BAYONNE – Daniel Ward, Director of the Social Studies and Library/Media Science Programs at the Bayonne School District, announced that he will run for the at-large Bayonne City Council seat in the May 6 election on mayoral candidate Jason O’Donnell’s slate.
Ward has been a public school educator for 26 years. The current at-large City Council members are Sharon Ashe-Nadrowski and Juan Perez. Both ran and won on Mayor James Davis’ ticket in June of 2015. Both have yet to announce a run for re-election.
In a press release announcing his candidacy, Ward said, “We must put an end to the 30-year tax breaks for wealthy developers and the mortgaging of our children’s future or we will all be paying for the Davis Administration’s corporate give-aways for generations. And we need strong leadership that will work with the City’s Board of Education to look for solutions to the current budget crisis rather than the Davis Administration’s baseless finger pointing and empty grandstanding that have still left 74 school employees without their jobs and all of us, young and old, with an almost 6- percent school tax increase. Simply put, we need new leadership, and I am looking forward to working with Jason, a man of integrity, and the rest of our team to get the city we all love back working for all taxpayers.”
“I am proud to run on the same ticket with Dan Ward,” said Jason O’Donnell in the press release. “Dan is a huge part of the foundation of our community, and his dedication to all of our friends and neighbors in Bayonne is unmatched. He has spent decades trying to enrich the lives of so many with his work in our school system and volunteering his time in our community, and we are both anxious to begin the fight to get Bayonne back on track.”
In 2016, Ward was named Irish-American Educator of the Year by the Irish American League. He has served on Hudson County Community College’s Academic Advisory Board and has been a member of the Anthony K. Podbielski Memorial Essay Committee. Dan has coached the BYSA’s recreation and travel soccer programs. He is also one of the founders of the former Centerville Civic Club and has been a member of various Irish organizations throughout Bayonne. Dan and his wife, Caroline Ulivella, also an educator, are raising their two sons in Bayonne’s public schools.
