ThisB-tchNeedsToDie’: New Jersey School Board Race Implodes After Threatening Chat Exposed

A Marlboro, New Jersey, school board election was tainted by leaked group-chat conversations showing one candidate making threatening, obscene, and sexually explicit remarks about a board member. The candidate and his running mate withdrew quickly, a criminal investigation was initiated, and the community is now wrestling with local politics’ decency and safety.

The controversy involves Marlboro Township Board of Education candidate Scott Semaya. In a group text discussion called “ThisBitchNeedsToDie,” Semaya allegedly insulted board member and conservative speaker Danielle Bellomo. An alleged photo shows Semaya typing a crude sexual remark at a July board meeting.

Bellomo reported being terrified when she discovered the messages. She believed her conservative ideas and education battles made her personally and politically targeted. She told authorities that these messages intensified her online and local harassment.

Campaign momentum halted within hours of public awareness. Semaya withdrew for family reasons, and Melissa Goldberg, his running mate, did too, albeit she remains on the ballot for procedural reasons. Michael Lilonsky, their third candidate, said he wasn’t involved in the chat but stayed in the campaign.

Marlboro residents were appalled. Local leaders and the mayor called the messages inappropriate. Residents sought accountability, including the resignation of board vice president Chad Hyett, who was reported to have participated in the group chat. Bellomo secured a protective order against another chatter alleged participant.

The school system has stressed its collaboration with law enforcement and its commitment to board and staff safety. The scandal revealed the darker side of hyperpartisan local politics, as text threads were used for threats and intimidation.

This shows that small-scale elections need additional safeguards, especially when candidates suffer targeted attacks that border on intimidation. It also raises concerns about how fast political rivalry can become personal and aggressive in an age of accessible private messages. The Marlboro race was supposed to be about education policy and community concerns, but it has become a cautionary story about character, decency, and campaigning’s boundaries.

Sources
NJ.com / Monmouth County local reporting
NY Post reporting
LittleAfrica News reporting