Happy 2016 and, with the new year, you can expect changes with the Union County Watchdog Association (UCWA) – which we will get to in the coming weeks if all the computer stuff works out – and likewise for the employees of the Elizabeth Board of Education (EBOE) now that the county machine has taken over (taken over the EBOE that is, not the UCWA).
First, a little background:
Prior to 2012 school board elections were held in April which meant only those super-motivated to get their people in participated. This frustrated some within the machine:
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April, 2011 results:
- Francisco Gonzalez: 3,141
- Paul Perreira: 2,936
- Fernando Nazco: 2,656
- Jose Rodriguez: 1,921
- Charles Bathelus: 1,654
- Silvia Nasi: 1,552
Then in 2012, presumably spurred by Christie as a reform measure, school board elections moved to November where the machine could coattail their candidates and, in 2012, it got a lot tighter:
- Elcy Castillo-Ospina: 8,454
- A. Tony Monteiro: 7.602
- Charlene Bathelus: 6.923
- Jose Rodriguez: 6,020
- Anthony Padlo: 5,717
- Josrg Casalins: 5,262
and, in November, 2013, a breakthrough:
- Carlos Trujilo: 4,604
- Stanley Neron: 4,430
- Jose Rodriguez: 3,685
- Stefano Calella: 3,646
- Cristina Pinzon: 3,588
- Anthony Padlo: 3,569
The takeover was supposedly set with November, 2014:
| Non – Ana Maria AMIN | 5,783 | 17.79% | ||
| Non – Malik J. JACKSON | 5,421 | 16.68% | ||
| Non – Paul PERREIRA | 5,647 | 17.37% | ||
| Non – Stefano CALELLA | 4,645 | 14.29% | ||
| Non – Maria Z. CARVALHO | 5,544 | 17.06% | ||
| Non – Rafael FAJARDO | 5,436 | 16.72% |
but, as it turned out, Ana Maria Amin turned on the machine and it needed another year.
November, 2015 did it:
| Non – Stephanie GONCALVES | 5,027 | 17.74% | ||
| Non – Maria MEDEIROS-DARASSI | 548 | 1.93% | ||
| Non – Michelle VELEZ-JONTE | 4,222 | 14.90% | ||
| Non – A. Tony MONTEIRO | 4,514 | 15.93% | ||
| Non – Daniel NINA | 4,868 | 17.18% | ||
| Non – Elcy CASTILLO-OSPINA | 4,177 | 14.74% | ||
| Non – Charlene BATHELUS | 4,961 | 17.51% |
With the county machine now in charge (notwithstanding more surprise defections) we can expect changes in the professionals hired by the EBOE and connected county employees looking for greener pastures moving over. We will be watching.*
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* All the UCWA changes will be announced in a future blog piece but increased coverage of EBOE activities, now that it is an arm of the county machine, will be one of them.
countywatchers 
Posted by bpaterson on January 2, 2016 at 10:47 pm
JB1 and TR, we wish you a prosperous 2016, and also a large thanks of gratitude for chroncling for the last 10 years the creepring cancer of corruption being perpetrated on the union county citizens and taxpayers by the senator lesniak led puppets and dumbasses.
Its sad that the residents once informed did rise up in a revolution like the olden times against the imperial forces of darkness that only enrich themselves first before the bones of programs are given to the rabble. Maybe they were incredulous that there could be such criminality run rampant and open through the govt that is supposed to protect us. The sad unintelligent likes of cryan, sullivan, hudaks, stender, farahi, et al who cannot really hold their own in the working world just sees an easy out by becoming sycophants and thus generate riches toward themselves, even more than what those in the private sector can gain thru the hard work and efforts.
Its all about taxmoney and who controls it. Most entities with integrity do good for the residents, but not here in union county unfortunately. I for one really blame the mayors and councils of the 21 towns for turning a blind eye toward this corruption showereing down on their own constituents, only because thru the county do the towns governing bodies get paltry grants, and then even are made to match the grant moneis which grants are actually the towns own moneies being returned. The system has been corrupted.
I for one have stayed informed adn evewn wrote the towns about what a corrupted system is being created at the county, yet they do nothing. Instead one by one the towns governing bodies with their “integrity” are knocked off and replaced with the corrupted minions willing to sell out thier own towns for their own promises of self enrichment given by senator lesniak the head of the snake and this corrupted system.
And we do nothing after reading what you chronicle for us. Some towns are internally fighting for their lives, hillside, plainfield, linden…as to the other the big money entities: the eliz board of ed was targeted and won as you show above, the UCIA was lost long time ago which contains a major financial structure on bonding and contracts to projfessionals who donate big to the freeholders and their cronies, the UCUA also with its bonding, the RVSA is embattled, the Joint meeting authority has its solid political connections into the lesniak machine, kean college with president farahi the fraud, the union county vo tech headed by a minion, the union county college headed by a person promised the limelight in return for looking the other way and selling out the eduction system inside the edifice.
The littel towns make no real difference to them BTW, but they still want control over the likes of garwood, fanwood, winfield, kenilworth, and they are getting thier fingers into them. We have the Soprano state and we ourselves live inside the Soprano county as i noted before. This would be a perfect sequel to write thanks to all that you uncover. The rest of the world would be shocked that this could actually being going on in NJ. We thank you for exposing so much and look forward to hopefully the good changes to the UCWA that are imminent. We are looking at your site as an ongoing obituary of union county proper.
Posted by Walter Pommnitz on January 3, 2016 at 2:53 pm
I’m glad to see that there is this citizens group overseeing the politics in this county. I only knew about UCWA when I became frustrated when confronting the freeholders about the stadium in rahway park. I thought a project that large would have been put to a vote and let the voters decide. The non transparency of the whole project is mind boggling and reeks with deception. This project is a cash cow for continued upgrades and reflects this opinion for the lack of a final blueprint. Thousands of citizens are opposed to the site there for it would destroy the essence of the origional founders vision of the park.
Keep on exposing, fighting and kicking. We need politions who are looking to spend our tax money wisely that benefit all residence and have transparency in all decisions.
walter Pommnitz
Posted by opa on January 3, 2016 at 10:41 pm
it would be nice if everyone understood, this has been coming for a loooong time, not to diminish your hard work, let us pray for our kids, are they not who they should be serving?
Posted by Javagold on January 8, 2016 at 7:55 pm
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-01-08/americans-cant-wait-get-out-these-five-states