Latino Norristown School Board members launch write-in campaign after losing local party’s support
Democrats refused to endorse Chris Jaramillo and Tessi Ruiz for reelection and the candidates were subsequently removed from the ballot following legal challenges to their petitions.
Two Norristown Area School Board members are launching a write-in campaign for reelection in hopes of retaining Latino representation in a school district whose student body is half Latino.
Board president Chris Jaramillo and board member Tessi Ruiz announced their campaign for the May 20 primary election Wednesday evening, months after local Democrats refused to endorse the incumbents for reelection and the candidates were subsequently removed from the ballot following legal challenges to their petitions.
Earlier this year, the Democratic committee in Norristown, East Norriton, and West Norriton voted to endorse a slate of newcomers and party leader Bill Caldwell for the five open school board positions.
If the slate, currently the only candidates on the ballot for either party, is elected in November, the school board would lose all of its Latino representation.
As reports spread of immigration detainments in Norristown and the rest of the Philadelphia area, Jaramillo said, it is essential for Latino students and parents in the district to have representatives who share their culture and experiences.
Democrats in Norristown, he said, have failed to adequately denounce President Donald Trump’s policies on immigration.
“They’re not speaking out against these issues that are impacting the community we serve,” Jaramillo said in an interview. “It’s important that we continue to push for this write-in ballot for everyone in the community because this representation is crucial.”
Jaramillo has insisted that local Democrats dropped their support of him and Ruiz solely because they voted last year to reject a tax abatement for an affordable housing development in Norristown. The project received support from Norristown and Montgomery County leaders, and an executive at the development firm was a large donor to Pennsylvania House Majority Leader Matt Bradford (D., Montgomery), who represents the area.
Jaramillo said Thursday that the party chose to target himself and Ruiz, and “sacrifice us for their benefit.”
The situation echoed allegations that have plagued the Montgomery County Democratic Party in recent years of a culture that stifles dissent.
In an interview last month, Caldwell said the tax abatement was a factor in his refusal to support Jaramillo’s reelection bid. But he called it an example of broad concerns about Jaramillo’s leadership of the board and growing tensions between the school board and other local leaders.
In addition to his role leading the local Democratic committee, Caldwell is a former Norristown supervisor and a first deputy in the Montgomery County Treasurer’s Office, led by Jason Salus, the county party chair.
Caldwell did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Jaramillo and Ruiz’s write-in bid.
Latino leaders in Norristown were frustrated by the local party’s refusal to support Jaramillo and Ruiz, arguing the party had ignored the needs of Latino students and parents. Jaramillo and Ruiz, they said, had been instrumental in representing Latino families on the board and ensuring their voices were heard. Those voices, they said, would be especially important as the Trump administration increases immigration enforcement across the country, spreading fear through the community.
“At a time when our Latino community is under attack it is imperative Jaramillo and Ruiz are re-elected. This is an equity and justice issue,” Stephanie Vincent, lead organizer for Community for Change, said in a news release announcing the campaign. Vincent’s organization is backing the write-in effort.
In addition to Caldwell, local Democrats backed Cynthia Davenport, a retired multicultural marketing consultant and current substitute teacher; Terell Dale, an engineer; Jeremiah Lemke, a former school principal in North Philadelphia who currently works for an education nonprofit; and Jordan Alexander, a community activist.
In an interview last month, Caldwell said the slate would advocate for Latino students and was a diverse group of candidates.
“We’re Black, we’re white, we’re LGBTQ. We do come from a background where we get being not the majority in a room,” he said.