New Jersey high school grad, 19, wins school board seat after suffering ‘awful’ coronavirus rules

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A young New Jersey man who graduated from high school last year after experiencing "awful" coronavirus rules during his senior year has won a seat on his local school board, according to reports.

Nicholas Seppy, now 19, defeated school board incumbent Terry Alabarda in the Egg Harbor Township School District in Atlantic County, the Washington Examiner reported.

"Parents were not being listened to," Seppy told the Examiner when asked why he decided to run.

"Parents were not being listened to." 

— Nicholas Seppy, 19, winner of school board election

Seppy garnered more than 4,000 votes, beating Alabarda's 2,800-plus votes, the Press of Atlantic City reported.

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He added that he tried to run a positive campaign rather than one based on negativity toward his opponent.

Seppy said the COVID-19 rules at Egg Harbor Township High School were "awful" and affected about three-quarters of his senior year, and he disliked the "hybrid" approach of remote learning mixed with some days of in-person classes.

When he takes his seat on the board, Seppy says, he plans to push for more vocational training for students and expand education in civics to help prepare students for both jobs and active citizenship, he said.

Prior to his successful campaign, Seppy served as a student representative on the school board, The College Fix reported.

"It is my intention to serve with the upmost integrity when making decisions on behalf of the public and the staff to make a more prosperous and safer district," Seppy said in a statement to the Press of Atlantic City prior to the election.

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New Jersey also saw truck driver Ed Durr, a little-known Republican who spent just $153 on his campaign, oust powerful Democratic state Senate President Steve Sweeney, and saw Republican Jack Ciattarelli run a close race against incumbent Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy. 

Although The Associated Press declared Murphy the winner, Ciattarelli has not yet conceded.