John Oliver, Paul Marini: Hillsborough BOE Candidate Profiles

HILLSBOROUGH, NJ — There is a contested race for the Hillsborough Board of Education election this upcoming November election with five candidates vying for the three open seats.

John Oliver and Paul Marini are among the five candidates running for the three, three-year seats in the election being held on Tuesday, Nov. 5. The other three candidates include:Gregory Gillette, Joyce Eldridge-Howard, and Jean Trujillo.

Oliver and Marini are both running on the same campaign under the banner of "Education Above Politics." Here is a look at who Oliver and Marini are and why they are running. Candidates were asked to answer the same questions and each candidate profile will be posted on Patch's site as it gets closer to the election.

John Oliver and Paul Marini

John Oliver, a Republican, is a lifelong resident of Somerset County and a resident of Hillsborough since 1983 and Paul Marini, a Democrat, is a resident of Hillsborough since 2010.

"I love our town," said Oliver, who is vice president of Commercial Lending Provident Bank. "But as I watch the inaction in Washington D.C., in Trenton, and now at our own school board, I knew something had to be done to shake up the current board if we want Hillsborough Schools to stay at the forefront."

"You have two members of the current board who ran and lost for township committee. You have two more who are currently elected as Democrat committee people," said Marini, director of Compliance for Sparta Systems. "Are the votes being cast in the best interest of our children or are these individuals voting in pursuits of something else? We need people like John and myself who are committed to the children of our districts above everything else."

Oliver has served on the NJGolf Foundation (the charitable arm of the New Jersey PGA) since 2004 and currently holds the position of Treasure. Oliver also started a golf program for children with autism in Morristown (SNAP).

"Between the failed referendum, the current busing situation, the treatment of our special needs kids at the Hillsborough Prom, and the new 'pay to do anything' mentality at the high school its crystal clear we need new faces at the board level that won’t be a rubber stamp anymore," said >Oliver.

Marini has two daughters in the district who will be attending Hillsborough Elementary School and Auten Road Intermediate School in the fall, and he just completed a two-year term as Treasurer of the HES Home and School Association.

"From my time serving as Treasurer of the HES Home and School Association, and watching my kids go through our school system, its painfully obvious that we need a new commitment to our students and our teachers. Laying off 37 classroom teachers was a disgrace to our district and every member who voted for that budget should be ashamed," said Marini. "We need to settle a contract with our teachers, so we can start moving forward. John and I are committed to making our school system better while being a fiscal watchdog for our residents."

To learn more about Marini and Oliver, visit: facebook.com/eaphillsboroughnj.

— (If you are a candidate and would like to participate in the election profile, email alexis.tarrazi@patch.com)

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