School Board Run-off Election Set for East School on June 26

The Long Beach Board of Education special run-off election, the result of incumbents in the May 15 at-large election, will feature an uncontested candidate and will be held at one polling location later this month.

Tangney is already the de facto winner of the seat, after Guma decided to forgo the run-off in the wake of three recounts of all votes that still showed a tie between the two candidates that ran as a team. The run-off election, however, is still required by law, and the school district, as part of its efforts to reduce the cost of a second election, will ask voters to cast their ballots only at East School, at 456 Neptune Blvd., on June 26.

According to New York State law, in order to settle a tie between candidates that received the same vote total, a runoff election would have to be held only between those who tied and within 45 days of the original vote. Newcomer.

“Given the fact that Trustee Tangney is now running unopposed, and we are still bound by law to conduct an election, it makes perfect sense to reduce costs as much as possible for our taxpayers while still providing people with an opportunity to vote,” Superintendent David Weiss said in a statement.

In addition to using just one polling place instead of the usual eight locations, the district said it reduced costs by limiting the polling hours, reducing the number of election clerks, limiting the size of legal ads, replacing voting machines with paper ballots, and forgoing the use of the BOCES Election Services. Whereas a typical election costs in the range of $40,000, the run-off will cost about $1,800.

“Special thanks should be given to District Clerk Carole Butler, who left no stone unturned in seeking solutions that would dramatically reduce the cost of this special election,” Weiss said.  

Initially, the day after the election and the recounts, Tangney had disputed the validity of one absentee ballot for Guma, contending that it was unclear which candidate the voter checked off on an absentee ballot. If Tangney’s challenge was upheld and the ballot was discounted, Guma’s vote count would have dropped to 1,617, giving Tangney the victory for the second seat.

Later on May 16, after Neil Block, an attorney for District Counsel, met with the school board and explained their options under election law, all five trustees, including Tangney and Guma, voted to validate the tie and other vote outcomes.

At a public work session the following week, Guma announced that she was stepping aside.

“I have been honored to represent Long Beach residents on the Board of Education these past several years,” Guma, who has served three terms on the school board, read from a statement. “I am not interested in pursuing a head-to-head race with my friend and colleague, Ms. Tangney, and for that reason, I will not participate in the run-off.”

Tangney will serve a second term and Mininsky will serve a first term starting on July 1.