Personal website
- Campaign website
- Education Matters website
Footnotes
- ↑ Mandy Gillip, "Phone conversation with district business administration office," August 2, 2016
- ↑ Hudson County View, "Newark BRICK Academy Schools CEO withdraws from Jersey City BOE race," September 7, 2016
- ↑ New Jersey, "Jersey City teachers union endorses three in November school board race," August 22, 2016
- ↑ Hudson County View, "Assemblyman Raj Mukherji endorses Sudhan Thomas for Jersey City BOE," August 15, 2016
- ↑ Hudson County View, "LETTER: College Democrats of NJ endorse Sudhan Thomas for Jersey City BOE," August 15, 2016
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 United States Census Bureau, "Hudson County, New Jersey," accessed September 20, 2016
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "ELSI Table Generator," accessed November 16, 2015
- ↑ State of New Jersey Department of State, "Statewide Voter Registration Summary," accessed October 27, 2013
- ↑ NJ.com, "Former Jersey City school board president and head of re-entry organization indicted by feds," November 2, 2020
- ↑ Hudson Reporter, "Former elected officials indicted," February 17, 2021
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 New Jersey Globe, "AG charges five North Jersey politicians, including Sudhan Thomas, with taking bribes," December 19, 2019
- ↑ Patch.com, "Jersey City School Board Pres., 4 More Charged With Taking Bribes," December 19, 2019
- ↑ MorristownGreen.com, "Former Jersey City school board president enters not guilty plea in bribery case," February 5, 2020
- ↑ MorristownGreen.com, "Morristown First Lady and three others appear in court on state bribery charges," February 10, 2020
| 2016 Jersey City Public Schools Elections | |
| Hudson County, New Jersey | |
| Election date: | November 8, 2016 |
| Candidates: | At-large: Asmaa Abdalla • Mussab Ali • Luis Fernandez • Kimberly Goycochea • Natalia Ioffe • Mark Rowan • Sudhan Thomas • Gina Verdibello • Angel Valentin • Matthew Schapiro |
| Important information: | What was at stake? |
