Stacy Gray For Board Of Education

Well, 2 days until Election Day…I’m having some anxiety and nervousness today so why not write it down and let it go! Writing about what’s going on in my head helps ME but this is equally important to YOU so please read. (unless you’re my husband who despises it when I doubt myself-He’s at the Eagles game so I should be safe.)

First, I’ll explain the “Only Human” part of my post. I’m a big music fan, mostly of Indie Artists that don’t have huge name recognition. I’m very much a lyrics girl, lyrics speak to me. Last night I was driving home from a friend’s house through several towns and NONE have as many political signs as Deptford (not from Logan to or town at least) but more on that in a second. As I was driving Christina Perri’s “Human” came on. Ms. Perri says the song is about a relationship with yourself, challenging and empowering yourself. If you’ve never listened to Christina Perri, do yourself a favor, she’s beautifully amazing! Those lyrics- I can hold my breath, I can bite my tongue….. But I’m only human, I bleed when I fall down….. It might be corny, but remember, *LYRICS GIRL* here. I struggle with all of it, especially biting my tongue when I was raised to speak up! I am totally holding my breath until approximately 9:30 pm Tuesday. I know to many this is unimportant or not on their radar but to me it is exponentially important. I have fought hard to get on the school board and equally as hard as a member of the board. I can promise you if you emailed me about bus situations, bus stops, communication, anything and everything I have gotten back to you. I have many, many trainings under my belt from NJ School Boards including all 4 years of Governance Training. I am the ONLY candidate that has consistently been attending school board meetings for the last 7 years. I am the ONLY candidate that has stated my purpose and goals and has elaborated. I am the ONLY candidate that teaches in NJ public schools with a degree in education. I am the ONLY candidate that is a certified K-8 educator. I am fully committed to this position and community. I ask questions to get more information. I am also the ONLY candidate without signs. I am the candidate that creates my own messages, goals, ideas. So, is my blog enough? Is my reputation of advocacy enough? Has my message been shared enough? Are enough people going to show up to vote? I won TWICE with the MOST votes, but those were both Presidential Election years. I also lost once and it was a non-Presidential election just like this one due to low voter turnout. I was crushed :( It was eerily like this one, lots of people supporting me but low voter turnout. You see the trepidation? That’s the anxiety and nervousness. I am holding my breath.

Can I or should I bite my tongue? What will people think? Is it good or bad to be so transparent that it could jeopardize the very reason you’re being transparent? Let’s get back to those signs. I am a researcher. I have read municipal ordinances. They speak of distractions to drivers, signs parallel to the roadway….the number of signs, the impact, the appearance or beautification to our town. I’ve read the state laws about political signs on public property as well. I’ve read NJ ELEC’s website and campaign compliance manual. I am seriously confused about whether or not all of these signs and campaign literature are in compliance. The NJ ELEC Compliance manual states, “The “paid for by” language must contain the name and business or residence address of the committee, person, or group, and clearly state that the committee, person or group financed or “paid for” the communication.” (meaning all campaign literature must have name and address) You can read more on page 36 here. None of the signs  I have seen list an address. Maybe that’s not a big deal to people but it is bothersome to me for many reasons. I’m also so confused when looking at the public information on the ELEC website as reported by the candidate committees. There are so many contributions by outside labor unions and professionals, what is their interest in a school board race outside of their own town or state?

Now, try to follow this: The Deptford BOE 2019 campaign lists the treasurer address as 77 Greenleigh Drive. The Deptford Democrat Executive Committee has an address of 212 Heather Glenn Court but the treasurer’s address is 656 Salmon Ave. Why is the address on mailings not the address of the candidates’ chairperson or their treasurer?  The mailings have 212 Heather Glenn Court (which is the Deptford Democrat Executive Committee but say Paid for by Deptford BOE 2019) but the filing on ELEC has the treasurer address of 77 Greenleigh Drive, and still the Deptford Democrat Executive Committee reported spending over $4,000 for the school board with the treasurer being at 656 Salmon Ave. Confused yet? And, why is the Deptford Democrat Executive Committee paying for the school board the campaign? Where is it reported on the ELEC documents for the school board candidates as a contribution or loan or in-kind donation to them? Where are the reported BOE candidates’ contributions being spent?

It is not illegal to be fair however, it should be noted that the Commissioner of Education has traditionally frowned on political party endorsements of school board members, as school elections should be non- partisan. I/M/O the Annual School Election in the Brick School District, 93 N.J.A.R. 2d 360 read more on page 27 here. I read a social media comment to the affect, “well so what, who is supposed to pay for their signs, election, etc.” I just agree with the Commissioner of Education that school board should remain non-partisan.

So the signs and literature are everywhere and does it equate to votes? Quite possibly. Does me writing about this make me seem jealous or jaded? I don’t know, it might.  I am not jealous, just frustrated. To get that funding you MUST be hand picked or get the OK of whoever the “in charge person” is of the Deptford Democrat Executive Committee which doesn’t even equate to all Deptford Democrats. I just do not think the school board being an extension of town council is a positive ideology. And it means people like ME and YOU who just feel we can make a difference don’t have a chance unless you are the “chosen one. “ELEC documents: ELEC_Document-180ELEC_Document-179ELEC_Document-174

This is hard people! Running for an elected seat against “the machine” is really hard! People always ask me,”why are you doing this?” I always respond with, “I know I can make a difference”. Sometimes people get it and sometimes they don’t. I mean it’s not a paid position and requires between 11-50 hours of time a month. Maybe it’s because as a tax payer, mom, educator, alumni I have as much right as anyone else. Maybe I do it because I AM THAT GIRL! I do it for everyone else who is afraid of retribution, of not having a chance, of being told NO. The regular community member deserves a voice too. I have nothing personal against the candidates I am running against. Three of them are the “chosen ones”. Maybe they are also the lucky ones? Next year, especially if I or others not “chosen” run there will be new “chosen ones”. I will ALWAYS and ONLY be the “chosen one” of the voters BUT ONLY IF YOU CAST YOUR VOTE!

So, the bottomline is I purged all of this, didn’t finish the laundry, missed the most of the game, need to food prep, but I feel a little better. I’m not perfect, I am human…I bleed when I fall down. The great news is I have so many wonderful people to pick me up. My friends, family, community members and fellow teachers that have messaged me with support or asking for signs that I don’t have, LOL. Some supporters have shared my message LITERALLY everyday! You will never know how much that means to me and how humbling it is for me. I am cautiously optimistic but have also tried to prepare myself in the event that I lose. I am not going anywhere, I will STILL go to meetings and I WILL run again next year. Thanks for reading! LIKE my Facebook Page Stacy Gray For BOE and SHARE PLEASE :) If you haven’t seen my other posts, my resume, or goals please use the menu at the top of the page. There are more posts like this under The Latest Happenings. AND DON’T FORGET TO VOTE THIS TUESDAY!

Second edit: Back in 2015 a group from Washington DC called NJ Future’s First donated to Deptford School Board candidates. NJFF may be the same group. Here is what I could find about this Super PAC IF it’s the same group. https://www.politico.com/states/new-jersey/story/2015/07/super-pacs-start-dominating-local-races-in-nj-091455 and this is a more recent article: https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/watchdog/2018/11/27/njs-campaign-finance-laws-behind-times-so-dark-money-can-pour/1810882002/

Edit: The latest campaign flyer says Paid for by: NJFF 80 M St.SE Floor 1 Washington, DC.  I can’t even find that PAC or whatever group it is :(

Here are the complete lyrics to the amazing song HUMAN and a link to a lyrics video:

Official Video credit Christina Perri

Lyrics: credit LyricsFind