The Hoboken Education Association has endorsed the “Leadership that Listens” board of education slate in the non-partisan November 8th contest.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“We’re extremely proud to have the endorsement of the Hoboken Education Association, a well-respected organization that represents so many of our hardworking Hoboken teachers. We will proudly work alongside our school administrators and educators to continue improving the lives of our students, and are thrilled to have their support,” the LTL team of Trustee Alex de la Torre, Leslie Norwood, and Antonio Graña said in a joint statement.
“While candidates from other slates have demonstrated hostility towards our teachers and administrators – both in their words and the organizations they’ve aligned with – we will always treat our teachers and the organization they belong to with respect and dignity.”
LTL again took aim at their main opposition, the “Kids First” team of Pavel Sokolov, Cindy Wiegand, and Donna Magen for receiving the endorsement of the New Jersey Project, a conservative group that opposes vaccines mandates, LGBTQ curriculums, and has had Facebook posts critical of the New Jersey Education Association.
While Magen had a brief interaction with the head of NJ Project on Facebook, Kids First has maintained that no one from their team solicited the endorsement and has since disavowed it.
The HEA’s endorsement is not particularly shocking, given that the NJEA supported the $241 million school referendum in January by donating $5,000 to the Friends of the New Hoboken High School group, campaign finance records show.
Nevertheless, for the moment, LTL has secured the only union endorsement in the election as the race hits the 11th hour.