Incumbents widen lead in Princeton school board race (updated 3:15 p.m.)
Election results in Mercer County have not been finalized, but it appears that the three incumbents running for the school board in Princeton will all be serving another three-year term.
Some votes are still being counted, but it would be almost impossible for challengers to win enough votes to pull ahead given the current gap.
As of 3 p.m. Wednesday, incumbent Susan Kanter was the top vote-getter with 3,210 votes. School Board President Dafna Kendal was in second with 2,996 votes, and incumbent Deb Bronfeld was in third with 2,851 votes.
Challenger Rita Rafalovsky had 2354 votes, and challenger Lisa Wu had 1,491 votes, according to unofficial county election data.
Election results were delayed in Mercer County Tuesday night because of a ballot scanning problem. Voters in the county had to drop their ballots in the scanners. The paper ballots then had to be scanned by the bipartisan county elections commission on Tuesday night. As of about 9:45 a.m. on Wednesday, ballots for about 60 districts in the county still needed to be counted, officials said.
This is wonderful and hopeful message that right wing Fox News, Breitbart, Bannon, etc. sound bites, Russian and Chinese government interference through social media, and ignorance regarding democracy, has not taken hold in Princeton.
Good luck to all three!
To Sara: I am sorry, are you a conspiracy believer? Or may be racist and fascism? Or a hidden dictatorship lover? You are not qualify to participate a civil debate. Maybe you think you are a liberal, then where is your tolerance to different opinion? Sorry, I have to point out your true color after seen your baseless comments.
May God guide the Board of Education to judge wisely and fairly on the important matters before them.
@ Rod Montgomery- May we keep G-d out of all matters pertaining to public schools.
Lori T ????????????????
Oof. Full-on disaster.
Such a pity. I liked Rita Rafalovsky and appreciated her focus on academic standards.
How would it be impossible for Rafalovsky to make up the ~500 vote gap from Bronfeld when there are still many ballots to be counted? Seems unlikely but not impossible. What percentage of ballots cast have been counted thus far? There is room for improvement in your reporting on these results. Some of these claims in this article seem premature but I’m admittedly biased, as well — since I was hoping for at least one new person on the board to keep things fresh.
All I can say is good luck to PPS families. Unfortunately parents’ voice is overshadowed by those who are turning public schools into their political playground. BOE needs a new perspective and PPS need a true educator to lead. We have neither.
Hmmm. Rafalovsky ran on “transparency.” Yet she failed to disclose being a board member of Princeton Citizens Alliance. Google it. Unsavory.
What are you talking about? I did google it and this was the first thing that came up. If you wanted to ask her about it, you had every opportunity to contact her directly. Her email is listed on her campaign page.
The is an excerpt from the July 27, 2022 Town Topics FRONT PAGE article titled “Challengers Take On Three Incumbents In School Board Race”: Seems pretty transparent to me.
Rafalovsky, a Library Place resident with extensive experience in the financial service industry, came into the public sphere earlier this year as co-founder and board trustee of Princeton Citizens Alliance. A nonprofit that provides input on local issues and acts to address the concerns of the community, Princeton Citizens Alliance took a strong stand against allowing cannabis dispensaries in town.
In a February 2 Town Topics letter to the editor, Rafalovsky wrote that she had voted in favor of legalization of cannabis in the state, but that she was urging the Princeton Council to reject the Cannabis Task Force’s recommendation to allow a dispensary in town. In voicing her opposition she cited concerns over costs to the town, risk of litigation, parking, sustainability, regulation of cannabis potency, and dangers of addiction, particularly among youth, along with the objections of the School Board.
You want to vote for other candidates, that’s your constitutional right. But don’t make stuff up.
What’s so unsavory about opposing dispensaries in Princeton? Too much of a buzzkill? Are you suggesting that support for weed shops should be a prerequisite for school board service? Bizarre.
Only Google hit I found was a story about Princeton Citizens Alliance opposing retail sale of cannabis in Princeton. This is unsavory … in what respect?
The biggest “pity” is too see the number of votes candidate Wu received. I hope the elected board can see the level of homophobia and racism in this town. Princeton is deeply impacted by intellectuals who learned how to hide their racism and by individuals who bully others who find meaning in developing the whole child. I hope this board see past this and do the work to help the many tax paying residents who are not on the “just excellence” wagon. Don’t be afraid, shake this town up!!!!!