School board candidate Mosleh Uddin was denied a police job after a background check uncovered dozens of moving violations, according to municipal officials.
Uddin was cited for unsafe operation of a vehicle, careless driving likely to endanger person or property, failure to wear seat belt, speeding, improper display or unclear plates, and numerous other violations.
Municipal officials said Uddin, 29, applied to become a police officer last year. Police did not hire him after uncovering the more than 30 violations racked up between 2006 and 2018, according to a municipal source.
Three different jurisdictions cited him for safety glass requirement, usually for driving with tinted windows, four times between Apr. 2015 and Jan. 2018.
Uddin downplayed the violations when asked about it in mid-October. “I can show you the abstract,” he said. He did not provide any documents.
Uddin did not respond to a call for comment on Wednesday.
Furthermore, Uddin was charged with disorderly persons offense. When asked about this offense in mid-October, Uddin said he paid a fine to resolve the matter.
Uddin “surreptitiously” followed a resident into an apartment complex at 30 Easton Avenue in New Brunswick on Feb. 20, 2012, according to court records obtained by the Paterson Times. He “piggybacked” to gain access to the interior of the building, says the court documents. He then went to the 9th floor lobby.
It’s not clear what Uddin was doing at the location or why he was following a resident into the apartment building.
Uddin paid a $500 fine after the charge was downgraded.
Some of his opponents and allies in the 17-person school board race were surprised by the large number of moving violations and the disorderly persons offense.
“Wow. It’s tough. Sometimes you just got to put your life together. You can’t do things like that especially when you are trying to be a role model for kids,” remarked Ramon Joaquin. “Sometimes what you do in your past haunts you.”
“This is the first that I’m hearing of it,” said former school board member Eddie Gonzalez. “There are others I know that have a lot worse reputation that are running for the board.”
Uddin, Gonzalez, Gerard Robertson, and Melissa Baralt are running as a group. Five school board seats are up for grabs.
Three are full and two are unexpired terms. Uddin is running for one of the unexpired seats.
“He doesn’t strike me as a person that’s this irresponsible,” said Justin Rucker. “It’s true he wouldn’t be a role model.”
Rucker found the situation that led to the disorderly persons offense citation bizarre. “What the hack is up with that? That’s weird,” he said. “We don’t know what happened.”
Former school board member Corey Teague said voters have to consider his past before casting a vote for him next week.
“When you run for public office your life becomes public,” said Teague.
Uddin tried to secure a school board seat earlier in the year when ex-school board member Christopher Irving vacated a seat. He did not make the cut after a rough interview.
For example, school board member Emanuel Capers asked him, “Can you tell me what NJQSAC is? What do you see as its connection as we regain local control?”
“NJQSAC is an organization that’s from the Board for the students and for education for a better opportunity for the Paterson students,” answered Uddin.
Quality Single Accountability Continuum (QSAC) is a metric the state uses to evaluate public school districts.
Council president Maritza Davila earlier in the month lamented the poor quality of candidates in the 17-person race. “At least if you are going to run for office have some knowledge of the office and what it takes,” she said. “You have to know NJ QSAC. There’s a lot of stuff they do not know.”
Davila endorsed Uddin and his running mates in the race.
Uddin’s father is Taj Uddin, who unsuccessfully ran for a school board seat in 2014. The father did not attend any debates or forums when he ran. The father’s name came up several times during the 2nd Ward election fraud trial in 2016.
One voter testified the father allegedly told her to vote for then-candidate Shahin Khalique and filled out her mail-in ballot. Another said the father and a second person pressured him to vote in the hotly contested 2nd Ward election against his will.
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