BOE Ballot: Leiz, Conover, Walker, Solomon and Slater

Board of Education President Ginny Leiz will top April's Board of Education election ballot as one member of the field of five candidates has ended her campaign.

BOE Secretary Robert Berman announced prior to the ballot drawing Wednesday morning that Susan Conover had informed him via e-mail that she was withdrawing from the election. Conover's decision came two days after the Monday deadline to officially remove your name from the ballot. Conover did not indicate a reason for her withdrawal in her e-mail to Berman.

Berman said that Conover's name will currently remain on the ballot but he has been consulting with BOE attorneys about how to take her name off the ballot. He said that if Conover provides written documentation to him, he and the legal staff may be able to remove her name from the ballot by Friday through a petition process with the Union County Board of Elections. Conover currently holds the second slot on the ballot. Berman said in the event that Conover's name is removed from the ballot, the three candidates behind her on the ballot will each bump up one slot.

The annual draw for ballot placements saw Berman placing the names of the five candidates into a wooden box and then drawing the names. Berman said the box, which was made by the school construction department, replaced a previous shoe box used for the election tradition. The ceremony was conducted in the presence of Berman's assistant, BOE candidate Mitch Slater and one reporter in the board's Elm Street headquarters.

Leiz will occupy the first slot on the ballot, with Conover following in the second slot. Board Vice President Julia Walker has the third slot, incumbent Richard Solomon has the fourth spot, with Slater taking the fifth slot. Walker, Solomon and Slater will all bump up one slot in the event that Conover's name is officially removed through the legal process.

Conover is the third person to decide not to seek a board seat this year. Daniel Bloomfield and Nina Keri announced before the March 1 filing deadline that they would not run after they both signed out petitions for the race.

The April 20 board election will feature voters electing three candidates for the board. Leiz and Solomon are seeking their fourth terms in office, with Walker seeking her third full term. The board veep has also served an unexpired term. This is Slater's first bid for elective office.