PoliticsNJ
Landslide win by anti-James slate could change Newark's political landscape
By STEVE KORNACKI
NEWARK, April 15 - The biggest winners and losers of today's Newark School Advisory Board election were not on the ballot.
Officially, the election was a victory for "For Our Kids," a three-member slate dedicated to retaining Marion Bolden as the city's superintendent of schools, which trounced the "Home Team," a ticket backed by Mayor Sharpe James that wanted to hire a school chief from out of state.
But it was a clear triumph for Bolden, who will now get to keep her job, and a giant political setback for James -- whose political clout will be called into question after his slate's landslide loss -- and even Gov. James E. McGreevey, who quietly waded into the race on behalf of the "Home Team."
Bolden's status was the driving issue in what was an unusually intense school board contest. Typically, turnout in the city of 270,000 is about five percent for school races, but twice that number voted today.
The advisory board has little official power, since the state runs Newark's schools, but it was thrust into the limelight last year when State Education Commissioner William L. Librera announced he would follow the board's recommendation in selecting a superintendent.
The board then conducted a national search for the job, winnowing the field down to Marion Bolden, a lifelong Newark educator who had runs the city's schools for three years, and David Snead, a former Detroit superintendent now heading up the Waterbury (CT) school system.
Over chants of "There's no need for Snead," the board voted 5-4 at a contentious public hearing in February to recommend Snead.
Faced with an unexpected public outcry against Snead's hiring, Librera subsequently adjusted his position and said he'd heed the recommendation of the board that is seated after today's election.
That set the stage for a campaign that tested long-time allegiances and created new and unexpected partnerships that could wreak havoc in future elections.
In all, there were eleven candidates on the ballot vying for three three-year spots. But the race was really a battle between "For Our Kids" and the "Home Team."
North Ward powerbroker Stephen Adubato, Sr. -- a key James ally in the last mayoral election -- organized "For Our Kids," recruiting Anibal Ramos, Jr., an Essex County employee, and Anthony Machado, a former school administrator, to run with Dana Rone, an incumbent board member who voted for Bolden.
The "Home Team" included incumbents Evelyn Williams and Jimmy Parillo, both of whom voted for Snead's hiring, and a third candidate, Craig Graves. In addition to James, former Mayor Kenneth A. Gibson was a key supporter of the ticket, as was McGreevey, who made phone calls on behalf of the "Home Team."
"For Our Kids" relied on strong grass-roots support from the city's teachers and several parents groups, and was aided by the organizing skills of Phil Alagia, who ran the successful campaign of Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr. for Essex County Executive last year and who took a leave-of-absence from his job as DiVincenzo's Chief of Staff to run this campaign.
The "Home Team" relied on the mobilization of the mayor's machine and the talents of political organizer James Benjamin, who managed James' 2002 re-election bid.
While many expected "For Our Kids" would win the two seats needed to retain Bolden, the margin of the slate's victory -- and the fact that it apparently won each of the city's five wards -- seems likely to send shockwaves across the city at a politically volatile time.
"If you look at the votes, the votes were spread out all across the city," said Joseph Del Grosso, who heads up the Newark Teachers' Union and worked for the Bolden slate.
Some "Home Team" supporters had sought to portray the "For Our Kids" effort as a power-grab by Adubato and his friends in the North Ward, suggesting the rest of the city would turn against their slate.
Adubato bristled at the charge, and said the election results show a more united city.
"Newark is a better town tonight," he said outside the Mediterranean Manor, an East Ward restaurant where his slate gathered tonight to celebrate its win. "We have turned a corner in the right direction, which means inclusiveness. This isn't about a group or a part of the city."
Along with Adubato, among those present at the victory party were DiVincenzo, former City Councilman Cory Booker, Assemblyman William M. Payne (D-Newark), Essex County Democratic Chairman Philip Thigpen, and City Councilman Hector Corchado.
There has been much speculation about why James was eager to get rid of Bolden. Some have said it is a part of the mayor's efforts to purge the public payroll of supporters of Booker, who almost unseated James last year and is poised to challenge him again in 2006. James, according to some, demanded after last year's election that Bolden dismiss employees who had backed Booker, and Bolden refused to do so. With the city possibly regaining control of its schools -- and millions of dollars in funding -- from the state soon, many said James wanted a superintendent who would be more cooperative with him.
Adubato said he was "confused" by James' refusal to support Bolden, and pointed to a number of vicious, anonymous flyers circulated in the city supporting the "Home Team."
"He's got to condemn that," Adubato said of the mayor.
James is on the ballot in the June Democratic primary, when he will defend his 29th district State Senate seat against a spirited challenge from City Councilman Luis Quintana. Quintana, who once served as James' Deputy Mayor, actively supported "For Our Kids," and attended a meeting of North Ward precinct captains run by Adubato this afternoon. The North Ward is a crucial part of James' Senate district.
Some observers say James could be in trouble if the coalition Adubato built for the school board race backs Quintana. But Adubato said he didn't plan to carry his feud with the mayor -- who is running on the party's line --- into the Senate race, though he did concede James' handling might cause some Democrats to stray from the party line.
DiVincenzo, a strong Bolden supporter who also attended tonight's victory party, suggested James might be in for a tough campaign.
"Sharpe is in our [ballot] column, and I think he's going to win, but if I were him, I think I'd have some concerns," DiVincenzo said.
There may be political fallout from tonight's results for the governor as well.
After quietly backing Thomas P. Giblin over DiVincenzo in last year's county executive race, McGreevey again stepped into the Essex scene in the school board race, and again aligned himself against DiVincenzo.
DiVincenzo said tonight that he personally appealed to McGreevey several weeks ago to stay out of the race.
"I don't understand it," DiVincenzo said of the governor's role in the "Home Team's" campaign. "I'm taken aback by it."