Crowded field

Cardinale, who graduated from Steinert High School in 2016 and currently attends Rutgers University, narrowly edged his way to victory by about 100 votes, with the fourth-place-finisher Susan Formica falling short with 4,123 votes in her losing effort, according to updated election results as reported by the Mercer County Clerk’s Office.

A total of 13 candidates ran for Hamilton school board this year. While Gayzik successfully campaigned to victory, his “slate mate” allies of Gary Schuck II and Joy Kerlin fell short in their bids for office.

“I am very excited for Al to be back on the board,” Kerlin said Monday in a statement by email. “He has a lot of great ideas and a proven history of implementing positive changes. The main reason I ran as a team with Al is because we had the same focus and goals, and I have confidence in him. I also reached out to both Sue and Cameron to offer my congratulations and express my best to them.”

The other candidates who ran unsuccessfully in last week’s school board election were Manuel Jimenez, Angelo Hall, Girard A. Casale, Michael J. Donnelly, Sherry Morency, Spencer Sydorko and Joseph J. Golding.