Jersey City Ward E Councilwoman Elena Little has thrown her support behind the For Stronger Schools slate in the crowded race for the Jersey City Board of Education, saying she will vote for the team of four candidates on November 3. Her backing makes her the second elected official to publicly endorse the slate, which is competing against a field of 13 candidates for four open seats on the volunteer board.
According to Hudson County View, Little is backing Jessica Taube, Danielle Walker, Chloe Williams and Gina Verdibello, the four candidates who make up the For Stronger Schools ticket. Taube, Walker and Williams are each seeking three-year terms, while Verdibello, a former Jersey City Board of Education trustee, is running for a one-year unexpired term. The slate describes itself as a parent-driven, nonpartisan campaign, per its campaign website, and Verdibello previously served two terms as the board’s vice president, the site notes.
The four candidates first announced they would run together as a slate on July 16, according to Jersey City Times. They later picked up a high-profile endorsement from Assemblywoman Katie Brennan, who represents the 32nd District, according to a report from New Jersey Globe. Brennan endorsed Taube, Walker and Williams for the three-year terms and Verdibello for the one-year seat, that outlet reported, and the four candidates said her support would help their push for changes to the state school funding formula and greater accountability for district spending.
A Thirteen-Candidate Field for Four Seats
The scale of the race underscores how contested this cycle has become. Thirteen candidates filed to run for the Jersey City Board of Education by the filing deadline, Jersey City Times reported in its own coverage of the candidate list. They are all vying for four open seats on the volunteer board, with the election scheduled for November 3.
Beyond For Stronger Schools, the field includes Leadership That Listens, a slate backed by the Jersey City Education Association. That endorsement itself was notable: the union said it had not endorsed a slate without incumbents in more than a decade, according to Hudson County View’s reporting on the union’s choice. Leadership That Listens is made up of Julietta Vogt, Videsh Bahadur and Fernando Garcia running for three-year terms, with Zebedayo Masongo seeking the one-year seat, per the same account.
Incumbents and an Independent Round Out the Ballot
A third group pairs sitting board members with a newcomer. Trustees Dejon Morris, the board’s vice president, and Alpa Patel are running alongside Dr. George Blount, with Vanessa Rodriguez, a first-time candidate, seeking the one-year term. New Jersey Globe reported that Blount, Morris and Patel are all incumbents seeking re-election. Rounding out the ballot is Yasmine Clark, described as the only candidate running independently in the nonpartisan contest, who is seeking a three-year term.
What For Stronger Schools Is Promising
On policy, the For Stronger Schools campaign has laid out specific accountability measures on its website. The slate says it would publish a plain-language quarterly budget-to-results report and create a facilities dashboard listing budgets, owners, status and deadlines for district projects. The campaign also lists academic priorities including raising reading and math achievement, closing outcome gaps, and strengthening support for multilingual learners and students with disabilities, according to the site.
With early voting approaching and endorsements continuing to roll in from local officials, the November 3 election will determine which combination of newcomers, union-backed candidates and incumbents controls the direction of Jersey City’s school board for the next several years.
