Biscardi, Pate Returned To Manchester School Board; Wingler Wins

MANCHESTER, NJ — The Manchester Township Board of Education will have two new faces when the unofficial vote tallies are certified in the 2020 election.

Laura Wingler joined incumbents James "Ken" Pate and Melanie Biscardi as the top vote-getters in the race for three full terms on the Manchester Township Board of Education.

Unofficial initial tallies posted by the Ocean County Board of Elections, Biscardi had 14,837 votes, Pate had 12,543, Wingler had 10,465 and Tony Goltsch, who was appointed to the board in August, had 8,903.

George Cervenak III received 14,881 votes in the preliminary tallies in his bid for the unexpired term of Christopher Nolan, who resigned from the board earlier this year.

The vote totals could yet change as election officials have to count mail-in ballots that are received by 8 p.m on Nov. 10; provisional ballots cast by voters who went to polling locations on Tuesday will be counted once they confirm mail-in votes. It's unclear how many ballots remain outstanding out of Manchester's 38,051 registered voters.

Pate has served on the board for more than 20 years, with a brief break after he was not re-elected in 2016. He was returned to the board the following year, and currently serves as the board president. Biscardi is seeking her second term. Wingler, who works at Ocean County College, is a newcomer.

Goltsch was arrested in September on charges of stealing from people who left jewelry with him for consignment or repairs. Additional charges were filed in October. He has not responded to Patch requests for comment.

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