Two incumbent Norristown School Board members have lost their write-in campaign, leaving the district without Latino representation

Despite a high Latino student population, the Norristown Area school board is poised to have no Latino members next year after a primary election write-in campaign led by incumbent school board president Chris Jaramillo failed Tuesday.

Jaramillo and incumbent board member Tessi Ruiz launched a write-in campaign last month after their names, and the names of their running mates, were removed from the primary ballot for deficiencies in paperwork and the local Democratic committee endorsed a slate of newcomers led by the committee’s leader, Bill Caldwell.

Jaramillo and Ruiz had argued voters should keep them in office to preserve Latino representation on the school board that governs a district where half the student body is Latino.

However, write-in campaigns are typically difficult to pull off, especially with just a few weeks to campaign, and write-in votes for the school board positions fell far below the votes obtained by the Democratic-endorsed slate on the ballot.

Following Tuesday’s loss, Jaramillo said he had no plans to run a write-in campaign in November or to run as an independent.

“I’m very humbled that I received so much support during this primary election,” Jaramillo said Friday. “I think the message was clear. I think the community is watching.”

Without any GOP opposition, the Democratic-endorsed slate — made up of Caldwell, marketing consultant Cynthia Davenport, engineer Terell Dale, former principal Jeremiah Lemke, and community activist Jordan Alexander — has a clear pathway to victory in November.

Though the slate is racially diverse and includes members of the LGBTQ community, Latino community leaders had worried the loss of that representation would mean the voices and needs of Latino parents and students wouldn’t be heard. They worried progress in the relationship between Latino families and the district would stall.

Caldwell, who did not respond to a request for comment Friday, has said the Democratic slate will advocate for Latino students when the candidates take office.

The local Democratic committee in Norristown, East Norriton, and West Norriton had refused to support Jaramillo and Ruiz’s reelection campaign, citing broad concerns with Jaramillo’s leadership style and cooperation with other governments. A key piece of that opposition, Jaramillo said, was the result of his opposition to a proposal that would have given a property tax break to a senior affordable housing development. The developer on the project was a top donor to Pennsylvania House Majority Leader Matt Bradford, a Democrat who represents the area.

Jaramillo said last month he was frustrated by the role special interests were playing in the school board elections. For years some Democrats have questioned the fairness of the party’s endorsement system.