The Bayonne Board of Education voted to appoint Barry Kushnir, who unsuccessfully ran on the Kids First ticket endorsed by Mayor Jimmy Davis in November, to the last vacant seat on the nine-person board last night.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“I’m completely honored that the board choose me, has appointed me, to fill in the vacant seat. I look forward to trying my best to making the public school system the best it can be for the community,” Kushnir, 46, told Hudson County View over the phone this morning.
A maintenance grievance chairman for the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE) Local 194, was appointed by a vote of 7-1, with Mary Jane Desmond – who along with Carol Cruden was appointed last month – was the only trustee to vote no.
Davis threw his support behind Kushnir and Chris Piechocki in late October, two weeks prior to the November 3 election – the first school board election in Bayonne in 35 years.
Piechocki resigned last month, citing that he has opted to spend time with his family as his brother battles terminal brain cancer.
Piechocki, Ava Finnerty and Joseph Broderick bested Kushnir, who has also worked for the NJ Turnpike Authority since October 1992, in the three, three-year terms up for grabs at the polls, but Kushnir now enters the fray four-and-a-half months later.
“I think public service is an honorable profession, I’m completely honored that I have that opportunity to extend my public service, which I’ve been involved in my whole adult life and part of my youth, in my community on the school board,” he added.
Additionally, Kushnir also served as a trustee and legislative coordinator for the Hudson County Central Labor Council, a former aide to former Freeholder Doreen DiDomenico, as well as a trustee for both the Urban League of Hudson County and the Hudson County Housing Resource Center.
Furthermore, Kushnir holds a B.A. in political science and a Masters of Labor Employment Relations from Rutgers University.
