BOE Challenger Jonathan Blitt Withdraws Candidacy

Westfield Board of Education challenger Jonathan Blitt announced Tuesday that he will resign his candidacy, citing an unexpected business opportunity requiring a large time commitment among the reasons that contributed to his decision.

Blitt was seeking one of the three, three-year terms on the Board and running against incumbents Brendan Galligan, Ginny Leiz and Mitch Slater who will now retain their seats in what will be an uncontested election on Tuesday, Nov. 5.

The father of three, who serves as chief executive officer for Aztec Software, submitted the following letter to Patch: 

Dear Westfield Residents,

It is with much thought and consideration that I resign my candidacy for the Westfield Board of Education. To the many that encouraged and supported my running for it I would like to say thank you and promise that I will do my best to be informed of their goings on so that you might rest easier with the knowledge that your opinions and concerns get voiced. Further, I will commit to run for a position on the board as soon as I can give it the time and dedication that it requires. For all of you that have pledged financial support to me, I would ask that you give those funds to your school's PTO as they are all in need of and deserving of our support.  With such organizations our elementary education system, at a minimum, would lack some of the most basic needs as they have continually lagged behind other institutions in their funding. 

As for my reasons for resigning, in July I was unexpectedly presented an opportunity to acquire Aztec Software, the educational software company that I am currently running, and between that and my wife's Vice Presidency of the Tamaques PTO, and the coaching, homework, and extra curricular activity with my 3 young children, I fear that I do not have the time that I believe I would need to become a productive member of this Board of Education. My brief experience with it, and it was quite brief, has left me with very strong impressions of its members and the belief that we must remain vigilant in our oversight of their activity lest we have another incident like the turf field, or the SRO, where public sentiment and opininon took a back seat to some undisclosed agendas.

And while I disagree with many of the decisions and most certainly the lack of decorum that I have witnessed in my limited attendance of the meetings, I do believe that ALL of the members of the Board deserve our thanks for the countless hours they volunteer on Westfield's behalf. With outspoken members like Mitch Slater and others on the board, whose honesty and directness I sincerely admire we can be assured that there will continue to be a voice of reason represented therein.    

Kind Regards,
 
Jonathan Blitt 

Shortly after announcing his candidacy in June, Blitt, was critical of the Board's process in voting to reinstate the school resource officer at Westfield High School.

"Like the turf field issue before this, the BOE seems to have developed a nasty habit of working in isolation of the community that they serve rather than in concert with them," he wrote in a letter to the editor. "The residents of this wonderful town deserve better than half-truths and disrespect."

Blitt asked that anyone who would have considered donating to his campaign redirect those funds toward their Parent-Teacher Organizations.

In 2012, four candidates, Richard Mattessich, current Board president, Gretchan Ohlig, Lucy Biegler, and Galligan, who sought to complete one-year term, also ran uncontested.