Too late to participate in debates or get on the ballot two longtime residents who live in the school district called South Orange-Maplewood (SOMA) announced in early October that they are running as “write-in” candidates for two of the three available seats on their local school board. The official ballot includes three candidates running on a platform called “Together We Thrive.”

Jeff Bennett and Anthony Mazzocchi are the two write-in candidates. While typically write-in candidates face strong odds, reports are that the two have just as many volunteers and donors as the official slate, comprised of Shayna Sacket-Gable, Liz Callahan, and Will Meyer.

According to their website, Bennett and Mazzocchi are running on a platform what would address the “ongoing instability and missteps” that result from the lack of a “strong operational leader for the district,” ongoing concerns with the management of the Intentional Integration Initiative (III) where numerous families are deprived of transportation; management of the Long Range Facilities Plan; and “how our back-to-school process has suffered from deep operational missteps.”

Their platform notes that they are both former school board members (Mazzocchi is the district’s former Supervisor of Fine and Performing Arts), and note that before hiring Dr. Ronald Taylor as superintendent, the board at that time “cleared the deck” so that interim administrators filled every leadership post, allowing Taylor to hire his own team. But “since Dr. Taylor took on the role, we have experienced unprecedented turnover of other senior leadership administrators and the most lawsuit exposure — many upper admin positions have turned over twice.” They promise more accountability, a focus on student outcomes, and “more rigor in the budget development process.”

From their platform:

Tony and Jeff will not support Board policies that are driven by adult-centric agendas that lack empathy, proper planning, and without a clear vision and desired outcomes clearly defined. Tony and Jeff’s agenda is solely to promote student-centric, K-12 education policies that drive impact without creating instability or hardships. In the near term, their focus will be on ensuring transportation policies are effectively implemented for the III.  They are committed to the Intentional Integration Initiative (III) and they will make it a priority to hold the Superintendent accountable for restoring adequate and fair bussing, without putting massive stress on taxpayers, and ensuring that our kids are getting to school safely and on time. 

They both have children in the school district.