While final results aren’t in for the Newark School Board elections, to no one’s surprise the slate backed by Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, all of City Council, and Senate Majority Leader Teresa Ruiz appears to have sailed to victory in a clean sweep. The slate, called “Moving Newark Schools Forward” (Tapinto calls it the “establishment-backed” slate) includes incumbents Hasani Council and Josephine Garcia, and newcomer Allison James-Frison.

Also, despite great efforts by Newark-based Project Ready and other groups to increase voter turnout, only three percent of voters took the time to go to the polls. That is comparable to last year’s turnout.

“We’re grateful to the voters in Newark for their continued support of the Moving Newark Schools Forward team,” North Ward Democratic Chairman Samuel Gonzalez said. “The fact that every elected official endorsed our ticket speaks volumes about the quality of these candidates and their dedication and commitment to serving our children. Congratulations to Josephine Garcia and Hasani Council on their well-deserved reelection and Allison James-Frison on securing her first term on the board.”

Moving Newark Schools Forward was challenged by another three-person slate called “Newark Kids Forward,” comprised of Thomas Luna, Tawana Johnson-Emory and James Wright Jr., who all have ties to Newark’s charter sector. While final tallies aren’t in, this slate’s members were far behind, with only 8% of the vote compared to the Baraka’s slate, which has currently garnered between 22% and 23% of the vote. Two other candidates who ran independently, Latoya Jackson and Ade’Kamil Kelly, received the fewest number of votes, between 2% and 3%.