Joel Ramirez jumps into 3rd place

In Paterson’s highly competitive Board of Education election, Joel Ramirez managed to surpass two candidates and secure the third seat, thanks to a surge in mail-in and provisional votes. The latest tallies, released on Friday night, showed Ramirez moving from fifth to third place, with a 28-vote lead over Vince Arrington, who had held the position for the previous eight days. Corey Teague is now fifth, trailing Ramirez by 52 votes. Mohammed Rashid and Kenneth Simmons maintained their lead for the other two seats up for grabs.

While the results are yet to be certified by election officials and could prompt a recount, Ramirez’s success has changed the dynamics of this election on several levels. This includes the battle between candidates supported by Assemblyman Benjie Wimberly and Mayor Andre Sayegh. Ramirez, backed by Sayegh, has resulted in a split between the allies of the opposing parties.

This unforeseen turn of events could also mean that four of the nine school board members will be of Latino descent, the same number as in the past year. The initial results showed them losing a seat, which surprised and disappointed Latino political leaders.

The unexpected developments have sparked discussions of possible recounts, with Arrington congratulating the winners. He has expressed no plans to seek a recount at the moment but has not ruled out the option. Ramirez could not be reached for comment, while Teague acknowledged that he anticipated these last-minute changes, as Latino candidates in Paterson tend to receive significant support from mail-in ballots.

A Change in Standings

The revised results also brought another change in the standings, as 20-year incumbent Jonathan Hodges slipped from sixth to seventh place behind Sayegh-backed Flavio Rivera. To keep up with the newest developments on the school board election, check out developments on Paterson NJ: School board vote update: Joel Ramirez ahead.

Election Update

Here are the latest numbers:

• Rashid: 2,834 votes

• Simmons: 2,691 votes

• Ramirez: 2,503 votes

• Arrington: 2,475 votes

• Teague: 2,451 votes

• Rivera: 2,382 votes

• Hodges: 2,317 votes

• Martinez: 1,674 votes

• Dunham: 608 votes

Joe Malinconico is an editor of Paterson Press. Email: [email protected]

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Paterson NJ: School board vote update: Joel Ramirez ahead