Peters, Benosky, Ferraina Leading The Long Branch BOE Race

LONG BRANCH-EATONTOWN, NJ – Former Long Branch school superintendent Joseph Ferraina appears to be back having a say in how the district is run, as he, Maria Benosky and Violeta Peters are leading the Long Branch Board of Ed. race, according to unofficial race results.

However, Ferraina's third running mate, Caroline Bennett, got the fewest votes.

However, no vote tallies are official until they are certified. Also counting mail-in ballots will take a few days.

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Ferraina is the former long-time Long Branch schools superintendent who retired amid sexual harassment accusations from his former administrative assistant Adele Russo in 2011, the Asbury Park Press reported. He ran for a seat on the school board in 2019 and lost; this is his second attempt.

Bennett and Peters are currently on the Long Branch Board of Ed. Bennett lost her seat Tuesday.

All three ran against Benosky.

Here are the unofficial vote results as of Tuesday night:

• Violeta Peters: 2,483
• Maria Benosky: 2,295
• Joseph Ferraina: 2,261
• Caroline Bennett: 1,704

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