It's that time again - South Orange BOT election

The next BOT election is in May and the petition filing deadline for interested candidates is 4:00 pm, on March 06, 2017.

The seats held by Trustees Schnall, Clarke and Dubowy are all up. (I have no idea who is or isn't running)

For more information: http://www.southorange.org/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=519

Latest on the BOT election - Schnall and Clarke running, Dubowy is not.

http://villagegreennj.com/election/clarke-hilton-schnall-declare-run-south-orange-board-trustees/

I am very sad to see Jeff Dubowy leave the BOT, but am grateful for his two years of service as a consistent voice of reason..

michaelgoldberg said:

I am very sad to see Jeff Dubowy leave the BOT, but am grateful for his two years of service as a consistent voice of reason..

Is that a compliment to Dubowy or a backhanded insult to the rest of the BOT? Maybe a little of both?

Why do you think he is not running for re-election?

Ha - in this case, it was solely intended as a compliment to Trustee Dubowy who I respect greatly and will miss on the BOT. You would have to ask him why he isn't running.

In the meantime, I hope others step forward to run in May to give voters a choice. Deadline to file is March 06, 2017.

Has anyone else stepped up to run? Are others expected to enter the race?

tomdevon said:

Has anyone else stepped up to run? Are others expected to enter the race?

I saw this posted on Next Door by a local resident:

"Karen Hilton, has just announced that she is running for a seat on the SO Board of Trustees. Karen has lived in town for over 20 years and has raised 3 wonderful children in town. She … View more is a leader in community service, including serving as President of the Friends of the SO Library. She was Executive Director of Emerge NJ and President of JLOSH, among many other roles, over the last 20 plus years.
She is a smart, organized and experienced local leader. She will be a phenomenal addition to the SO Board of Trustees. I hope everyone gets a chance to meet her soon."

Hilton is running with Clarke and Schnall.

http://villagegreennj.com/election/clarke-hilton-schnall-declare-run-south-orange-board-trustees/

Looks like it will be a 4-person race for 3 seats - Current Trustees Schnall and Clarke and newcomers Karen Hilton and Nureed Saeed are all running for BOT in the election on May 9.

Is it common for a BOT candidate to run on his/her own without a slate? Can Saeed have a realistic shot of election against the other 3 running as a slate? Just curious since I don't have a long memory of SO politics.

Tickets have been split - most notably Patrick Joyce in 2001 and Eric DeVaris in 2005 - were both elected along with members of an opposing slate.

michaelgoldberg said:

Tickets have been split - most notably Patrick Joyce in 2001 and Eric DeVaris in 2005 - were both elected along with members of an opposing slate.

Thanks.

Patrick Joyce and Eric DeVaris were both active in the community before they ran.

tomdevon said:

Is it common for a BOT candidate to run on his/her own without a slate? Can Saeed have a realistic shot of election against the other 3 running as a slate? Just curious since I don't have a long memory of SO politics.

I was the last person to do it, 4 years ago. I learned that a slate of 3 has 3 times the reach, 3 times the public meet and greet time, 3 times the network, 3 times the fund raising connections, and probably a fairly established political machine behind it. It was A LOT of work running by myself, especially against 2 slates. I thought I would have done better and maybe had a chance if I was only against one slate.

The ONLY Public forum with all 4 candidates for the Board of Trustees was announced today and will be held on May 2 at 8pm at The Baird. The Election is May 9. Come out and hear what the candidates have to say.

So, have any of the candidates stated a position on the lawn blower issue?

Klinker said:

So, have any of the candidates stated a position on the lawn blower issue?

Ha - GREAT question.  I'd love to hear their thoughts on that, as well.