Two incumbents and one political newcomer will be sworn into three of the nine seats on the Hoboken Board of Education in January. Voters elected the Forward Together ticket of incumbents Jennifer Evans and Irene Sobolov and political newcomer Sheillah Dallara to represent them and their children for the next three years.
Of 38,396 registered voters in Hoboken, 22,230 voted in the presidential and local elections on Tuesday and – if one adds the two top vote-getters from each slate – it’s assumed that more than approximately 13,000 cast at least one vote in the school elections.
Hudson County officials had not yet completed counting provisional and mail-in ballots by press time.
By Thursday morning, Evans led the count with 7,800, followed by Dallara with 6,480, and incumbent Sobolov with 6,243. They defeated the Parents United slate of Jessica Nelson (4,951), and Jennifer Rossini (4,355) and Francis Benway (3,941).
The winning slate was endorsed by Mayor Dawn Zimmer.
At the Forward Together victory party at the 10th and Willow Bar & Grill on Tuesday, the winners thanked everyone for their dedication to the campaign and bettering the public school system.
“I am beyond full of emotions,” said Dallara. “The town really came together today.”
Sobolov said the election was unlike any other she has been a part of. “The biggest thing to come out of it was the group mixture of public, private, and civic leaders all coming together for the betterment of our school system.”
She added, “The community really gathered around and supported our public schools today.”
Moving forward
Evans and Sobolov said that their number one focus would be supporting Superintendent Dr. Christine Johnson.
“Dr. Johnson is an educated leader who is always looking forward,” said Evans.
Evans said her focus will also be on the Response to Intervention Program, which helps children who are struggling with subject matter to provide them with extra aid so they do not fall behind. She said, “it’s important not to leave anyone behind.” The program recently expanded to additional grades and to include math.
“There isn’t one magic bullet going forward,” said Sobolov. “I want to make sure I support the superintendent and work to lift the district up.”
Dallara described her biggest passion as the special education programs at the public school that includes her son. “That’s where my passion is and where I will focus,” she said.
Instead of adding special needs programs, she wants to grow other school programs to be more inclusive of special needs children. She said she is the right person for this job, because she’s studied the issue and is a mother of a special needs child.
Election controversy
But the ticket saw some controversy because of the board majority’s past decisions to sue the state to stop one of the district’s charter schools, HoLa, from expanding to seventh and eighth grades. The board majority has argued that the charter schools take too much money and resources from the other public schools. So far, the legal action has been unsuccessful. The current board president is a founder of one of the town’s three charter schools, and several town officials have sent their kids to both the regular public and charter schools.
Why the loss?
The candidates on the Parents United ticket analyzed the reasons they lost and their future involvement, and offered congratulations to the winners.
Nelson said she expected the loss, believing the other ticket was more prepared.
“Realistically, I knew it was coming,” said Nelson. “In any game, whether it’s baseball or an election, a team has to be organized, prepared, and well-funded, and we were not.”
Benway attributed the loss to voter indecisiveness in a few wards and the opposition’s well-run campaign.
Rossini noted that her slate ran against two incumbents and had backing from town officials.
“I think they ran a good campaign they were well organized, well-oiled machine,” said Rossini. “They had the backing of so many people and I think running against two incumbents is really hard.”
Nelson, Benway, and Rossini wouldn’t comment on whether they will seek other public office in the future, but said they would remain involved in the community.
“I have a lot of talents and will continue to use them to be involved,” said Nelson.
Rossini said she is already involved in the community but plans to further her involvement and to work with Superintendent Johnson.
“I’m kind of in love with her,” she said. “She is amazing. So I want to figure out something I can do to work with her and fight for appropriate education for my child.”
Rossini said she would love to be a member of the PTO but believes more meetings should be held after work so that working mothers can be involved.
Nelson offered her congratulations to all three newly-elected officials, especially Evans.
“She is a very fierce competitor and I enjoyed playing against her,” said Nelson. “She has good intentions and deserves it. When I was out campaigning and knocking on doors, she always a few seconds ahead or behind me.”
Rossini said the opposition did a good job and they have made a lot of progress in the schools already and she hopes they continue to do so.
Benway said, of the winners, “Hats off to them; there is no shame in our loss.” He said he hopes the board will move to further separate the middle and high schools.
“As a parent with a 10-year-old daughter,” he said, “that’s on the forefront of my personal concerns and I am sure those elected will do a great job working with Dr. Johnson, and the schools are in good hands.”
He added that they need to remember it’s about the kids and not about them.
SIDEBAR
Election Day problems
Mayor Dawn Zimmer said when she went to vote on Tuesday around 3 p.m., one of the polling volunteers asked her for identification.
She tweeted: “I just got asked for ID to vote in my polling location at Boys & Girls Club. This is not ok Hudson County Board of Elections!”
Michael Harper, who works for the Hudson County Board of Elections, which deals with Election Day complaints, said that this was against state law.
He explained that there are only specific instances in which a polling volunteer can ask for an individual’s ID, such as if there is a question with their registration, like a questionable address, or if they have been an inactive voter.
Harper said he trains volunteers and always goes over when it is appropriate to ask for ID.
“It is the most broken rule,” he said. “It infuriates me.”
He said he doesn’t believe the volunteers are checking ID to harass voters but because of other issues.
“I have had some people tell me they can’t understand the person, it’s too loud, or there is a language barrier, but it is no reason to break the law,” said Harper. “Have people spell out their names or give them a pen and paper so they can write it down for you.”
Some early morning voters complained of long lines, some waiting for almost an hour.
Harper said that in retrospect they should have established more polling locations.
“We didn’t expect numbers bigger than the 2008 election, which had an overwhelming turnout,” said Harper. “If I could do it over, I would add a couple more polling places.”
Although the Superintendent of Elections did dispatch five or six more machines to Hoboken, Harper said that’s not always the answer to the problem. He said there still may be delays the registration tables.
Ira Landgarten, a poll worker at City Hall, said that the biggest issue he had to face was residents going to the wrong polling location.
Police Chief Ken Ferrante said he only had to dispatch an officer twice, once because a resident accused a poll worker of disrespect and the other was because a charter school felt the polling space was too crowded next to the school (the regular district schools were closed but not all other schools and activities were.)
Ferrante told the school no adjustments could be made because, the election had already begun.
Marilyn Baer can be reached at marilynb@hudsonreporter.com.