Eight candidates have filed for election to three open seats on the West Windsor-Plainsboro Board of Education.
One three-year seat is open for election in Plainsboro, where incumbent Isaac Cheng is facing off against Russel A. Melville and Peter Syrek.
Cheng, who works as a management consultant, is a native of Plainsboro Township and a graduate of the school district. He is finishing his first term on the board.
Melville, who ran an unsuccessful bid for election in 2013, works as manager of network operations and contracting at Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield New Jersey.
Syrek has been a resident of West Windsor since 2013. He has 20 years of experience as a marketing executive, working with global IT companies.
In West Windsor, five candidates are running for the two seats currently held by Dana Krug and Yingchao “YZ” Zhang. Krug is running for reelection, but Zhang is not. Also filing were Martin Whitfield, Veronica Mehno, Yanping “Helen” Ming and Rakesh Kak. Mehno and Ming have announced that they are running.
Kak was an unsuccessful candidate for school board in 2013. He is the founder/managing director of an investment bank specialized in merger and acquisition advisory for tech companies.
Krug, who is seeking election to her third term on the board, works as a marketing and project management professional and is liaison with IT in her position with Dow Jones.
Mehno, an activist in school district and municipal government issues, is a first-time candidate. She is the founder of LM Language Services, a translation company.
Ming is also a first-time candidate. An entrepreneur and business owner, she has eight years experience working in the financial services industry.
Whitfield has a background in marketing, broadcasting and consumer relations. He is the Martin Whitfield general manager and director of operations for the Windsor Athletic Club. Whitfield ran unsuccessfully for West Windsor Council in 2013.
This year’s school board elections will occur concurrently with the general election on Tuesday, Nov. 7.
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