Sheena wins BIG!
Re: students, I assume that many of them are not registered to vote in South Orange. I know when I (and everyone I knew) went away to school, I remained registered in my hometown, and voted via absentee ballot.
There was, I believe, a polling place at SHU. Does that still exist? How is the turnout there if it does?
I actually wrote in Ms. Hynes for BOT. I admire her willingness to step into public service and I think her dedication would have been valuable to the town, but I was more convinced by Sheena as VP. I don't know that Ms. Hynes would have wanted to serve on the BOT and I didn't expect she'd win, but I do appreciate her candidacy!
Actually, it doesn't it would be a challenge to confirm. The polling machine used to (and probably still do) have a issue counting the number of votes by each voter. This was a real issue for runoffs but it also hurts analysis.
mikescott said:
Actually, it shows people voted line A or Line B - All four on Line B had pretty much the same number of votes. Means those who voted for Ms. Hynes did not vote for a trustee.
A low turnout usually means people are satisfied. The lack of opposition is probably more to do that most people do not want to have to campaign to be able to do a thankless volunteer job. And the fact that constant complainers like festus and jayjayp have never stepped up shows they would rather stand on the sidelines complaining about everyone and everything.
jayjay said:
The large number of undervotes suggests a lot of unhappiness with the incumbent trustees.
You can argue the flip side, that it's admirable that Sheena didn't try and leverage her status as an alum to try and get student votes. Let's face it, you attend a school, there's a local election, one candidate is an alum, one isn't. Who do you vote for?
Students are trying to prepare themselves for a very tough job market, and to swing tuition - not things they're going to accomplish by being heavily involved in town issues. Would be great to have them involved, but if they're not, I can't say I blame them. And some have been involved in market research for the Seton Village district, etc.
Vivaldo said:
Congratulations to the first female Village President of South Orange -- way to go, Sheena!
+1 and such a nice person!
TarheelsInNj said:
I actually wrote in Ms. Hynes for BOT. I admire her willingness to step into public service and I think her dedication would have been valuable to the town, but I was more convinced by Sheena as VP. I don't know that Ms. Hynes would have wanted to serve on the BOT and I didn't expect she'd win, but I do appreciate her candidacy!
+1
apple44 said:
You can argue the flip side, that it's admirable that Sheena didn't try and leverage her status as an alum to try and get student votes. Let's face it, you attend a school, there's a local election, one candidate is an alum, one isn't. Who do you vote for?
Students are trying to prepare themselves for a very tough job market, and to swing tuition - not things they're going to accomplish by being involved in town issues. Would be great to have them involved, but if they're not, I can't say I blame them.
So, let me see if I understand this, you are saying it is admirable to ignore a segment of residents because you have something in common with them and can connect with them on a personal level? Alrighty then!
Also, just because Sheena is an alum does not mean that students (or faculty and staff living in South Orange) have to vote for her because of that fact. You vote on the issues and how you feel each candidate will address them.
I almost wonder if Sheena thought that by seeking support from the university residents that those not affiliated with Seton Hall would see her as not supporting them.
All of this said, I am happy Sheena won and think she will do a tremendous job.
LL_ said:
There was, I believe, a polling place at SHU. Does that still exist? How is the turnout there if it does?
Yes, it does still exist but I do not have any idea how the turnout was.
I think you guys are trying to argue for the sake of arguing. Let's be happy for Sheena, and congratulate those who remembered to vote, wherever they live.
Dan Dietrich
I'm not aware that anyone "ignored" SHU, but I can understand with a campaign having limited resources, it wouldn't be a huge focus. I agree that one should vote on issues, but firmly don't believe that everyone does. I don't know, but would also guess that students are more concerned about issues such as equality, choice and the environment, and less about more local concerns, particularly as many are not from the immediate area to begin with.
And look at SHU's marketing. It's about proximity to New York, internships there, alums at American Express, all that. It doesn't position itself as a local school.
LIke I said, it would be great to have more students involved and voting, and some already are, I just don't think it's a top priority.
Out of 1730 voters registered in District 12 (voting place SHU) 138 voters cast ballots. A quick eyeball of the results makes that appear to be one of the lowest if not the lowest percentage of registered voters voting.
@apple44 I totally agree, plus they are not taxpayers so they may not feel as invested in the local government happenings anyway. There's perhaps a bigger discussion to be had about that, but I'm not surprised if there was low student turnout.
TarheelsInNj said:
I actually wrote in Ms. Hynes for BOT. I admire her willingness to step into public service and I think her dedication would have been valuable to the town, but I was more convinced by Sheena as VP. I don't know that Ms. Hynes would have wanted to serve on the BOT and I didn't expect she'd win, but I do appreciate her candidacy!
