Welcome to the Edison Dem Party contaminated School Board Elections - and you thought moving it to November was a Good idea!

Well, let's take a look at what's going on over there on Pierson Avenue, located at the intersection of Mythomania Lane and Dysfunction Junction, in this election cycle.

First and foremost, let me say that the damage to the two most important issues facing the School District has already been done by Jerry 'Needs to Step-down' Shi and this sitting Dysfunctional Board.

Of course I'm referring to (1) that idiotic, ill-conceived, opaque, piecemeal and overpriced $189.5m Money Grab, aka School Bond Referendum - that according to their own numbers will triple what your school tax increase was this year for the next 30 years and, (2) the now rush to hire a new Super before the end of the year.

Now, recognize it doesn't matter who wins this election since these two problems can only be fixed by the People of Edison by Voting down the December 10th Bond Referendum and forcing this Dysfunctional School Board to postpone the hiring of a new Super until the New Year when a new Board is seated.

Seems if they purposely delayed the hiring of a permanent Super until after Shi and his band of architects' could put together this Ridiculous Bond Referendum, then there's no rush to do this by year-end - other than a political one. Doing so now under these circumstances will most likely taint who ever they hire.

Also, seems to me that with up to a third of Board possibly changing and Brescher's Edison Dem Party Council ticket campaigning with Jerry Shi's team for the Board of Ed - Brescher and Ward should pass anyway on voting for a new Super on their way out the door. Doesn't make sense that they should have a say on one of the most important decisions this Board will make when they won't be around to be accountable for it.

Be that as it may, we all still have to vote on November 5th. So, let's take a look at the choices and what you'll likely get if you vote for them.

There are 10 candidates seeking the 3 open spots with Board Members Brescher (now running on the Edison Dem Party ticket for Council) and Ward not seeking reelection.

We have the following Candidates (which you can see at Candidates Night on the ETEA's webpage):

'Better Schools, Better Edison' Team - better known as the Jerry Shi & Edison Dem Party Team:
(1J) Shannon Peng (I)
(1L) Neville Arestani
(1I) Tahira Masood

The 'ACT 'Team:
(1M) Anthony De Amorin
(2M) Shivi Prasad-Madhukar
(1E)  Sparshil Patel

(1H) Carol Bodofsky

(1G) Christo Makropoulos

(1F) Samuel Marshall

(1K) Kenneth Nelson

First, the 'Better Schools, Better Edison' Team - a vote for this team will assure the continuation of the inept and dictatorial leadership of Jerry Shi and the continued infestation of Edison Dem Party politics in the School Board Elections.

Next, the ACT Team - a strange ticket with a combination of politics, narcissism and actual school board knowledge and experience. This is a ticket you need pick from and avoid voting the entire ticket.

Carol Bodofsky - far and away the most talented and qualified candidate. She has more knowledge about the School District and the workings of the Board of Ed than anyone I know. After all her years of service to the School District as a Special Ed teacher and attending all Board of Ed meetings, I would actually say that she not only deserves a seat on the Board but actually has Earned it.

Christo Makropoulos - clearly, an energetic and outspoken candidate with his own way of doing things. Certainly not timid about challenging people and their positions.

The two '20 Somethings' - Samuel Marshall and Kenneth Nelson - very intelligent young men and I kind of like the fact they stepped forward. We could use some young people on the Board - they would bring fresh ideas and a way of thinking that is valuable.

So, since I have to vote just like everyone else, here's where I come down for this election. I won't support the Shi Team for obvious reasons you can read about in this blog and I can't, in good conscience, support Anthony 'Narcissist a La Smart Phone' De Amorin. While I give him credit for his work on Suez, it's a much different thing to be on the Board of Ed. Given his self-involved and pandering style and temperament when dealing with differing opinions, he would make an already dysfunctional School Board even more so.


Here's how it comes down:

Anyhoo, be Smart in how you Vote on November 5th - you'll have to live with the consequences.