09/26/2025
Here is my husband, Howard's current BoE election endorsements:
Park Ridge Board of Education Endorsements
With the Recall campaign and resignation of Robert Fisher from the Park Ridge Board of Education behind us, voters must now turn their attention to ensuring that no one with similar extreme views is elected to the Board in November, and that experience and competence, rather than mere promises to "cut your taxes" are the overriding criteria upon which we base our votes.
As a former university professor and lifelong educator, who has served on faculty search committees. I recognize the qualifications that make for an effective Board of Education Trustee. Indeed, there are currently three highly-experienced and competent candidates running.
Rosemarie Malloy will bring a Masters of Education degree, and decades of experience as a middle school and mathematics teacher, as curriculum supervisor, and as personnel and staff development supervisor to bear.
Shanai Jensen holds professional certificates in human resources management and non-profit management and has worked at private and charter schools in development, project management, and enrollment support, as well in teacher and principal recruitment positions. She is committed to maintaining a welcoming environment for all of our students and staff.
Both of these candidates have exactly the type of experience Park Ridge needs on the Board to help it to continue to recruit and retain the best teachers, principals, and superintendents, as well as to ensure that our curriculum is targeted towards the needs of today's students. They truly understand how schools function, and have measurable records of success to back up their extensive preparation.
A third well-qualified candidate, Matthew J. Rozzi, is a registered Independent, who promises non-partisan "balanced, responsible results," has thirty years of budget management and team-building experience in the financial services industry, and has served the community as a local sports coach. He brings a detailed vision for fiscally responsible approach to investing in the future of our schools, so our valuable resources will be well-managed under his leadership.
I truly wish I could vote for all three of these highly qualified and manifestly sane candidates, but as there are only two open seats on the ballot, I will have to make some tough choices between now and Election Day.
Conversely, there are two candidates on the ballot, with close ties to political extremists. Their nominating petition supporters include the extremist nationalist Moms for Liberty Bergen County Chapter Chair, Alexandra Bougher, whose anti-LGBTQ social media posts precipitated her followers' threats of violence against a local Park Ridge church, and who was, apparently recently removed as Girl Scout leader because of her persistent anti-LGBTQ stance. Some of their other nominating petition supporters are closely tied to Mr. Fisher, with several of his original nominators, including a former unsuccessful Moms for Liberty-associated school board and mayoral candidate, as well as the property owner, who created an illegal lease for Mr. Fisher in an effort to maintain his Park Ridge residency counted among their supporters. We certainly don't need more of the same on our Board of Education.
Moreover, neither of these two extremist candidates has the educational background, nor substantial work experience in school settings, and management of large budgets that would render them qualified to serve on the Board. Indeed, both of these candidates have alarming records of personal financial mismanagement resulting in substantial monetary judgments against them, which would call into question their competence in managing school funds. They are simply put, partisan extremists, whom, if elected, would mismanage and gut our school budgets, ban books and create more chaos.
The choice is clear — vote for any two of the three competent and experienced candidates, Rosemarie Malloy, Shanai Jensen, or Matthew J. Rozzi for Park Ridge Board of Education.
-Howard Fredrics, DMA
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(n.b. it's interesting to note that current Council Member and Candidate, Bruce Goldsmith also signed Fisher's nominating petition, along with Misley-Kuiters supporter, Liza Falato-Lau. Hence one can make a good case for their being responsible for Fisher's election).