The results as of this morning; Mack and Donnelly are clear winners but I'm not sure about the third. This may not include absentee and provisional ballots and there is only a (+/-)10 vote difference for the 3rd and 4th person......Anyway, Congratulations to Sue mack and Pete Donnelly..(I'm a huge Sue Mack fan!)

On another note: How sad the voter turnout from Jersey City was only 9,542!

Board of Education City of Jersey City
4/4 100.00%
Vote Count Percent

- Frances O. Thompson 1,212 12.70%

- Susan T. Mack 1,947 20.40%

- John H. McReynolds 1,222 12.81%

- Peter J. Donnelly 1,763 18.48%

Total 9,542 100.00%

Check out the BOE election results at:

http://www.hudsoncountyclerk.org/cgi-bin/election.pl

I was voter #25 in my district in the Heights. It seems there is a 25% turnout rate for this election. Your taxes and rent are paying for the school funding.

At 7:25 PM, I was voter number 31 at Public School 16 in Paulus Hook.

Does anyone know how many voters there are in a Jersey City Ward E precinct?

Around 6:30 p.m., I was the 23rd voter to vote in my precinct. I took about 15 minutes to vote, because my daughter ran around, then wanted to sing the Star Spangled Banner, and I only saw one other voter come in during that period.

It's funny, because someone on JC List sent me a private message the other day stating that I didn't have a right to comment much on a particular topic because I'm not involved in the community groups that are addressing that topic. But sometimes I might actually constitute 2% to 5% of the voting power in my precinct, so maybe I am somebody.

POLLS CLOSE AT 9
Board of ed
Tuesday, April 15, 2008

races in seven

municipalities

School board elections are being held today in seven Hudson County municipalities.

Polls will be open from 2 to 9 p.m. in Guttenberg, Hoboken, Jersey City, Kearny, North Bergen and Weehawken. Polls are open from 1 to 9 p.m. in Secaucus.

The Jersey City election, where there are three seats up for grabs, takes on special meaning this year. The district has been operated under the supervision of the state since 1989, but will soon be turned over to local control.

In Hoboken, the talk from candidates has focused on how to improve schools and the district's image so that parents opt for the public school system over private schools.
http://www.nj.com/news/jjournal/index ... 08240723269630.xml&coll=3

On April 15, 2008, the citizens of Jersey City will again have an opportunity to vote for candidates to represent them on their Board of Education. This spring, with the return of the Jersey City public school system to local control, taxpayers will have a voice in bringing fiscal responsibility back to the Board of Education and help stabilize the school tax rate.

As a serving Board member, I have worked hard to provide taxpayers and their children with early childhood programs, smaller class sizes, enhanced special education services and to provide a safer more secure educational environment. I am asking you for the privilege of serving another three-year term. We have accomplished many things, but there is much more to be done. I believe I have the experience and ability to bring the changes the Jersey City schools need and I ask for your support and your vote.

Please vote for me on April 15, 2008. Polls are open from 2-9 PM. Vote for Sue Mack, Line 4A.

Please share this message with your friends and, if you can, forward it to your email networks.

Thank you,

Suzanne

Agreed Mack and Donnelly know what they are doing. I like Rev. McReynolds as well.

Another vote here for Peter Donnelly and Suzanne Mack. Two professional people who know what they're doing and are committed to the children.

Who's getting your vote for Board of Ed?
Eight candidates left in April 15 election

Ricardo Kaulessar
Hudson Reporter
04/13/2008

THEY WILL DECIDE ? Some in this audience for this Board of Education forum held on March 29, sponsored by the Jersey City branch of the NAACP, will be voting in this year?s Board of Education election this coming Tuesday.
Eight candidates remain in the contest for three seats in this year's Jersey City school board election, which will take place on this coming Tuesday, April 15, from 2 to 9 p.m.

Longtime board member Franklin Williams dropped out of the race two weeks ago due to health reasons, although his name will remain on the ballot. He is not to be confused with candidate Arnold Williams, who is not actively campaigning for a seat but his name will also be on the ballot.

The other candidates include two incumbents - Dr. Peter J. Donnelly and Suzanne Mack - as well as candidates William P. Frasca, Rev. John H. McReynolds, Anthony Morelli, Carolyn Nelson, Sandra Samaniego, and Frances O. Thompson.

Previous editions of The Jersey City Reporter profiled eight of the candidates currently running, appearing in alphabetical order. Those profiles can be found at www.hudsonreporter.com.

The board consists of nine members with three-year terms who meet on the third Thursday of each month. The board oversees one of the largest and most heavily funded school systems in New Jersey, with an approved budget of $627 million for the 2007-2008 school year.

Members take on an advisory role to state-appointed Superintendent of Schools Charles Epps, because the Jersey City school system is currently under state control and has been since 1989. However, legislation was approved in 2005 that will start the process of moving control of some sectors of the schools system back under city supervision early next year.

This coming Thursday, April 17, the Board of Education will hold their monthly meeting where they will announce the official return of the school district to local control.

Two men say they're not campaigning

Franklin Williams recently said that he will continue to attend board meetings as a member of the public, but said that serving three more years is too exhaustive an endeavor.

"When I campaign and when I work on the board, I go all out but at 76 years old, my health isn't what used to be," Williams said.

