Charles and Casalino Hold Commanding Leads

Incumbent Michelle Casalino will join newcomer Ronald Charles on the West Orange Board of Education following Election Day wins Tuesday.

With nearly 90 percent of precincts reporting, Casalino finished with 6,000 votes. Charles finished second among the four candidates with 5,076 votes. The remaining candidates, Joseph Sorbino and Adam Kraemer, finished with 3,815 and 2,996 votes, respectively.

Board member Paul Petigrow dropped out of the race in September.

During the campaign, Casalino promoted herself as someone who had the experience after six years on the board, specifically mentioning cost saving measures she voted in favor of, especially reigning in custodial overtime. 

Charles has worked for over 25 years in the Essex County Department of Corrections. He has held many positions in the department including Associate Director and has managed more than 700 people and a budget of over $100 million. He is an advocate for all children and wants to see them all do well on a wide spectrum, he said. 

Charles told an October candidate’s forum he felt a cap on the district superintendent’s salary, “is going to be a challenge….I think it's not going to attract the best talent to West Orange….I think the board should act extremely diligent in checking references and looking through newspapers and social media."

The results, posted on the Essex County Clerk's website, are as follows: 

West Orange Board of Education (2 seats):

Patch will update this story as more information becomes available.