BRICK – Now that election season has officially come to a close, two new members have been sworn into the Brick Township Board of Education.
The Board started off the new year with their reorganization meeting which had a portion of the meeting dedicated to the oncoming members.
In November, four candidates were competing for two seats on the board. Current members Alison Kennedy and Michael A. Blandina were seeking re-election, while Mike Mesmer and Gregory J. Cohen were also fighting for the two seats.
A few weeks after the election, the county certifies the votes, making it official. During the reorganization meeting in the beginning of the year, when new members are sworn in, the Township Business Administrator James Edwards announced the official 2023 election tallies:
Alison Kennedy – 8,577 votes, 30.93%
Mike Mesmer – 7,025 votes, 25.33%
Greg Cohen – 5,503 votes, 19.85%
Michael Blandina– 6,498 votes, 23.40%
Write-Ins – 126, 0.45%
Kennedy and Mesmer were sworn in on January 4 surrounded by their loved ones, colleges, and members of the community.
“I want to thank my family, friends, the voters of Brick Township, for giving me this opportunity to serve on this board that I will not take lightly. I’m here to advocate for our children, for every child in the district. I’ll do my absolute best to represent this community and make all decisions by listening and really understanding the data and the facts that are provided. I look forward to working with all of the board members, as well as Dr. Farrell,” Mesmer said.
“I just want to take the opportunity and thank every 8,577 of you that voted for me and put your faith in me. I truly appreciate you. I have enjoyed being a part of this board and I look forward to having the next three years to continue to work with this excellent team that we have together. I’m excited to welcome Mike to the team and look forward to working together,” Kennedy said.
In addition, members of the board nominated those who they thought were eligible to fill the roles of Board President and Board Vice President. This year, Stephanie Wohlrab was yet again chosen to be the Board President. Accompanying will be Victoria Pakala as Board Vice President.
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