When asked if people close to him tried to talk him out of not running, Williams said he wouldn't "entertain the conversation."

In this year's board election, however, Williams is endorsing the incumbents - Donnelly and Mack - and challenger Carolyn Nelson, whom he has worked with for many years at the Board of Education.

In addition, candidate Arnold Williams said recently he is not actively campaigning for a seat on the board due to his work on Illinois Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign and a run of his own for Hudson County Freeholder. His name will also remain on the ballot.

At the voting booth

When voters go to their neighborhood polling places on Tuesday, they will be greeted in the voting booth by the Board of Ed candidates on the ballot in the following order: A-1/ Anthony S. Morelli, A-2/Frances O. Thompson, A-3/Carolyn S. Nelson, A-4/Suzanne Mack, A-5/Arnold Williams, A-6/Sandra Samaniego, A-7/John H. McReynolds, A-8/William P. Frasca, A-9/Franklin L.Williams, and A-10/Peter J. Donnelly.

Who will get their vote?

Jersey City resident Mahaley Stewart Bowles has a 12-year-old daughter enrolled at the Academy I School on Bergen Avenue in Jersey City. She is also a regular presence at the Board of Education meetings.

Bowles already knows which candidates will get her vote.

"I will vote for Sue Mack, because she will do everything in her power to advocate for the children; Carolyn Nelson because of her experience working for the Board of Education and work with ethics over the years; and Frances Thompson because of her past work as a councilwoman and you will need that authoritative presence on the board," Bowles said.

Bowles added that whoever is elected to the board, she would like those board members to tackle issues such as what she perceives as the increasing absenteeism of teachers and more recess time for students in schools.

Comments on this story can be sent to rkaulessar@hudsonreporter.com.

Board of Ed candidates debate fiscal issues

Monday, April 07, 2008
By CHARLES HACK
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

As Jersey City schools face a squeeze on state subsidies, six Board of Education candidates at Thursday's pre-election debate discussed how to do more with less.

The six candidates, seeking a three-year school board term in the April 15 election, answered questions Thursday posed by Agustin Torres, editorial page editor for The Jersey Journal.

Participating in the debate were incumbents Peter Donnelly and Sue Mack and challengers Carolyn S. Nelson, Sandra Samaniego, former councilwoman Frances O. Thompson, and Rev. John H. McReynolds of Mount Olive Baptist Church. Five candidates didn't participate.

About 50 people attended the nearly two-hour debate, which was sponsored by Jersey City Families for Better Schools and held in the auditorium of School 4 on Bright Street.

The Jersey City school district is set to return to local control on April 17, but it comes at a difficult time: Gov. Jon Corzine's new funding formula has local pols predicting a $110 million loss in subsidies over the next three years. At the same time, many costs - including salaries - are going up.

The candidates all seemed to agree that the best place to make up the difference would be by ending tax abatements for waterfront developers and instead require them to pay school taxes.

Thompson, a former councilwoman, said she had in the past supported tax abatements but vowed to fight against renewing such deals.

Meanwhile, Nelson said she'd like to see the district slash the number of consulting contracts handed out by the district - even though she herself had received a $13,500 consulting contract starting Aug. 30, 2007. She said she'd suspended work on the contract in January pending the outcome of the election.

The candidates also debated the merits of an elected board vs. an appointed board. Mack touted the option of a hybrid broad, consisting of elected officials plus appointed professionals from local colleges.

Incumbent Franklin L. Williams and challengers William Frasca, Aury Masa-Nunez, Anthony S. Morelli and Arnold Williams did not take part in the debate.

The Hudson County Democratic Organization and the Jersey City Education Association are endorsing Donnelly, Mack and McReynolds.

JCEA, Healy support 2 out of 3 incumbents in school election

Thursday, April 03, 2008

Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy, Hudson County Executive Thomas DeGise and the teachers' union are backing two incumbents for re-election to the Jersey City school board, but have given a third incumbent a thumbs-down, officials said yesterday.

The elected officials and the Jersey City Education Association have decided not to support former schools superintendent Franklin L. Williams - the third incumbent up for re-election on April 15 for another three-year term.

Instead, Healy, DeGise and the union are backing the Rev. John H. McReynolds of Mount Olive Baptist Church, who was initially encouraged to run by former mayor and school board member Gerald McCann.

Also on the ballot are: William Frasca, Aury Masa-Nunez, Carolyn S. Nelson, Sandra Samaniego, former councilwoman Frances O. Thompson, Arnold Williams, and Anthony S. Morelli.

JCEA President Tom Favia said his union has limited its campaigning to a mailer to its roughly 1,300 members in the city. Last year, the union spent about $10,000 per candidate, Favia said. This year, the union will spend a total of roughly$1,000, he said.

All candidates have been invited to a debate tonight at 7 at Middle School No. 4, 107 Bright St.

The debate, moderated by Jersey Journal Editorial Page Editor Agustin Torres, is sponsored by the parent group, Jersey City Families for Better Schools.

KEN THORBOURNE

===================================

Clarification
Friday, April 04, 2008

In yesterday's editions a story about the school board race in Jersey City should have made it clear that Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy, Hudson County Executive Thomas DeGise and the Jersey City Education Association are supporting board members Sue Mack and Peter Donnelly for re-election.