School board candidates Capers, Teague, Atallo, Martinez get top spots on ballot
By Jayed Rahman
Published: August 16, 2016
School board candidates Emanuel Capers, Corey Teague, and Joseph Atallo on Monday afternoon received the top spots on the November board of education election ballot, according to the Passaic County Clerk’s Office.
Capers, Teague, and Atallo received the top three spots on the school board ballot respectively. Manny Martinez, who is running for the unexpired seat vacated by Kevin Michael Henry earlier in the year, received the first spot at Monday’s drawing.
A candidate’s place on the ballot has become important with the school board election being in the political month of November when a large number of candidates appear on the ballot. For example, last November the top three candidates on the ballot won seats.
“If I was last spot, I would have said forget it,” said candidate Corey Teague, who complained about not knowing about the drawing. He was content when told he received second spot on the ballot.
A former school board member Teague lost his seat last year. He blamed his place on the ballot.
The Passaic County Clerk’s Office which conducts the drawing said candidates are informed of the drawing date upon petition submission. The drawing date is also listed on the state’s election timeline sheet, said officials.
School board president Christopher Irving has the seventh and last spot on the ballot. “I’m not concerned,” he said. “It’s about campaigning, if you campaign and put forth your record, I think voters will respond to that.”
Irving pointed to the 2014 election – first time school board elections were held in November — in which Jonathan Hodges was seventh place among eight candidates. Hodges secured a victory.
Even in that election, out of the top three candidates on the ballot, two secured victories. The first spot candidate was disqualified in the election due to a residency issue.
Incumbents Flavio Rivera and Kenneth Simmons received the fourth and fifth spots respectively in Monday’s drawing. Challenger Stacy Coleman received sixth spot on the ballot.
Incumbent Errol Kerr and challenger Mohammad Ramadan received second and third spots in the race for the remaining two years of Henry’s unexpired term.
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