Updated Results In Hoboken 2022 School Board Election

Updated with new information at 4:50 p.m. Wednesday.

HOBOKEN, NJ — The Kids First slate has conceded the election for three seats on the Hoboken Board of Education to the Leadership That Listens slate, which contained one incumbent board member and two of his allies.

The results were very different from those cast in the $241M school referendum back in January. At that time, most ballots were cast against a plan promoted by the incumbent board. But in the Tuesday race, voters chose a slate led by an incumbent — showing that voters had several issues in mind besides the failed referendum. (And even the incumbent's slate acknowledged their opposition's contention that the plan's rollout should have been better handled.)

During the campaign, voters discussed the candidates' leanings on national political issues, charter schools, and test scores (both statewide and AP).

A total of eight candidates had vied for three three-year terms on the nine-member Hoboken Board of Education.

See the numbers and reactions below. The vote totals are not official until all votes are counted —including those mailed in on Tuesday — and the county clerk certifies the results.

Get a free Hoboken news digest in your inbox at 6 a.m. each day. Sign up for Patch email newsletters.

Kids First's Concession Letter:

Thank you from Kids First
November 8, 2022

We are so grateful for the overwhelming support we received from the Hoboken community over the last few months. Each of us made the decision to run for the Board of Education because we genuinely want to share our ideas and contributions.

We are disappointed by the outcome but are proud of how we carried ourselves during the election process. We hope that we showed our community that you can campaign in a respectful manner, and we hope we inspired more people to get involved along the way.

Thank you to everyone who supported us, including our volunteers who worked tirelessly to help share our message of transparency, collaboration and fiscal responsibility and our Campaign Manager Joseph Branco who was at our side from the very start.

Leadership That Listens Issues Statement

The Leadership That Listens team issued a statement Wednesday afternoon: "We are extremely thankful that the voters of Hoboken have put their trust in us. From the very first day of this campaign, it has been about creating a better Hoboken and school system for the children of our community, and we cannot wait to continue that work. We are sincerely grateful for all of the supporters and volunteers that worked tirelessly on our behalf."

Hoboken Mayor Responds

On Tuesday night, Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla said, "Congratulations to Leadership That Listens — Leslie Norwood, Antonio Grana and Alex De La Torre — for a big win for Hoboken! The school board is in great hands and the future is bright for our children."

The Totals

Here are unofficial preliminary results as of 4:50 p.m. Wednesday:

• Alex De La Torre (incumbent; Leadership That Listens): 5,236
• Antonio Graña (Leadership That Listens): 5,371
• Donna Magen (Kids First): 3,315
• Leslie Norwood (Leadership That Listens): 5,938
• Pavel Sokolov (Kids First): 3,504
• Cindy Wiegand (Kids First): 3,734
• Patricia Waiters: 2,353
• John Madigan: 1,652
• Write-Ins: 103

Other Races

8th Congressional District: Robert Menendez Jr. has won the 8th District Congressional seat from which Albio Sires retired. Read more here.

New Jersey Democratic Committee Chairman LeRoy Jones Jr. released a statement on the Congressional midterms: “The people of New Jersey just sent a resounding message that we will continue to reject right-wing extremism and instead elect public servants who will fight for our middle class families and our personal freedoms ... Congratulations also to Congressman-elect Rob Menendez, Jr., who has won his first term representing the 8th District."

In the Hudson County sheriff and clerk races, incumbent Democrats Frank Schillari and Junior Maldonado amassed three quarters of the vote to win re-election.

Learn more about voting in New Jersey here.