Politics & Government

Meet Your School Board Candidate: Lee Connor of Morris Plains

Election will be held April 27.

Morris Plains has four open seats on the school board, with four candidates running:

  1. Lee Connor is an incumbent finishing a 3-year term on the board. She is running again, but not for another 3-year term. Instead, she will run for the shorter 2-year term that resulted from the resignation of Mary Beth Stolworthy from the board last year.
  2. is the incumbent who was appointed to fill the seat of Mary Beth Stolworthy after her resignation last year. He is now running for a full 3-year term.
  3. is a new candidate running for a 3-year term.
  4.  is a write-in candidate who joined the race after the official deadline. Since his name will not appear on the ballot, the only way to vote for him is to enter his exact name, "Douglas McCabe." If there is even a one-letter misspelling, or if you write "Doug McCabe or "D. McCabe," the vote will not be counted.

Each of the candidates was sent a questionnaire by Patch. Exact answers from Lee Connor appear in italics below.

1. Name, Age: Lee Connor

Find out what's happening in Morris Township-Morris Plainswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

2. How long have you lived in Morris Plains? 15 years

Find out what's happening in Morris Township-Morris Plainswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

3. If you are an incumbent, how long have you served and what have you worked on?  Since 2005. Positions held: President; Vice President (current); Chair, Personnel; Chair, Legislative (current); Chair, Finance (current); MSD liaison; Morris County School Boards Association VP for Legislation (current); Negotiations; Policy; Ad Hoc Subcommittee on Regionalization/Consolidation; Ad Hoc Communications Subcommittee

4. Are your children going through/have gone through district? Two children graduated from Borough School in 2006

5. What is your educational background and current job? Writer/editor for national and regional publications

6. Any Past Political Experience? (school board, town council, etc.)


7. Any Volunteer Activities? (coach, PTA, etc.) 
Currently serving on Education Foundation of Morris Plains public relations committee. Past: Cub Scouts Pack leader, Girl Scout leader, Vacation Bible School leader

8. Why do you want to be on the board?


9. What can you bring to the board?


10. What is/are the most important issue(s) facing the district, and what would you do about it/them. 
Summary of answers to 8 through 10: The Morris Plains School District is a gem of a district with an involved and supportive community, great staff and knowledgeable, talented administrators. I'm proud of the contributions the BOE has made in recent years to the district's stability, increased transparency and focus on making even greater strides in the education the schools provide. I want to continue to lend my board experience and my best efforts to supporting excellence in education along with fiscal responsibility. If elected, one of my main areas of focus will be on long-range planning for the district, with the involvement of representatives from all stakeholders in the community. The schools are in many ways the heart of the community, and their success affects every household. I believe it's the board's job to make every effort to communicate the financial and educational issues our schools face, and solicit public input and participation.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here