A preliminary list of your Sussex County BOE candidates by region

The November 8 general election will include the selection of school board of education candidates throughout the county. Below is a list of the current candidates who have petitioned to run, per the Sussex County Board of Elections.

The majority of the open seats are for three-year terms unless otherwise indicated.

Andover Township

For Andover Regional’s Board of Education (BOE), there are three open seats and two candidates currently vying for those seats:

· Steven Minnick

· William Porter

Byram Township

Byram has two seats open and two candidates:

· Susan McCall

· Charles E. Kranz

Frankford Township

The Frankford Township school district includes the village of Branchville. There are three seats open and five candidates running:

· Larissa “Lara” Longberg

· Andrew Lubchansky

· Leif Andersen

· Jamie Aromando

· John Tiger

Franklin Borough

Franklin Borough lists three open seats for three-year terms and two open seats for two-year terms. However, there are currently no candidates listed for the two-year seats. Those running for the three-year seats include:

· John Friend

· Stephen Koger

· Stephanie Perna

Hamburg Borough

The Hamburg Borough BOE has three seats open and two candidates running for them:

· Sheila Frayko

· Timothy S. Gillen

Hampton Township

Hampton has three open seats and three candidates as well:

· John A. Nelson

· Jeffrey Orosz

· Allison Holdt

Hardyston Township

Hardyston has three open seats, but six contenders:

· Anthony “Tony” Alfano

· Jean Barrett

· Edward W. Reinle

· Brian J. Drelick

· Kristy Lavin

· Michele VanAllen

High Point Regional High School

High Point, as a regional school, includes school board members from Branchville, Frankford, Lafayette, Sussex Borough and Wantage. However, the only municipality that needs representation this election is Wantage, which has three seats open and three contenders:

· Allison Orsi

· Elisabeth Schuman

· Tina Palecek

Hopatcong Borough

Hopatcong has three seats open for three-years terms, and two candidates for those seats, but it also has one open seat with a one-year term but no one running for that seat. Here are the three-year term candidates:

· Philip DiStefano

· Nicole Falconi-Shubert

Kittatinny Regional High School

As another regional school, KHS has board of education representatives from Fredon, Hampton, Sandyston, Stillwater and Walpack. While there is one seat open for Fredon, no candidates have petitioned for it. There are also two open seats for Stillwater, but just one candidate running for that seat:

· Louis Sylvester

Lafayette Township

Lafayette has two open seats for three-years terms and two open seats with one-year terms. The two candidates running for three-year terms are listed first:

· Kristin Tufano

· Gretchen Torres

· Deborah A. Fagan

· William Dianella

Lenape Valley Regional High School

Lenape Valley’s BOE includes representatives from Byram and Stanhope. Each of those locations have one seat open, but only Byram has a candidate running:

· Richard D. Kuncken

Newton Township

For the Newton school district, there are three candidates vying for the three open seats for three-year terms, one candidate for an open seat for a two-year term and one candidate for an open seat for a one-year term. The candidates for the three-year term are listed first, followed by the two- and one-year term candidates:

· Edward Caffrey

· Mary E. Zayac

· Raymond Morris

· Meghan Gill

· Samual Morales Jr.

Sparta Township

Sparta has by far the most candidates running. There are 10 candidates all vying for three seats with three-year terms, and seven candidates running for the three open seats with one-year terms. The 10 three-year term contenders are listed first:

· Gregory Rosenfeld

· Kurt Morris

· Lauren Collier

· Leigh McMichael

· Niamh Grano

· Jennifer Miller

· Patrick McKernan

· Kaitlin Gagnon

· Jen Grana

· Jessica Nelson

· Carlos “Luke” Mohammed

· Christina “Longo” Keiling

· Walter Knapp

· LeeAnne Pitzer

· Davina Daura

· Dana Gulino

· Tammy Mongon

Stanhope Borough

The board of education for Stanhope Borough has three candidates for three open seats with three-year terms and one candidate for the one open seat with a two-year term:

· Jennifer Herold

· Najib Iftikhar

· Matthew Vilardo

· Thomas Valle

Stillwater Township

Stillwater has three candidates running for the three open seats with three-year terms and one candidate running for the seat with a one-year term:

· Christine Voris

· Jennifer Kraft

· Karen Thibault

· Amy Valeich

Sussex-Wantage Regional

Sussex-Wantage includes both the borough and the township. While there is one seat open for Sussex Borough, it has no contenders. However, there are three candidates running for the two open seats to represent Wantage:

· Kenneth “Ken” Nuss

· Brittney Simmons

· Taylor Dely

Vernon Township

This is another race with multiple contenders for the three open board of education seats. The six candidates running are:

· Kelly Mitchell

· Elaine Colianni

· Jennifer Pellet

· Francis Pietrowski

· Charles Cimaglia

· Joseph Sweeney

Wallkill Valley Regional High School

The board of education for this regional high school includes representatives from Franklin, Hamburg, Hardyston, and Ogdensburg. There are two open seats for Hardyston — one with a three-year term and one with a one-year term. A candidate is listed for each of those positions. Franklin has one seat open for a three-year term and one candidate for that seat. While Ogdensburg has one seat open, there are no candidates listed for it. The Franklin candidate will be listed first, followed by the two Hardyston candidates:

· Thomas J. Kabatra

· Robert C. Carlson

· Jacqueline Elmo

This is just the preliminary list of candidates as of July 25, according to the Sussex County Board of Elections. Pending no changes, all candidates noted above will be on the November 8 general election ballot. For more information and updates, visit the county board of elections page at the following link: bit.ly/3QlO5tS.