BOE Candidates Bloomfield Kids First Team Not Informed of October 22 Forum

Dear Mayra:

Per your conversation with Ellen Rogers (a member of the Bloomfield Kids First Team - candidates for Bloomfield Board of Education), we would like you to know that we were never invited to the upcoming (October 22, 2014) Candidates Forum that we understand is sponsored by the Bloomfield Home and School Council.

We learned that BOE president, Shane Berger involved himself in this process by designating himself as the person in charge of inviting all the BOE candidates to the forum. We only heard about the forum yesterday by virtue of the fact that it was posted on Catzell Bumpus’ Facebook page. Ms. Bumpus is not only a sitting Bloomfield Board of Education member, she is also a candidate for re-election for one of the seats that we are all seeking.

Also, Mr. Berger has been openly campaigning for Ms. Bumpus’ re-election. The fact that she was informed about the Candidates Forum but we were not is very troubling.

After Ellen Rogers inquired to you about not being invited, Mr. Berger contacted one of our candidates (Alimamy “Ali”Kamara) on October 17 and stated that the reason he had not invited any of us was because the Essex County Clerk’s Office would not provide him with our contact information. We spoke with Christopher Durkin (Essex County Clerk) who stated that his office never received a request for our contact information from Shane Berger. He further stated that had his staff received such a request it would never be denied because it is public information and readily available.

We also understand that Shane Berger has involved himself in formulating the questions that will be asked of us during the aforementioned Candidates Forum. This is yet another disconcerting aspect to this process.There is no doubt in our minds that your integrity and that of the Bloomfield Home and School Council are beyond reproach. Apparently, Mr. Berger, as the BOE president, used his influence in this matter for his personal and political gain which is easy to understand - he has a vested interest in the outcome of the election. That is, to ensure that he will be re-elected as president of the Board after the election.

However, we strongly believe that Bloomfield voters deserve to be fully informed before casting their vote on November 4th. For this reason, by way of this correspondence, we are notifying you that despite our aforementioned concerns, we will all be (with the exception of Gildalina “Maribel” Morales who has a prior commitment that could not be broken on such short notice) participating with prejudice in your October 22 Candidates Forum.

Also, please inform us of the format as we are completely in the dark.

Sincerely,

Bloomfield Kids First – Candidates for Bloomfield Board of Education

Information courtesy of Bloomfield Board of Ed candidates, Bloomfield Kids First, image via shutterstock.