November 3 has (almost) arrived, and for those who have not voted already by mail-in or early in-person ballots, it’s decision time!
In South Orange and Maplewood, there are two townwide local elections — a contested South Orange-Board of Education race, and a non-contested Maplewood Township Committee race.
SOMA voters will also be selecting their picks for U.S. Senator, NJ-11 Congressperson, Essex County Executive, and Essex County Commissioners.
Clockwise from top left: Trish Azeez, Liz Callahan, Will Meyer and Kevin Diaz.
South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education
Four candidates are vying for three seats on the 9-member South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education: Trish Azeez, Liz Callahan, Kevin Diaz, and Will Meyer. Meyer and Callahan are incumbents, running together (although voters choose candidates individually). Azeez and Diaz are both running solo campaigns and running for the first time.
Read their candidates profiles here:
The candidates met at three forums that were live-streamed and recorded — although the HNA Forum video appears to be unavailable. Village Green has provided a full transcript for the HNA and CCR forums. A transcription of the LWV/Presidents’ Council form questions with timestamps for the video are provided:
- October 8, League of Women Voters of Maplewood and South Orange and the SOMSD Presidents’ Council: VIDEO: Board of Ed Candidates Discuss Gifted & Talented, Facilities, Screen Use, Oversight & More
- September 29, South Orange/Maplewood Community Coalition on Race: VIDEO, TRANSCRIPT: South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education Candidates Focus on Equity in Coalition on Race Forum
- September 17, Hilton Neighborhood Association: VIDEO, TRANSCRIPT: Board of Ed Candidates Discuss Integration, Artificial Turf, Opportunity Gap, More
Candidates answered two questionnaires:
2026 Special Education Q&A: South Orange-Maplewood Board of Ed Candidates
SOMA Action Interviews:
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Trish Azeez interview and transcript
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Liz Callahan interview and transcript
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Will Meyer interview and transcript
- Kevin Diaz interview and transcript
Black Parents Workshop Candidate Interview (only Azeez participated; Callahan & Meyer reported counsel advised against).
Village Green posted endorsements submitted by the campaigns. They are as follows:
- Trish Azeez — Bobby Brown, Regina Eckert, Donna Smith, Nubia DuVall Wilson
- Callahan & Meyer — Nancy Adams, Dean Dafis, Garnet Hall, Malia Herman, David Huemer, Annemarie Maini, Shayna Sackett-Gable, Dr. Qawi Telesford, Thair Joshua, Deb Engel, Olivia Lewis-Chang, SOMA Action Board of Trustees
- Kevin Diaz — Nancy Adams, David Huemer, Mila Jasey, Annemarie Maini, Deb Engel, Olivia Lewis-Chang, Bill Haskins, Dr. Qawi Telesford, SOMA Action Board of Trustees
Candidates have also been filing financial disclosures document with the NJ Election Law Enforcement Commission (NJ ELEC).
Thus far, Diaz has reported contributions over $200 from Annemarie Maini, Marian Raab, Bill Haskins, Mila Jasey, and Robin Johnson Baker.
Azeez has reported contributions over $200 from Tiffany Scott, Donna Smith, Nubia Wilson, Bimal Kapadia, Tiffany Brown, and Adam Goldfarb.
Callahan & Meyer have reported contributions over $200 from Arun Vadlamani, Amy Forman, Jesse Cutler, and Sarah Kissko Hersh.
See the reports attached below. Search for more NJ ELEC forms here: https://www.elec.nj.gov/publicinformation/viewreports.htm
OTHER RACES
U.S. Senate
Incumbent U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D) is running against Republican Justin Murphy, Socialist Workers Party candidate Joanne Kuniansky, and Independent candidate Veronica Fernandez.
NJ-11 Congressional Primary
Newly elected NJ-11 Congresswoman Analilia Mejia won a special election on April 16 and was sworn into office on April 20. She is running again against Republican Joe Hathaway, who also ran in the April 16 special election, and Independent candidate Alan B Bond.
Maplewood Municipal Election: Two Township Committee Seats
Current Mayor Vic De Luca (D) is running for his 10th term on the Township Committee (the mayor is elected by the five members of the TC) and Planning Board and Hilton Neighborhood Association member John T. Sullivan (D) is running for his first. The two candidates are unopposed in the general election after finishing ahead of Martin Ceperley, running with Essex Reform Democrats, in the primary.
County Commissioners and Executive
Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo (D) is running for a seventh term against Maritza Mathews (R).
There are nine County Commissioner seats, all up for election. South Orange and Maplewood will vote for the four at-large seats up for election: Democrats Deb Engel, Christine McGrath, Abdur R. Yasin, and the sole incumbent Wayne Richardson, are running against Republicans Demetrius Eley, Daniela Ferriera Almeida, Douglas Freeman, and Sahwa DeFrank.
For District 2 (which includes Maplewood), Democrat A’Dorian Murray-Thomas is running unopposed.
For District 3 (which includes South Orange), Democrat Medinah Muhammad is running unopposed.
