Board of Ed Races Attract Competitive Fields in Next Month’s Elections

There will be highly competitive Board of Education elections next month in several local districts reversing a bit of a recent trend of uncontested races.

The changing of the guard will continue in the Bedford Central School District as all three incumbent trustees, Beth Staropoli, Jessica Cambareri and President John Boucher, have opted against running for another term.

Instead, five new candidates will be vying for the three available seats in the May 17 election – Amal Shady, Chris Kramer, Roger Nadel, Gilian Goldman Klein and Blakeley Lowry.

Last year, the seven-seat board saw turnover with the elections of Steven Matlin and Robert Mazurek, making for five new board members in a 12-month period once the new members begin their terms on July 1.

The district is also saying goodbye to three of its administrators at the end of this school year. Director of Special Education Deborah Dormady, Assistant Superintendent for Business and Administrative Services Cynthia Hawthorne and Superintendent Dr. Joel Adelberg are all leaving the district. Adelberg is retiring and will be replaced by current Eastchester Superintendent of Schools Dr. Robert Glass, while the district is searching for replacements for the other two central administration vacancies.

Full fields of candidates submitted petitions to appear on the ballot in both the Chappaqua and Byram Hills school districts. Chappaqua Board of Education President Hilary Grasso and Vice President Warren Messner are seeking re-election while four additional candidates, Dana Gorelik, Ryan Kelsey, Kristin Miles and former longtime board member Jeffrey Mester have also entered the race.

The first two finishers will win full three-year terms. The third highest vote-getter will fill the one-year unexpired term created by the departure of former longtime board member and former president Victoria Tipp. Tipp was elected to the New Castle Town Board last November. Alyson Gardner, who was appointed as an interim board member after Tipp resigned, did not seek to return.

In Byram Hills, three incumbents, Lara Stangel, Mia DiPietro and Vice President Jason Berland are seeking re-election as is Melissa Jacobs, who was appointed last month by the board to fill the vacancy created after Ira Schulman resigned to become North Castle Town Justice.

They will be joined on the ballot by Tiziana DiDonna, Scott Meyer and Danielle Orellana.

The three candidates collecting the most votes will serve three-year terms while the fourth-place finisher will serve the remaining 13-plus months of Schulman’s unexpired term.

A more compact match-up will take place in Pleasantville where Erin Ballard and Joseph McCoy will vie for one available seat on the five-member board. Current President Shane McGaffey, who is finishing his fourth term, is leaving the board.

There will be an uncontested Mount Pleasant Board of Education election this year. Incumbent Christopher Pinchiaroli is running for re-election with newcomer Steven Mastrosimone. The other incumbent whose term is expiring, Vincent Graci, is not seeking re-election.

Martin Wilbur

Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/