Meet The Candidate: David Tingle For Edison Board Of Education

EDISON, NJ — Edison resident David Tingle has been a Senior Master Sergeant in the US Air Force for 25 years. Recently, he was mobilized to assist with the evacuation of Kabul, Afghanistan.

“As soon as I landed in the country, I was put in a key role to ensure the mission was a success due to my past experience and leadership in stressful situations,” Tingle said. He hopes to bring this leadership quality to the Edison Board of Education, if elected on Nov. 2.

Tingle has served in combat zones globally and has learned to “communicate with people from all backgrounds and learn their individual needs.” A lifelong resident of Edison, Tingle hopes to work with everyone as a team, to help the school district achieve success.

Nine candidates are vying for three seats on the Edison Board of Education this Nov. 2.

Read below to learn more about Tingle and his platform for the upcoming election in Edison.

Name: David Tingle

Position Sought: Edison School Board of Education

Age (as of Election Day): 43

Party Affiliation: Non-partisan

Family: Megan, 43 (wife); Taylor, 14 (daughter); Austin 13 (son)

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?: No

Education: United States Air Force Basic Training, Security Forces Technical School, Community College of the Air Force, Union County Police Academy

Occupation: Edison Police Sergeant 19 years, Senior Master Sergeant US Air Force 25 years

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office: Edison Democratic Organization Committeeman District #41 and Sergeant at Arms, Commander American Legion Father and Son Post #435

Campaign website: Uniteedisontogether.com

Why are you seeking elective office?

I am seeking office to bridge the gap between the Board members, parents, Council and Mayor for the betterment of our children, school employees and taxpayers. I believe with the right leaders in key positions we can unite Edison together and make our school district the best in the state if not the country.

The single most pressing issue facing our board, district is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

Although there are many issues facing our school district and school board, I believe we need to start with open dialogue and transparency. When we can begin to do this, then and only then will we be able to address the overcrowding, transportation, enrollment and other services our children need to succeed.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

A critical difference between other candidates and myself is my vast experience in public service not only in Edison but globally while serving abroad in combat zones. This unique service allows me to meet and communicate with people from all backgrounds and learn their individual needs. Many times in foreign countries, I have had the fortunate opportunity to work alongside our NATO allies, and we as a team were able to openly communicate and work towards the successes of our missions. This wasn’t always an easy task with the many language barriers and different cultures but with an open mind and willingness to work as a team for the betterment of all parties involved we always succeeded.

If you are a challenger, in what way has the current board or officeholder failed the community (or district or constituency).

One of the key issues I see with the current board is their ability to communicate and work together as a team. There is a time and place for disagreement and that is good to solve the many issues our district faces but, that should be in closed session not in front of the public. There has been many times where I didn’t agree with my leadership and in private we always worked together but, when it can time to bring the ideas or solutions to the men and women under my command it was a unified message from the top down. All of the key leaders being the Superintendent, Council President, Mayor and the School Board need to show unity and bring solutions not issues to our residents.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

• 0 percent tax increase in 21-22. Utilizing online bidding software for all contracts to increase transparency and receive competitive bids. Strategically bring back certain outsourced services (e.g. transportation) to reduce cost and provide better services.
• Deliver a long-term and short-term plan to solve overcrowding including bringing back full-day kindergarten and pre-K in our first year on the board.
• Invest in drug education and access to mental healthcare to keep our students safe.
• Increase access to parents by making sure the enrollment and transportation departments are more resident friendly and the parent portal is updated in a timely manner.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

As a supervisor both here locally in the police department and in the Air Force I have faced many different situations where my leadership and decision-making abilities were key to success. Most recently in the Air Force, I was mobilized to assist with the evacuation of Kabul Afghanistan. As soon as I landed in the county, I was put in a key role to ensure the mission was a success due to my past experience and leadership in stressful situations and at an operations tempo never experienced within our role in this operation.

The best advice ever shared with me was:

Be kind to all, you never know when your roles will be reversed. In my line of work sometimes you are the supervisor/leader and other times you will be led by others. Management is fluid and teamwork is key to success.

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

My willingness to work with others and make the unpopular choice when it is the correct choice to make for the parties involved is what I can promise.

In anticipation of the upcoming election, Patch asked candidates to answer questions about their campaigns. We will be publishing candidate profiles as election day draws near.

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