School board candidate known as Alexander Hamilton says his name is no joke

His name is Alexander Hamilton, and he is suing the clerk of Hudson County, Jersey City, in an attempt to restore his name to the ballot for a seat on the school board.

The clerk, E. Junior Maldonato, rejected Hamilton’s nominating petition for failing to list his correct name and disqualified him from running for the school board seat on the “Change for Children” bracket.

Hamilton’s legal name is Vernon Alexander Hamilton but his “mother has referred to him from the date of his birth as Alexander in order to differentiate between Alexander and his father, Vernon Hamilton,” the lawsuit said.

He sought to present himself on the ballot as Alexander Hamilton because that is how his wife, family and friends know him.

“He has never been referred to by any of those individuals as ‘Vernon Hamilton,’” the lawsuit said.

Not giving away his shot, Hamilton, 30, asked the county clerk on Aug. 1 to reconsider his petition, but the request was denied.

His lawsuit said the county clerk’s actions were “arbitrary, capricious, unreasonable and contrary to the law.”

The clerk's office had no immediate comment.