A Jersey City labor union has thrown its support behind two candidates running on opposite slates in next week's school board election, citing their personal experience raising children with special needs. The Jersey City Management Union endorsed Danielle Walker, who is seeking a three-year term, and Vanessa Rodriguez, who is running for a one-year seat, ahead of the Nov. 3 nonpartisan Board of Education contest.
The endorsement was announced by Jimmy Carrol, president of the Jersey City Managers and Teamsters Local 641 union, according to Hudson County View. Walker and Rodriguez are both members of the union, and per the outlet's reporting of Carrol's letter, he said the two candidates have the knowledge, judgment, and heart needed by schools. Carrol also wrote that both women understand what it takes to navigate individualized education programs and secure services and support for children, pointing to the fact that each is raising a child with special needs alongside a typically developing child.
Walker works as a senior administrative analyst for Jersey City's Division of Community Development and is running on the For Stronger Schools slate, which also includes Jessica Taube, Chloe Williams, and former Trustee Gina Verdibello, the latter of whom is seeking the one-year seat. Rodriguez, who works as a supervisor of customer service for the construction code official's office, is running with the Education Matters team, which includes BOE Vice President Dejon Morris, Trustee Alpa Patel, and Trustee George Blount. Per the same report, Carrol said both candidates understand families' expectations for rigorous academics, enriching programs, and safe, welcoming classrooms, as well as the challenges of working within a public entity.
A Crowded Field With Four Seats at Stake
Jersey City voters will elect three trustees to three-year terms, with one additional trustee chosen for a one-year term, in the Nov. 3 election. Sources disagree on exactly how many candidates are vying for those four spots: Hudson County View has reported that 13 candidates filed for the race, while NorthJersey.com has put the number at 12 candidates across three slates.
Beyond For Stronger Schools and Education Matters, a third slate called Leadership That Listens is also on the ballot, consisting of Julietta Vogt, Videsh Bahadur, Fernando Garcia, and Zebedayo Masongo, with Masongo seeking the one-year term alongside Verdibello. The Jersey City Education Association has endorsed that slate, backing Vogt, Bahadur, and Garcia for the full-term seats and Masongo for the one-year spot, according to Gothamist. Independent candidate Yasmine Clark and other contenders are also seeking three-year terms, per Hudson County View's reporting. As of publication, the Jersey City Management Union is the only municipal union to have publicly endorsed in the school board race, and it did not make endorsements for the other two available seats.
Fundraising Gap Separates the Slates
Money is flowing unevenly among the three teams. The For Stronger Schools slate reported raising $20,166, spending $2,638.61, and holding $17,527.39 in cash on hand as of an Oct. 19 filing, according to Hudson County View's later coverage of the race's finances. Education Matters, by comparison, reported raising $5,000 in its Oct. 23 ELEC filing, while Leadership That Listens reported raising just $1,100 as of that same date.
A District Still Finding Its Footing
Whoever wins will inherit a district still adjusting to local control. Jersey City's school system ended 33 years of state oversight in 2022 and remains, per Gothamist, a school system beset by shrinking state aid, low test scores, and questionable spending practices. The outgoing board also approved a $1.1 billion budget this year that included a roughly 14% tax hike, a decision that has loomed over the campaign.
The Education Matters slate has pointed to those same pressures in outlining its own platform. According to Destination Jersey City, the slate's stated goals include significantly enhancing overall academic achievement while strengthening special education programs, along with addressing mental health, school safety, and overcrowding in a district that serves more than 30,000 students. With early voting underway and Election Day just days off, the union endorsement adds one more data point for Jersey City parents sorting through a ballot stacked with competing slates and competing promises.
