The South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education election takes place on Tuesday, November 7, 2023. Three of nine seats are up for election. Three candidates filed to run by the July deadline and appear on the ballot: Shayna Sackett-Gable, Liz Callahan and Will Meyer. Two candidates, Jeff Bennett and Anthony Mazzocchi, announced a write-in campaign on October 7. Village Green is posting letters of support for all candidates: Deadline for submission is October 31 at 5 p.m. Read our guidelines here. Read all our election coverage here.
Thanks to early in person voting (which started this past weekend and continues through next Sunday) and Vote-by-Mail, I along with many other voters in South Orange & Maplewood have already voted for the upcoming election on November 7, 2023. It’s a consequential election for several reasons including it being the first one since state legislative redistricting last year – meaning every seat is up for grabs – and at a time when local elections are contested, especially
school board ones.
I’m proud to have voted for Sackett-Gable, Callahan & Meyer for South Orange – Maplewood School Board of Education and urge everyone to do the same on or before November 7. Their campaign has been refreshingly positive and clearly centered on our students and their teachers. Their approach to the issues before us in our school district is made of the right stuff,
meaning the qualities that make for effective and successful leadership.
Watching them answer questions during the forums or interact with folks in the community at various events or gatherings, I observed them centering our kids – their mental health, their special needs, their potential, their challenges. They’ve uplifted the challenges and needs of our teachers too, who have often been left out of or minimally engaged in educational and administrative decisions. They’ve unequivocally criticized the current board and district administration in the troubled rollout of transportation or about lapses in existing pedagogical approaches and educational services. Beyond the issues or questions, what’s most impressive perhaps and directly relevant has been their approach to the tough questions and the very challenging reality before them: they’ve been analytical, measured, humble, patient, thoughtful, collaborative, positive (not negative, their run isn’t about going after anyone or anything), discerning (truly listening and paying attention), empathic (and appreciative, not dismissive), sincere (not politicking or the superficial regurgitation of buzz words or policy), personal (for all three of them this is deeply personal, from Shayna’s run informed by her very own experience as a student & teacher in the district to Liz’s informed by her educational experience and social work, to Will’s informed by his special education expertise, an area in which our district has been failing). Their body language in public during these interactions has reflected these qualities further underscoring their credibility and sincerity. Beyond professional background or experience – and certainly Shayna, Liz & Will bring a ton of that to the table – it’s these qualities that make them the right candidates in this moment in time for our school district. These are the elements of building consensus, constructively criticizing, directly supervising, comprehensively integrating, and thoughtfully policymaking. Leaders
aren’t born, they’re made with essential qualities such as these.
While I’ve gotten to know Will the past couple of years, I met Shayna and Liz only a few months ago on the campaign trail yet we hit it off immediately. All three of them share a passion to serve which is infectious and they’re very accessible and relatable despite how smart they are or all the experience they bring to the table. The number of doors they knocked on earlier on and the community events they’ve attended is impressive. Together they’re the real deal and the positive, fresh air we need at 525 Academy Street!
There’s no doubt that together we have been significantly challenged as we’ve moved our integration, long range facilities plan construction, and transportation forward. We haven’t moved forward in other critical areas failing our students’ academic potential and development. We are at an inflection point.
In this climate during an inflection point in our progress, we need representatives who are motivated by the right reason to serve, who have the professional capacity and essential qualities to lead, who are looking at the whole big picture / long-term plan not a singular fix, who are centering students – all students – and teachers, who are sincere and credible, who can lead us forward not backward, who are fresh new voices. I believe in Shayna, Liz & Will, I voted for them, and urge SOMA voters to vote for all three of them, too.
Respectfully,
Dean Dafis, he him
Mayor
Township of Maplewood
