Irvington Board of Education candidate David Pinckney stands outside Newark Superior Court Judge Tom Vena’s courtroom on Friday, March 16, after Vena ruled against his bid to have the nominating petitions of the three Team Irvington Strong incumbent board members up for re-election in the April board election decertified.
IRVINGTON, NJ — Newark Superior Court Judge Tom Vena on Friday, March 16, ruled against an attempt by Irvington Board of Education candidate David Pinckney to kick three incumbent board members off the ballot for the BOE election on Tuesday, April 17.
Board members Jamillah Beasley-McCleod, Ronald Brown and Melody Scott are also members of Team Irvington Strong and filed nominating petitions with the same signatures on them.
“It seems you’re saying that the petitions are insufficient because individuals signed more than one,” said Vena on Friday, March 16. “I would tell you right now that’s not what the statute means. So here’s the question: How many people are running for this position? How many seats are open? Did anybody sign more than three petitions? So the statute does not apply.”
Pinckney had been arguing that, regardless of state law, the common practice in Irvington for years with was to conduct elections in a different manner than what is specifically stated in state statutes and he was applying that local standard to the petitions submitted by Beasley-McCleod, Brown and Scott.
However, the BOE is a separate entity from the township of Irvington, so its business administrator and secretary handle nominating petitions and elections, not Wiener or any other municipal clerk. Reginald Lamptey is the Irvington School District’s assistant superintendent of business and board secretary, and handles election procedures for the board.
Further, Vena ruled that state law trumps alleged local tradition, meaning however Municipal Clerk Harold Wiener conducts municipal elections is irrelevant.
“What that statute tells you is you can sign up to three petitions. If you sign a fourth one, then there’s a problem with all four,” said Vena. “I’m telling you what the law means. I don’t care how it has been applied anywhere and anytime else.”
When the judge asked Pinckney if he had any other reason for the ballots to be insufficient, Pinckney said no.
“I’m sitting by the fact that the way the law is stated in English is different,” said Pinckney on Friday, March 16. “That’s been the way that it’s been applied for every election for Congress, the U.S. Senate, president, etc.”
However, Vena disagreed with Pinckney’s interpretation of the state statute.
“Motion to dismiss complaint is granted on the grounds that the basis for the petitions is not sufficient,” said Vena.
“We’re here because Mr. Pinckney filed a complaint where he’s trying to disqualify three of the candidates that are running for the board — Jamillah Beasley-McCleod, Ronald Brown and Melody Scott,” said attorney Yadira Duran, an associate of the Hunt, Hamlin and Ridley law firm representing the BOE in the hearing against Pinckney, on Friday, March 16. “His position is the same person signed all three of their petitions and he believes that is against the law. He cited a statute and it seems … to my understanding, he’s just misreading it. He’s trying to say that one person can only sign one petition. What I don’t think he’s understanding is that there’s three vacancies, so each voter can sign up to three petitions and that’s what they did.”
Duran said there are five candidates vying for three available seats and “no person, no voter signed more than three petitions.”
“So the judge ruled in our favor,” Duran said. “He explained the law to Mr. Pinckney. Mr. Pinckney seems to disagree and I believe he’s filing an appeal, but it’s our understanding Mr. Pinckney has no merit in bringing up this argument. If there were four vacancies, one voter can sign up to four petitions. There’s three vacancies and no voter signed more than three petitions.”
Duran also said Pinckney’s contention that the BOE handles petitions and elections differently than the township was inaccurate, too.
“It’s all the same law, but different entities. They all follow the same law,” Duran said. “The voter signatures are verified by the Essex County clerk and they were indeed verified. It is public information. The public has the right to inspect the petitions and the public has the right to inspect them. Mr. Pinckney did inspect the petitions. He wanted a copy of them; however, he never submitted an OPRA request for them. Therefore, he was not given a copy of them.”
Duran said the hearing on Friday, March 16, in Vena’s courtroom was the second time she had gone to court on behalf of the school district against Pinckney since the filing deadline on Monday, Feb. 26. According to an email Irvington NAACP President Merrick Harris received Monday, Feb. 26, from Cathy Steele, a secretary to the assistant superintendent, the five incumbent and prospective board candidates are Brown, Beasley-McCleod, Scott, Pinckney and Tacuma Gora.
Pinckney only contested the petitions from Beasley-McCleod, Scott and Brown.
“He did go to the Essex County clerk and we did have a hearing this past Tuesday (March 13),
where, at that point, we went before the judge and he was given a copy of the petitions, but that’s because the judge ordered it,” Duran said. “He did bypass the OPRA request, but that was because the judge ordered it. And then he brought up this other argument. It feels great to win. We are winners.”
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