Rogers ran on a campaign of “Honesty, Integrity, Results.”
Despite his young age, the Farmingdale native had big plans and was optimistic that he could make great changes in his community. But the road was challenging for Rogers, who admitted that he was “knocked off his feet” almost immediately after announcing his campaign.
Still, Rogers persisted and not only gained a seat on the board but did so with the highest number of votes of all the candidates. With 1,510 votes, Rogers joined the board alongside Anthony Giordano (1506) and Kathy Lively (1450).
The win is still a shock to Rogers, who was hopeful but also prepared for defeat. “While I fought my absolute hardest throughout my campaign, I fully expected to lose,” he said in a Facebook post following his campaign. “Not because I didn’t have faith in my own abilities, or faith in my supporters and volunteers, but because I had never done this before. I did the best I could with the resources, time, and connections I had, but I did not expect to win. I subscribe to the thought process that you hope for the best and prepare for the worst. Putting myself out in public in such a way I had never done before, I decided the best course of action was to accept defeat before it occurred, so it didn’t hit me like a truck in the eventuality that I did not succeed.”
“I cannot articulate the amount of gratitude I feel for the members of our community and our school district,” he continued. “You have chosen me to be a leader in one of the most important aspects of our lives, the education and well-being of our children. The weight of this charge is not lost on me. I accept it with humility. Thank you, Farmingdale. I cannot express in words how great it feels to have the community you grew up in, the community you were raised by, vote you into leadership. I promise to perform my duties as Farmingdale School Board Trustee to the best of my ability; to educate myself, accept guidance from others, and work with my fellow board members to enhance our successes while correcting some of our misses.”
I was able to interview with Gavin following his election, and glean some insight into his future plans for the board.
How does it feel to have won the election?
Thank you! It’s very difficult to put it into words but I am filled with gratitude. As I said last night after my swearing-in, I grew up in Farmingdale, and I’ve lived here all my life. This community has raised me, looked out for me, and molded me into the man I am today. For the Farmingdale community to now entrust me to do the same for our next generation is an honor and a privilege. I only hope that I can live up to the challenge and the heavy responsibility.
Can you tell me a bit about the election process and what you’ve been up to since we last spoke?
After we last spoke I really started to nail down my messaging and began to speak with as many people as possible. While there is a place for social media in today’s elections, door-knocking is still the most important task ahead of a local election. My strategy was to find and win over frequent and likely voters, also known as high-priority voters. These types of voters are deemed high priority because they show up to the polls year after year. You might have a whole lot of support, but if no one takes the time out of their day to show up and vote then you have no chance of winning that election.
Every day for about a month I took hours to knock on doors and speak to voters directly. Before election day, I was able to knock on about two hundred doors, speaking or leaving campaign material with about four to five hundred people. Come election day I found that my messaging resonated with the majority of voters I spoke face to face with, and many came out just to vote for me.
It really felt good when I recognized voters at the polls from my community walks. I spent approximately sixteen hours at the polls on election day, so seeing friendly faces kept my spirits up and encouraged me to keep going through a tough and tiring day.
What has your experience been on the board thus far? Has it met your expectations of what you thought it might be like?
So far I’ve been enjoying my time on the board. I’ve been learning and coming to understand the many facets of running a school district. Our Superintendent, Mr. Defendini, has spent a lot of time answering my questions and educating me on our school district. As a 2020 graduate and lifelong ‘Daler I of course already know much about the district, but my point of view has been from the eyes of a student and a constituent.
Now on the other side, as a board trustee, I’m seeing the other piece of the puzzle, developing a more complete understanding of the hard work our staff puts in to provide our students with the best education possible.
What are the policies you’re hoping to tackle now that you’ve been elected?
When I was running for board I focused on three major policies: safety, fairness, and community. I ran because I wanted to make sure that our children are safe in school, that all of our workers are fairly compensated for their work, and that our obligations to students as a school district are balanced with our obligations to the community as a public institution. These three issues are very broad in nature and can’t be done over night, as Rome wasn’t built in a day, but I am excited to begin progress. Something in particular that I didn’t run on, but am excited to pursue, is the development of a curriculum that works alongside a student for success. Not all children learn the same.
Some are great in science and math, some are amazing in the arts and music, and some prefer to work with their hands. We shouldn’t have a district that conforms and subjects students to one way of learning. Instead we should implement a curriculum that encourages the individual student to pursue their own passions and prepares them for their future careers in life. I’m very excited to work with administration and my colleagues under the board to do just that!
Congratulations to Gavin and best of luck in the year ahead!
