Who's Running In 2022 Secaucus School Board Election

SECAUCUS, NJ — This past Monday, July 25, was the deadline for candidates to file to run in school board elections across New Jersey.

Like all towns in the state, the Secaucus school board election will be held the same day as the midterms, Tuesday, Nov. 8.

There are three open seats on the board this year. Three current board members have apparently decided not to run for re-election; they are Jack McStowe, Kathy Huber O'Connell and Jayesh Patel.

Their decision is noteworthy because McStowe and O'Connell have been Secaucus school board members for years, with McStowe as the board's current president. Patel was a relative newcomer to Secaucus politics.

There are five people who filed to run for those three open seats:

• Nicholas Mattiello, "Keep Moving Forward" slate
• Monica Berckes, "Keep Moving Forward" slate (her husband is the cousin of former Secaucus High School principal Dr. Robert Berckes)

• Christina DeBari, "For the Children" slate
• Alexander de Hombre, "For the Children" slate (he ran last year for Secaucus Board of Education and lost)
• Kelli Ann Conroy D'Addetta, "For the Children" slate (D'Addetta has been on the Board before)

O'Connell released the following statement to her Facebook page Wednesday, saying that her team has decided not to run and they endorse the "For the Children" slate.

"Jack, Jayesh and myself have decided to step down as Secaucus Board of Education trustees this year. We feel that Christina, Alex and Kelli would be the perfect team to carry out our visions for the children of this town. Please consider voting for them in November!" she said.