Politics & Government

Lawson-Muhammad Takes Third SOMA BOE Seat

Challenger Stephanie Lawson-Muhammad unseats incumbent David Giles by 38 votes.

Stephanie Lawson-Muhammad is the third candidate elected to the South Orange and Maplewood Board of Education after the Nov. 5 election.

Preliminary numbers posted by the Essex County Clerk's Office were clear that incumbent Board of Education President Beth Daugherty and newcomer Johanna Wright won two of the three available seats on the Board.

However, the third seat was too close to call between incumbent David Giles and Stephanie Lawson-Muhammad. 

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With just a spread of 24 votes between the two candidates, it came down to the provisional ballots, which were not counted by the County Board of Elections until Tuesday, Nov. 12, one full week after the polls closed.

According to official results certified by the Essex County Clerk's Office, Lawson-Muhammad was able to pull ahead by just 38 votes.

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

Giles received 3,780 votes on Election Day, 260 mail-in votes and 22 provisional votes, totaling 4,062. Lawson-Muhammad received 3,854 votes at the polls, 210 in mail-in votes and 36 provisionals, winning with a total of 4,100 votes.

“I'm very excited for this opportunity,” said Lawson-Muhammad. “It was an amazing learning experience, going through the process, meeting people of the community, hearing concerns and hearing the praises of the school district. I'm committed to making sure I spend this effort in these next three years really committing to what I said on the campaign trail, making sure that our educational system works for all the children in the district.”

Waiting for the results was difficult since she, Giles and Daugherty all rain a joint campaign, she added.

“I'm committed to making sure his message and his strong support for students with special needs continues to be a voice on the Board,” she said.

“I think we ran a very good, positive campaign and I very much enjoyed running with Beth and Stephanie,” said Giles. “I think Stephanie's experience as a parent, volunteer and her work experience are going to make her a really good Board Member. She has the characteristics of a strong leader, good common sense and knowledge of the issues.”

“I'm really pleased that she did win but obviously I'm sorry that I didn't,” he added. “I very much would have liked to serve a second term and I think I could have benefited the Board with a second term.

Giles said he does yet know if he will decide to run again in the future but thanked his voters for their support and hopes that they will continue to support the work being done in the district.

After all votes, including provisionals were counted, Daugherty had the most votes with 5,516 while Wright came in second with 4,818. Marian Cutler received 3,245. There were also 94 Write-in votes.

The three candidates will serve on the Board of Education for a three-year term.

“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!”

“My 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 the official certified results from the Essex County Clerk's Office.

Grand Total

Daugherty 5,516

Wright 4,818

Giles 4,062

Lawson-Muhammad 4,100

Cutler 3,245

Write-In 94


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