Mayor Adrian O. Mapp's challenge to the Campbell team was vindicated Tuesday when his slate won the school board election decisively.
Wilma Campbell was seeking her fifth term on the board, with running mates Frederick Moore Sr. and James Plummer. The mayor's team, Carmencita Pile, Dorien Hurtt and Lynn Anderson, swept the field of eight candidates with tallies over 1,000 each. Former board member Jackie Coley and newcomer Alice Horton-Mays trailed with fewer than 300 votes each.
The score:
Carmencita Pile, 1,200
Lynn Anderson, 1,177
Dorien Hurtt, 1,150
James Plummer, 965
Wilma Campbell, 955
Frederick Moore Sr., 712
Jackie Coley, 291
Alice Horton-Mays, 262
The board voted in November to move the election back to April, a prerogative that either the board or governing body had after four years of having the BOE election combined with the November general election. In 2012, the City Council had voted to move the election to November. The difference was that the move was advertised then, while in 2015 the Campbell-led board did it as a "walk-on" item without public notice.
Among contentious items at candidates' forums, the Campbell team purchased a campaign billboard ad at a prominent downtown location, adjacent to a school district billboard ad celebrating the acquisition of two buildings for $1. One is already in use by two schools and the other will become a technology center, the ad says. Schools Superintendent Anna Belin-Pyles said the juxtaposition was a coincidence, while critics saw it as use of district funds to benefit the Campbell team's campaign.
The next step for the board is to reorganize. The next board meeting is Tuesday, April 26. Wilma Campbell is currently the board president, but will have to step down when it reorganizes.
Mapp said Tuesday night, "The voters of Plainfield spoke in a very clear voice, they chose change and promise over failure. I am excited for Anderson, Hurtt and Pile and for the students, teachers and staff. It's a new day for the Plainfield School District and I look forward to establishing a true partnership with the superintendent and Board."
Voters also approved a local tax levy of $24,295,492 for the 2016-2017 school year, 907 to 601.All results are unofficial and will be certified by Union County Clerk Joanne Rajoppi by Monday or later.
--Bernice
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Congrats to the new team. I will hold them accountable.
ReplyDeleteMaps team? More bossism
ReplyDeleteFinally got our High School is Accredited so, lets get rid of the people who did it. Yup, Plainfield at its finest!
ReplyDeleteStop making sense. Thanks.
DeleteFinest? It took how long to accomplish this? Please!
DeleteFirst - 30 years of no accreditation. Shame on the people of Plainfield for throwing away generations.
DeleteThe people who did it were in place for almost half of that time - too long to wait when kids lives are at stake.
The 11:35pm - good for you for holding them accountable. That's what we all should have been doing for the past 30 years.
The voters keep sending a clear message to the old guard of Plainfield politics, including the Campbells, your time is up and, now, we move into the future.
DeleteThe petty politics, grand-standing and nasty rhetoric Campbell Senior often spews at public meetings, along with inefficiency, back-room deals and job patronage, is not welcomed.
Karma is real and last night's results, along with 2 failed bids by junior son speaks volumes and the take-away is that Campbells are no longer relevant.
Congratulations to the winners and to the children of Plainfield!
A little perspective for anonymous 8:46. Wilma Campbell was an outvoted board member in a minority faction from 2004 until 2010. It was like Mapp's faction on the council when they only held two or 7 seats. Accredidation came in 2014, which isn't very long after 2010.
DeleteWho did the work of accreditation? The teachers and administrators! Not the board members or superintendent.
DeleteAnon 7:51 AM - Wouldn't it be wonderful if PHS Accreditation was the only issue the district has. Sadly it isn't - happily, we have some new blood, new energy and a new direction starting very soon.
DeleteAnonymous 9:49. Wow, so I guess the boe and superintendent get the blame when things don't go right in the classroom but no credit when they do. You have a slanted sense of accountability.
DeletePlease look up accreditation, what it means and who did the accreditation. PHS may be accredited, but the district is still decertified. Look that up too.
DeleteOne of the voting machines broke down at Jefferson School aka Board of Ed offices. Voter disenchantment. Not good. Machine had to be rebooted were any votes lost? What are the safeguards? People refused to sign provisional ballots because the questions did not match the situation.
ReplyDeleteThere are no safeguards. Those voting machines should never have been approved. They weren't properly tested. There is no way to verify if they are counting the votes correctly. Unfortunately, the main effort in the legislature has been to fund early voting instead of verifiable machines. See http://notablesoftware.com/evote.html for expect analysis of the issues.
