Ethics charges against Paterson BOE member Jonathan Hodges dropped, says Wimberly
By Jayed Rahman
Published: April 25, 2019
The ethics charges filed against longtime school board member Jonathan Hodges has been dropped, said assemblyman Benjie Wimberly, who had filed the ethics complaint with the state last year, on Wednesday morning.
“It’s been resolved. It’s been dropped,” said Wimberly. “I just signed off and stopped the process. I’m not pursuing it.”
The charges stemmed from a video Hodges shared alleging the superintendent search process that led to the selection of Eileen Shafer was “corrupt.” His posting also took aim at Wimberly, who is a district employee, prompting the teachers’ union to file the ethics charges.
“I’m happy to learn that he has dropped the charge,” said Hodges. He said he hasn’t received any letters or documents stating the case has been closed.
On Feb. 15, 2018, Hodges shared a video, where Wimberly introduces Shafer as the next superintendent, long before the appointment vote at the Board of Education.
“I have hopefully, if we’re in the right direction, our next superintendent Eileen Shafer,” Wimberly says in the video.
It’s typical for politicians to introduce someone as the next president, governor, or mayor. Shafer at the time was in the running to be the next superintendent. However, some of the critics of the search process used the video to cast doubt on the integrity of the process.
“A corrupt search process delivers as the city dances,” wrote Hodges, who cast his vote against Shafer’s appointment, a day after the superintendent pick on social media. He wrote “Team wins again” – an allusion to Wimberly’s “Team Hope.”
Hodges allegedly mentioned Wimberly by name in one of his critical postings.
“I think as men we can sit and talk,” said Wimberly on Wednesday. “We got so many other issues at hand, we don’t need our adults fighting in court or going over this.”
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