Too Many BOE Candidates?

For some time, I’ve thought this year’s election would be a referendum on Board of Education (BOE) incumbents. I could be wrong – people have short memories and vote along party lines, but as a close watcher of all the town’s boards and commissions, I tend to think about local elections differently. (If you don't know what I'm talking about, check out the BOE coverage from budget season.) But there’s something else I don’t think people take into consideration when voting: the intricacies of which seats need to be filled and the minority party rule. First, let’s take a look at the current BOE:

Democrats:

• Sarah Kelley

• Jennifer Biedrzycki

Republicans:

• Eileen Bartlett

• Shana Boland

• Erica Bushior

• Aaron Hoffman

• Christopher Paradiso 

The Democrats did not endorse Sarah Kelley, so her seat is open. Bushior, Hoffman, and Paradiso are all up for election this year. However, they aren’t the only Republicans running. The Republican Town Committee is also nominating Chris Rhoads. If you're keeping count, that's four available seats on the board.

There are a few other essential things you need to know to understand how this election will work:

• Paradiso was appointed to fill a vacancy, and during this election, people will decide if he stays for the rest of the unfulfilled term

• Kathy Bachiochi is also running for this seat, which means either Paradiso or Bachiochi will have a seat at the table

• When votes are tallied, the ballots for this vacancy will be counted first

• Statutes demand that there are at least two representatives from the minority party on the BOE (currently the Democrats)

If you’re following what I’m putting down here, you may have realized that, of the four BOE seats on the ballot this year, at least one has to go to a Democrat. So, there is a scenario (admittedly unlikely) where one of the Republican candidates could win the vote but not secure a seat. 

Over on the Democratic side, there are also four candidates:

• Kathy Bachiochi

• Elizabeth Dobson

• James Greene

• Jennifer Vail

They would all be newcomers to the board, and the real question is which one of them wins the guaranteed seat and whether any others manage to get more votes than the incumbents. 

It strikes me as necessary that people know about this, especially if you're the kind of person who votes down the party line. If you fill in the bubble for all four Republican candidates, you are essentially throwing out one of those votes, and you won't know which one of your votes doesn't count until they are all tallied. You can do whatever you want, but if you aren't voting for at least one Democrat, then you have no say in which Democrat will fill that guaranteed seat.