Manchester School Board Incumbents Face No Challengers for Open Seats

The two Manchester incumbents whose terms expire in 2012 will face no opposition when elections are held on November 6. 

Board President Donald Webster Jr. and member James Griffin will run unopposed for the three-year terms since no other candidates filed petitions by the 4 p.m. Tuesday deadline, according to the Ocean County Clerk's Office.

Webster, of Whiting, was approved by the board as its president in May 2011. He took over the spot from Mary Walter, who after 10 years of service decided to leave the post. Griffin lives in the township's Pine Lake Park section.

Lakehurst has two board of education seats set to expire in 2012. Only one candidate, incumbent Vice President Kevin J. Oliver of Church Street, filed a petition to run. Member Joseph Leo is not seeking re-election, according to the county clerk. 

Of the 75 open school board seats in Ocean County, Lakehurst has one of the 10 with no candidate in the running. 

"The school board seat will appear on the November ballot stating 'No Petition was Filed' and voters can fill the seat by casting a write-in vote for a qualified candidate," reads a statement from the county clerk. 

The candidates list is unofficial, as names can be challenged for four days after the filing deadline, according to the county. Candidates will be listed in a separate section of the November ballot, as school board elections are nonpartisan.

This will be the first year for a November school board election for Manchester and Lakehurst. All Ocean County school districts, with the exception of Lakewood, opted to move their school board elections from April to November as a result of a bill signed into law by Governor Christie in January. ; .

Under the new law, school budgets do not face a public vote as long as the tax levy remains under the 2 percent cap. 

The terms for board of education members up for a vote have been extended through the remainder of 2012 since elections have moved from April to November. Going forward, members will be sworn in during a January reorganization meeting.