Brownlee Wins Township Committee, BOE Too Close to Call

South Orange and Maplewood Board of Education incumbent Beth Daugherty and newcomer Johanna Wright, have taken the Nov 5. General Election, according to preliminary results posted by the Essex County Clerk's Office.

The third seat remains too close to call as ballots for two districts, provisional and absentee ballots were yet to be counted by midnight.

Ballots for only 31 of the 33 South Orange and Maplewood Districts were totaled for the Board of Education and 20 out of 21 districts were totaled for the Maplewood Township Committee as of 12 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov 6. Once the final districts are counted, the results will remain unofficial until the Clerk's office is able to tally the remaining provisional and absentee ballots.

By midnight in the Board of Education race, Daugherty received 25.33 percent of the vote while Wright received 21.91 percent. The race is close between David Giles and Stephanie Lawson-Muhammad with 18.70 percent and 18.65 respectively.

Marian Cutler remains trailing with 14.98 percent.

Whoever comes out on top will serve a three-year term on the Board of Education with Daugherty and Wright.

“The voters of South Orange and Maplewood spoke and elected me to the Board of Education. Thank you for your support!” said Wright. “I can't wait to sit in the 'horse shoe' and serve students with the same passion, energy and authenticity I have demonstrated during my 30 plus years teaching in the district.  But most of all, I want to thank you all for helping me reach this incredible milestone.  Now, it's time to get to work!”

This was the first board of education election on the November ballot based on a law signed by Gov. Chris Christie. The law allows school districts that vote in April to change their election date to coincide with the November general election, and bypass voter approval for budgets that do not exceed the statutory 2 percent cap on property tax hikes.

“Me winning the most votes is a signal that our district is headed in the right direction and we will continue to focus on making sure every student has the opportunity for an excellent education,” said Daugherty. “We welcome Johanna to the Board and look forward to working with her.”

“I'd also like to thank the several hundred people in the campaign effort for their support,” she added. “They worked very hard to educate voters that there was a Board of Election in November for the first time.”

In Maplewood, incumbent Marlon K. Brownlee was elected to a second three-year term on the Maplewood Township Committee, beating out challengers Kurt Kiley and Art Gartenlaub.

“I am pleased with the results of the election and I'm looking forward to another three years on the Maplewood Township Committee,” said Brownlee Tuesday night.

As of 12 a.m. Brownlee garnered 75.52 percent of the vote while Kiley and Gartenlaub received 6.27 percent and 18.16 percent votes respectively.

“I'd like to congratulate Marlon Brownlee and congratulate Art for doing so well in the election,” said Kiley shortly after the results came in. “I'd like to thank everyone who assisted me and the residents who took the time to speak to me about their concerns. I am very grateful, and even though the number was low, I still feel it was a successful campaign. I am looking forward to the next election and look forward to running again.”

“I'd like to congratulate Marlon and I hope that Kurt continues to be involved in the Maplewood community. Congratulations to both for a very nice race,” Gartenlaub said. “I'd also like to thank my supporters for their efforts and I appreciate their help.”

The following are unofficial results from the Essex County Clerk's Office. The current numbers do not reflect absentee of provisional ballots.

Maplewood Township Committee

Districts = 20/21 (95.24%)

Under Votes = 928

Over Votes = 0

Dem - Marlon K. BROWNLEE = 4,397 (75.52%)

Rep - Arthur GARTENLAUB = 1,057 (18.16%)

NBP - Kurt H. KILEY = 365 (6.27%)

Write-In = 3 (0.05%)

Total = 5,822 (100.00%)

South Orange-Maplewood Members of the BOE

Districts = 31/33 (93.94%)

Under Votes = 13357

Over Votes = 3

Johanna WRIGHT = 4,485 (21.91%)

Elizabeth T. DAUGHERTY = 5,187 (25.33%)

Marian CUTLER = 3,067 (14.98%)

David R. GILES = 3,829 (18.70%)

Stephanie M. LAWSON-MUHAMMAD = 3,818 (18.65%)

Write-In = 88 (0.43%)

Total = 20,474 (100.00%)