June 5 is Primary and Also Filing Day

While pondering the peculiarities of this year's City Council primary today, I recalled something else that is happening on June 5 - filing for the November school board elections.

Prospective candidates must file in the Union County Clerk's office by 4 p.m. on June 5. Petitions may be picked up from that office or from the Plainfield school district business office on Myrtle Avenue. There are three three-year terms and one one-year unexpired term. The County Clerk's website has information here, including a link to the New Jersey School Boards Association's Candidate Kit.

All school districts in Union County have opted for the November school board election. With a full day of primary election activities, it is unlikely that the County Clerk's Division of Elections can give out information on  those who filed for school board seats the same day. Plaintalker will follow up on June 6.

The former filing date was Feb. 27 for an April 17 election. Now that the election has been moved to Nov. 6, school board members whose terms would have been up in the spring will serve until Jan. 1. They are Lisa Logan Leach and Brenda Gilbert completing three-year terms and Keisha Edwards serving an unexpired term replacing Pat Barksdale. Appointee Susan Phifer replaced Rasheed Abdul-Haqq and will have to run for the balance of his term.


Speaking of Rasheed Abdul-Haqq, he is now the Third Ward City Council candidate, running against incumbent and current Council President Adrian Mapp. Veronica (Roni) Taylor and The Rev. Tracey Brown are vying for the citywide at-large seat. Brown and Mapp are on the Democratic Party line.  Abdul-Haqq and Taylor are running separately, not as a slate. Given the level of intrigue in recent local politics, the outcome is anybody's guess. 

Back to school boards: Those who were elected on April 17 have until tomorrow (Thursday, May 17) to get the criminal background check now required through legislation passed earlier this year. Click here to see what is involved, as it will no doubt apply to November winners as well.

Good luck to all who are running for the City Council or the school board! Public service is (or can be) a noble thing.

--Bernice