HOBOKEN — “Kids First,” the group of moms/”reformers” that has been slowly gaining a majority on the Board of Education for nearly five years, were given a six-vote bloc on the nine-member board by the Hoboken voters last night.
Even gubernatorial robo-calls couldn’t convince Hoboken voters that the school budget needed further examination. The $57.8 million budget passed by more than 500 votes (1,769-1256), after passing by only 100 votes in 2009. This year the budget saw a 2 percent reduction from the budget voted on the previous year.
Three three-year terms were filled by Irene Sobolov (1,626), Leon Gold (1,464) and current board President Rose Markle (1,322).
For the final full-term seat, Markle leads John Madigan, a former district employee who was let go by the board, by only 66 votes. The election night tally includes machine votes and absentee ballots, but not provisional ballots. Provisional ballots are cast by voters due to extenuating circumstances at the time of the election, for instance since a few voting machines had problems yesterday – two machines were allegedly down for two hours each – voters cast provisional ballots.
The county will review the ballots in the coming days and the final count should be complete by the end of the week, according to City Clerk Jim Farina.
Since several machines were down, the provisional count may be high, which means Madigan could potentially pass Markle for the final seat.
Jean Marie Mitchell, another “Kids First” candidate, bested two other contenders for a one-year term on the board.
The “Kids First” group was endorsed by Mayor Dawn Zimmer, and beat out a slate of four Republicans called “Real Results.”
Turnout was almost identical to 2009, with 4,982 voters visiting the polls. — TJC