Politics & Government

SOMA Board of Ed Race Too Close To Call

South Orange Nov. 5 Election Results

South Orange and Maplewood Board of Education incumbent Beth Daugherty and newcomer Johanna Wright, have taken the Nov 5. General Election, according to preliminary results posted by the Essex County Clerk's Office.

The third seat remains too close to call as ballots for two districts, provisional and absentee ballots were yet to be counted by midnight.

Ballots for only 31 of the 33 South Orange and Maplewood Districts were totaled for the Board of Education as of 12 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov 6. Once the final districts are counted, the results will remain unofficial until the Clerk's office is able to tally the remaining provisional and absentee ballots.

Find out what's happening in South Orangewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

By midnight in the Board of Education race, Daugherty received 25.33 percent of the vote while Wright received 21.91 percent. The race is close between David Giles and Stephanie Lawson-Muhammad with 18.70 percent and 18.65 respectively.

Marian Cutler remains trailing with 14.98 percent.

Find out what's happening in South Orangewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Whoever comes out on top will serve a three-year term on the Board of Education with Daugherty and Wright.

“The voters of South Orange and Maplewood spoke and elected me to the Board of Education. Thank you for your support!” said Wright. “I can't wait to sit in the 'horse shoe' and serve students with the same passion, energy and authenticity I have demonstrated during my 30 plus years teaching in the district.  But most of all, I want to thank you all for helping me reach this incredible milestone.  Now, it's time to get to work!”

This was the first board of education election on the November ballot based on a law signed by Gov. Chris Christie. The law allows school districts that vote in April to change their election date to coincide with the November general election, and bypass voter approval for budgets that do not exceed the statutory 2 percent cap on property tax hikes.

“Me winning the most votes is a signal that our district is headed in the right direction and we will continue to focus on making sure every student has the opportunity for an excellent education,” said Daugherty. “We welcome Johanna to the Board and look forward to working with her.”

“I'd also like to thank the several hundred people in the campaign effort for their support,” she added. “They worked very hard to educate voters that there was a Board of Election in November for the first time.”

The following are unofficial results from the Essex County Clerk's Office. The current numbers do not reflect absentee of provisional ballots.

South Orange-Maplewood Members of the BOE

Districts = 31/33 (93.94%)

Under Votes = 13357

Over Votes = 3

Johanna WRIGHT = 4,485 (21.91%)

Elizabeth T. DAUGHERTY = 5,187 (25.33%)

Marian CUTLER = 3,067 (14.98%)

David R. GILES = 3,829 (18.70%)

Stephanie M. LAWSON-MUHAMMAD = 3,818 (18.65%)

Write-In = 88 (0.43%)

Total = 20,474 (100.00%)


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