New Jersey school board candidate quits race after antisemitic post

School board candidate Nicholas Ferrara reportedly said on social media that he was “FOR execution of the marxist/communists jews.”

Hamilton, New Jersey (photo credit: GREG GOLDSTEIN/PUBLIC DOMAIN/VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS)
Hamilton, New Jersey
(photo credit: GREG GOLDSTEIN/PUBLIC DOMAIN/VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS)

A candidate for the school board of Hamilton, New Jersey, quit the race after an antisemitic post he made on social media was revealed in multiple reports, nj.com reported on Tuesday.

According to the site, the candidate, Nicholas Ferrara posted on the social network Gab in January saying he was “FOR execution of the marxist/communists jews [sic].”

The nj.com report added that Hamilton Mayor Jeff Martin slammed Ferrara's comments, calling them “vile and disgusting," adding that such hateful rhetoric is not welcome in his city.

“Hate has no home anywhere but especially not here in Hamilton - home to so many people from different religions, living in harmony with their neighbors,” he said, according to the report. “No one with such hate should serve in any elected capacity.”

View of Interstate-95 from Hamilton, New Jersey (credit: FAMARTIN/CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)/VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS)
View of Interstate-95 from Hamilton, New Jersey (credit: FAMARTIN/CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)/VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS)

"Mrs. Burns and Mrs. Quaste, take your hollow words and turn them into deeds. Step down with Ferrara. All three of you need to leave the race."

Susan Ferrara and Susan Lombardo, Hamilton School Board

Response by current board members

Furthermore, Susan Ferrara and Susan Lombardo, both current members of the Hamilton School Board, called on two other candidates who had run with Ferrara, Monica Quaste and Stacy Byrne, to drop out of the race following Ferrara's remarks.

"As board members, we are continually called upon to analyze and consider issues in the interest of others," they said. "Mrs. Burns and Mrs. Quaste, take your hollow words and turn them into deeds. Step down with Ferrara. All three of you need to leave the race."