DeleteCongratulations to all the winners!
ReplyDeleteSo glad to see Plainfield moving in a new direction.
Auto correct - voter disenfranchisement in fourth ward. Disenchantment too. There was only one place to attempt to do provisional voting in private. Hats off to the poll workers who tried to get immediate assistance and to the people who were patient and respectful. Still leaves a lot of questions to be answered and.better procedures for the future of elections.
ReplyDeleteAnon 9:11 - I would address your concerns regarding polling resources to Mrs. Campbell and the sitting school board members. When you have an off election, such as this one in April versus Nov, then the resources at polling places are reduced. Have it in November with other elected offices and it is a different story. Hopefully, the school board moves this back to November after the reorganize and help Wilma pack up her desk.
DeleteIt will be addressed with proper authorities which are City Cerk office, County.Board of Elections, and US Dept. Of Justice if need be.
DeleteAnon 10:35 - you obviously missed my point - however, your zero tolerance expectations for voting machine operation and privacy for provisional ballot completion should transfer to the schools in Plainfield - so I would think you would be happy with the results from yesterday.
DeleteThe issue is not who won or lost. The issue is voting rights. Not only was there a problem in 4th ward, 2nd district, there were problems in at least two other polling places in Plainfield. This is unacceptable. There is a primary coming up in June, and the issues with the machines must be addressed. Yesterday the President of the Sierra Club was arrested in DC standing up for voting rights - the essence of democracy.
DeleteIt is a joy to see that voters in Plainfield paying attention to the details in each election. Those ousted will not be missed and we need to continue to hold our politicians and BOE officials accountable. Plainfield is changing and it looks like we are heading in the right direction. The old guard need to get over themselves. Good bye and good luck.
ReplyDeleteCan we now stop referring to John Campbell Senior as “King Maker”? When was the last time he crowned anyone from his efforts alone. Plainfield is on the move and the voting public has taken notice of all the positive changes being made. Let’s thank Mrs Campbell for all her work on the board as we look forward to new leadership.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations, Anderson, Hurtt and Pile. Please keep your word and be responsible to the children, staff and community.
Why was Mapp involved in the school board Elections? I thought that the school board elections were to be Nonpartisan. Does Mapp think he is the King of everything?
ReplyDeleteAnon 11:12 - Mapp supporting candidates doesn't necessarily mean it is party driven - but even if it is so what? Non-political elections are hard to achieve and people should really stop acting like they aren't. The limit is that the candidates do not have a party affiliation next to their names on the ballot.
DeleteThe education system in any community has an effect on more than just the future of the children in the system - it even impacts home values. With such a reach it is pretty tough to make the elections generic - and that "non-political" nonsense was pushed this year by Wilma et al as an excuse to spend $100,000+ to move the election to April. The truth is they wanted an election with low turnout as that improves their odds. Sadly, for them, their arrogance worked against them.
Why is John Campbell on the school board and why does he run a slate every year?
DeleteWants power.
DeleteThe School Board Elections were held in April for years. When they were moved to November many people did not Vote for a School Board Candidate. They only Voted for Democrat they were told to Vote for. The City of Plainfield has become a two party OldDemorcat /New Democrat town
DeleteAn election moved to April to be "non political" was won by a politically driven team. How about no more slates in school board elections?
ReplyDeleteI hope everyone on the board is ready to WORK.
Any election will probably have a political connotation. With the Campbell clan, every election has had a political element, whether they were supported by Jerry Green or Sharon, or some other hidden agenda. Let's move on and keep demanding our schools improve. At least now we have a chance.
ReplyDeleteAnyone see the new billboard that Wilma, I mean the school board, put up at Watchung and Second? So what else won't be bought for the students now?
ReplyDeleteWilma is no longer a board member why would she be at the April 26th meeting representing the board. Her decision making days on the board are over.
ReplyDeleteI believe the current members serve until the organization meeting, when the new ones are sworn in and officers are chosen. That date is May 3.
DeleteMakes sense
DeleteThey moved the BOARD OF EDUCATION election to win and so that the community will not know about it, only the selected few, but it back fired on them.. Wow Krama... is a ...WHY is she so thirsty to be on the board even after loosing... " THINK"
ReplyDeleteCONGRATULATIONS! Congratulations, Anderson, Hurtt and Pile. You will do a tremenous job for the Children of Plainfield School.. Bless you all.
ReplyDelete