I did the same.
hoops said:
TarheelsInNj said:
I actually wrote in Ms. Hynes for BOT. I admire her willingness to step into public service and I think her dedication would have been valuable to the town, but I was more convinced by Sheena as VP. I don't know that Ms. Hynes would have wanted to serve on the BOT and I didn't expect she'd win, but I do appreciate her candidacy!
I did the same.
As did I. I also wrote in Robert Sandow.
Congratulations to Sheena Collum!
"South Orange is also home to nationally-ranked, tier-one Seton Hall University, which serves as an enormous anchor to support our local economy. From technology donations to student learning projects, partnerships with SHU’s Stillman School of Business and unprecedented student body volunteerism, the past two years have gone a long way toward building a truly integrated “CommUniversity.”
The above is from SouthOrange2015's platform, which then goes on to say:
- Continue partnerships with Seton Hall, increase student learning, volunteer, and employment opportunities throughout the Village that strengthen the University’s ties to the community at-large.
I'm sure that Sheena has played a large part in this.
Just FYI - Yesterday was the last day of final exams at Seton Hall. So, many students had probably already left campus and those still there may well have been preoccupied with their last exam(s) or getting final papers completed and submitted.
LL_ said:
There was, I believe, a polling place at SHU. Does that still exist? How is the turnout there if it does?
That polling place is for district 12, which includes Tuxedo Park, some of Seton Village, and anyone whose official residence is on the Seton Hall campus proper. The student population makes this district high in registered voters but low in voter turnout, especially since college is done for the year at the time of the municipal elections. There were 138 total votes in that district. Sheena won it 94-44.
LL_ said:
Out of 1730 voters registered in District 12 (voting place SHU) 138 voters cast ballots. A quick eyeball of the results makes that appear to be one of the lowest if not the lowest percentage of registered voters voting.
LL see my post above. Lots of registered voters who are not actually in town for the elections because they are students who live on campus and are registered here but may not actually be here for the election
Rob_Sandow said:
LL_ said:
Out of 1730 voters registered in District 12 (voting place SHU) 138 voters cast ballots. A quick eyeball of the results makes that appear to be one of the lowest if not the lowest percentage of registered voters voting.
LL see my post above. Lots of registered voters who are not actually in town for the elections because they are students who live on campus and are registered here but may not actually be here for the election
And it still makes sense for them to be registered there so that they can vote during the November elections even if they are not there for the local ones, I guess.
That was what I did as an upperclassman and graduate student.
I voted where I lived rather than where my parents lived, but I only voted in state and national level races, since I wasn't investing the energy to understand the local politics of a town which I lived in as a long-term visitor rather than a fully-invested resident.
I wouldn't have presumed to vote in a town council/mayoral or Board of Education election unless I'd taken the time to understand the issues and candidates, and as a student, I didn't.
I always find it fun to see the list of write-in candidates. So today, I submitted an OPRA request for it and below are the results sorted by vote count (and then alphabetical). I cleaned up some of the names to fix obvious spelling errors and consolidated the vote count from all districts:
Write in efforts never work, and I turned down efforts on a couple of fronts to be an active write in candidate this year. Months ago, I posted here that I would not run this year, but 53 people took the time to write me in anyway. That is humbling. Thank you. I do look forward to being able to serve The Village on the BoT at some time in the future.
So does this mean that Mr. Sandow and Ms. Hyneswill be on the BOT? Their vote totals, meaer as they are, would put them on the Board.
No. The three trustees running unopposed won their seats. The fourth only becomes vacant when Sheena is sworn in. Then a new trustee is chosen to finish the term. The write in votes technically mean nothing for that seat
Technically, I believe a new trustee is chosen only for the time until the next election. So, if the BOT appoints someone, that person will serve until the November elections, at which point the populace is able to elect someone for the rest of the term.
(This isn't the way it used to be but it was changed to this process at some point.)
Ups, thou ht there were two seats vacant, Sheena's and one where the incumbent didn't run for reelection.
It will be interesting to see who will fill Sheena's trustee seat for the next 6 months. I hope they choose someone who has shown an interest in the town by serving on committees or at least attending board meetings.
Actually, it shows people voted line A or Line B - All four on Line B had pretty much the same number of votes. Means those who voted for Ms. Hynes did not vote for a trustee.
A low turnout usually means people are satisfied. The lack of opposition is probably more to do that most people do not want to have to campaign to be able to do a thankless volunteer job. And the fact that constant complainers like festus and jayjayp have never stepped up shows they would rather stand on the sidelines complaining about everyone and everything.