Montclair Voter Guide: 2021 Candidates, School Board Question

MONTCLAIR, NJ — The race between Gov. Phil Murphy and Jack Ciattarelli will be among the top reasons that Montclair residents head to the polls on Nov. 2. But local voters will also grapple with several other choices in the 2021 general election.

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Polls will be open in New Jersey on Tuesday from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. The last day to register to vote was Oct. 12. Applications for vote-by-mail ballots were due Oct. 26. Learn more or see local polling places here.

Early in-person voting in New Jersey is taking place for the first time in state history from Oct. 23 to Oct. 31. People who participate in early voting won't be allowed to send a mail-in ballot or vote in-person on Election Day. You can find the early voting locations in Essex County here.

The Essex County Clerk’s Office has released a guide to voting in the general election, which includes locations of ballot drop boxes. See it here.

Here are the choices Montclair voters will face this election.

LOCAL

Montclair is one of the few remaining New Jersey municipalities where mayors appoint members of the local board of education. But that will change if voters pass a school governance proposal in the 2021 general election.

The question at hand: Should Montclair residents start electing members of the board of education?

Advocates for a “yes” vote say that appointing school boards breeds unhealthy politics, and argue that “citizens rather than politicians” should choose who sets education policy in the township. But others are pushing for a “no” vote, arguing that elected boards run the risk of having candidates beholden to campaign contributions, and can allow a “single-issue” candidate to win an election with very few votes. Read More: Electing Montclair's School Board (Here Are The Pros, Cons)

Here's the school governance proposal as it reads on the ballot:

"Shall the Montclair Township School District be reclassified from a 'Type I' School District, with members of the Board of Education appointed by the mayor, to a 'Type II' School District, with members of the Board of Education elected by Township voters during regularly-scheduled annual November elections, with dissolution of the appointed Board of School Estimate, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:9-4?"

What does that mean? According to the interpretive statement on the ballot:

"If a majority of voters vote yes, the change from a Type I School District to a Type II School District would mean that voters would elect members to the Montclair Township Board of Education. The Board of Education would change from a seven-member Type I board appointed by the mayor to a nine-member Type II elected board. Each member would be elected to a three-year term, with elections for three members occurring during regularly-scheduled annual November elections starting the first November after passage of this referendum, and current members remaining until their terms expire. The conversion would eliminate the Board of School Estimate, have future bonding based on the credit of the district rather than the Township, and subject future bonding for capital projects and any operating budgets that exceed state caps on property tax growth to approval by public referendum. If approved, there will also be other minor technical changes required that are not set forth herein."

COUNTY

Voters in Essex County, including Montclair, will pick a county sheriff for a three-year term.

Democratic incumbent Armando Fontoura, the longest-serving sheriff in county history, successfully fended off a challenge from John Arnold Jr. and Barry Jackson in the June primary election.

Fontoura will face off against Nicholas Pansini, who earned the Republican nod.

STATE

Incumbent Gov. Phil Murphy (Democrat) is up against challenges from Jack Ciattarelli (Republican), Madelyn Hoffman (Green Party), Gregg Mele (Libertarian Party) and Joanne Kuniansky (Socialist Workers Party). Read More: NJ Governor Candidates: Why You Should Elect Me (In 500 Words)

Montclair voters will also get to cast ballots for the following seats in the state Legislature:

Senate, 34 District (vote for one)

• Nia H. Gill (Democrat)
• Scott Pollack (Republican)

Assembly, 34 District (vote for two)

• Thomas P. Giblin (Democrat)
• Britnee N. Timberlake (Democrat)
• Tafari K. Anderson (Republican)
• Irene DeVita (Republican)

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