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| "A Smarter Future" Candidates- 2015 |
This article from NJ.COM---- In a late-night upset, an incumbent Hoboken school board member was joined in the top the spots by two newcomers who challenged his mayor-backed slate on Tuesday night, based on the unofficial tally.
"I am so happy. I wish all three of us (on my slate) could have won. I think we ran a nice, clean campaign and we stayed on issues about the high school and about the charter schools," said an exuberant John Madigan, after receiving news late Tuesday night that he had not only not lost, but had been the evening's highest vote-getter. "Our issues were on point. The high school has dropped. They (the other slate) would not tell you the truth and the lawsuit, people were sick of the lawsuit."
Incumbent Thomas Kluepfel was the only member of the "Reach Higher, Hoboken" slate to be voted in, after the counting of the mail-in votes bumped his two running mates from their second and third place positions around 11:30 p.m.
Kluepfel, who was elected to the school board in 2012, received 2,572 votes. Madigan received 2,711 votes, and his running mate Britney Montgomery received 2,379 votes.
"No congratulations are in order. This was a cynical defeat for Hoboken public education and district parents," Kluepfel said after the election.
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| Results of 2015 HBOE Election (unofficial) |
Madigan, a youth sports volunteer and parent to a county school student and older graduates, and Montgomery, a former New York City public schools teacher for 14 years, were both on the "Smarter Future" slate that did not have Mayor Dawn Zimmer's backing, unlike "Reach Higher, Hoboken."
"I'm really excited. I think we started some good conversations. We started getting different pockets of the community thinking and talking... It's not 'charter versus district and private,'" Madigan said, noting that she was ready to work with the board and new superintendent to make the district more "reflective" of "how awesome the town is." "I'm excited to be on the forefront of change."
Kluepfel's running mates Sheillah Dallara and Addys Velez, both parent volunteers and mothers to children in the public school district, appear to have lost by a slim margin, receiving a respective 2,315 and 2,342 votes.
Dallara and Velez have not yet responded to a request for comment.
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| HBOE Candidate Patricia Waiters |
The other "Smarter Future" running mate Alanna Kauffmann, a stay-at-home mother to three children including a prospective public school student, received 1,788 votes.
Independent candidate Patricia Waiters, a public school parent, local activist and opponent of the administration, received 1,521 votes.
"We all want the same thing, right?" Kauffman said after learning she appeared to have lost. "Whoever ends up winning obviously just has to do the best for the children."
She said she would likely run again.
Waiters, a mother of public school students who has run for varied Hoboken offices seven times as an independent, said she is not done running either and will continue to attend every school board meeting.
"I'm feeling a lot better (after the upset)," Waiters said. "The people that (are now) on the board, it feels like they did earn it and deserve it... I ran seven years with not a dime, not one penny I spent, but that shows you the respect that people in my community have for me."
"Could you imagine if the turnout was good, how many votes I'd have?" she asked. "I'm going to change that horrible high school system... No magic wand can make Pat Waiters disappear."
Laura Herzog may be reached at lherzog@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @LauraHerzogL. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
