Candidate Forums

Bernard's Township Candidate Forums:

9/16 Board of Education | Township Committee TBD

September 16th, 2024

Bernards Township Board of Education Candidate's Forum

The League of Women Voters together with members of the Ridge High School Exploration for Political Participation (REPP) hosted a Bernards Township Board of Education Candidates Forum on Wednesday, September 16th from 7-9 PM in the Performing Arts Center at Ridge High School in Basking Ridge.

Candidates Robin McKeon, Michael Talbot, and Brett Omellanuk attended the Candidate’s Forum.

The format for each forum consisted of opening and closing statements from each candidate and approximately 60 minutes of questions from the audience. Each candidate answered the questions with the opportunity for a rebuttal. No remarks of a personal or abusive nature were permitted.

REPP is a student-run, non-partisan organization at Ridge High School that has the support of the Ridge High School Administration. The League of Women Voters is a non-partisan, political organization whose purpose is to promote political responsibility and informed and active participation in government. For more information about the League of Women Voters of Somerset County, please email contact@lwvnj.org.

October 12th, 2022

Bernards Township Board of Education Candidate's Night

The League of Women Voters together with members of the Ridge High School Exploration for Political Participation (REPP) hosted a Bernards Township Board of Education Candidates Forum on Wednesday, October 12th from 7-9 PM in the Performing Arts Center at Ridge High School in Basking Ridge.

Bernards Township Board of Education candidates include: Incumbent Guddia “Herpreet” Singh, Nimish Amin, Csilla Csipak, Keith Molinari, Erica Blackman, and Janice Corrado, who are vying to fill in the three open 3-year seats. Incumbent Suzanne Schafer-Skalski, Deborah E. Penner Smith, and Lawrence Rascio are vying to fill the remaining unexpired one-year term. League member Ann Armstrong, who is not a resident of Bernards Township, will be the moderator.

The format for each forum consisted of opening and closing statements from each candidate and approximately 60 minutes of questions from the audience. Each candidate answered the questions with the opportunity for a rebuttal. No remarks of a personal or abusive nature were permitted.

The League encourages all registered voters to vote in the general election on Tuesday, November 8th, 2022. The last day to register to vote is Tuesday, October 18th, 2022. The deadline to apply for a mail-in ballot by mail is November 1st, 2022. Early voting starts as early as October 29th and lasts until November 6th. For more voting information, log onto www.lwvnj.org, visit the New Jersey Voter Information Portal, or call 1-877-NJ-VOTER.

REPP is a student-run, non-partisan organization at Ridge High School that has the support of the Ridge High School Administration. The League of Women Voters is a non-partisan, political organization whose purpose is to promote political responsibility and informed and active participation in government. For more information about the League of Women Voters of Somerset County, please email contact@lwvnj.org.

October 18th, 2022

Bernards Township Committee Candidate's Forum

The League of Women Voters together with members of the Ridge Exploration for Political Participation (REPP) hosted a Bernards Township Committee Candidates Forum on Tuesday, October 18th from 7-8 PM in the Performing Arts Center at Ridge High School in Basking Ridge.

Both candidate Jessica Simpson-Cook and incumbent Janice Fields attended the Candidate’s Forum. Jessica Simpson-Cook is challenging the seat on the Bernards Township Committee currently held by Janice Fields. A League of Women Voters NJ member, who is not a resident of Bernards Township, was the moderator.

The format for the forum consisted of opening and closing statements from each candidate and approximately 30 minutes of questions from the audience. Each candidate had the opportunity to answer the questions and the opportunity for a rebuttal. No remarks of a personal or abusive nature will be permitted.

The event was videotaped and posted online to allow residents who were unable to attend to view the event. It is available on the REPP website (https://sites.google.com/view/repp/) and http://www.vote411.org/. All questions submitted during the event were be collected, screened to avoid duplication, and vetted to ensure they relate to the office being sought and do not contain personal attacks. The LWV moderator read the questions to the candidates and the audience.

The League encourages all registered voters to vote in the general election on Tuesday, November 8th, 2022. The last day to register to vote is Tuesday, October 18th, 2022. The deadline to apply for a mail-in ballot by mail is November 1st, 2022. Early voting starts as early as October 29th and lasts until November 6th. For more voting information, log onto www.lwvnj.org, visit the New Jersey Voter Information Portal, or call 1-877-NJ-VOTER.

REPP is a student-run, non-partisan organization at Ridge High School that has the support of the Ridge High School Administration. The League of Women Voters is a non-partisan, political organization whose purpose is to promote political responsibility and the informed and active participation in government. For more information about the League of Women Voters of Somerset County, please email contact@lwvnj.org.