UPDATED
NEWARK – A cheer erupted from the crowd of East Ward regulars here in a banquet hall as word came down that the For Our Kids team backed by North Ward Democratic leader Steve Adubato is comfortably ahead in the Newark Schools Advisory Board race with over fifty percent of the vote counted.
Favorite daughter Eliana Pintor is the top vote-getter early with 2,963, followed by her running mates Tave Padilla with 2,661, and Chris T. Pernell with 2,437.
That momentarily put the block over the Children’s First Team by 500 votes, but does not include results from the South Ward.
Moments later, with 73% of the vote recorded, Alturrick Kenney, a member of the Children’s First Team, snuck up behind Pernell and dislodged her from the three spot. Then he bumped Padilla into third.
With 77% of the vote recorded, Kenney was in second place behind Pintor. Padilla was in third with Antoinette Baskerville-Richardson closing hard.
“It looks like the battle is for third place,” said Assemblyman Albert Coutinho, (D-29), of Newark, a neighborhood ally of Pintor’s.
| Philip C. SEELINGER, Jr. | 1,264 | 4.82% |
| – Eliana PINTOR MARIN | 4,018 | 15.33% |
| – Ariagna PERELLO | 1,566 | 5.97% |
| – Tave PADILLA | 3,620 | 13.81% |
| – Deniqua MATIAS | 3,543 | 13.52% |
| – Alturrick KENNEY | 3,837 | 14.64% |
| – Donald G. JACKSON, Jr. | 852 | 3.25% |
| – Antoinette BASKERVILLE-RICHARDSON | 3,571 | 13.62% |
| – Willard ANDREWS | 256 | 0.98% |
| – Alfred McINTYRE | 185 | 0.71% |
| – Chris T. PERNELL | 3,465 | 13.22% |
| Write-In | 36 | 0.14% |
| Total | 26,213 | 100.00% |
