{"id":2181,"date":"2020-03-16T22:13:51","date_gmt":"2020-03-16T22:13:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/?p=2181"},"modified":"2023-03-27T15:52:40","modified_gmt":"2023-03-27T15:52:40","slug":"he-won-with-peoples-alliance-support-then-lost-without-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2020\/03\/16\/he-won-with-peoples-alliance-support-then-lost-without-it\/","title":{"rendered":"He won with People’s Alliance support, then lost without it"},"content":{"rendered":"
Early this month, the local People\u2019s Alliance political action committee once again displayed its influence on Durham elections.<\/span><\/p>\n By a wide margin, voters selected first-time candidate <\/span>Alexandra Valladares<\/span><\/a>, who was endorsed by the political action committee, to win an at-large seat on Durham\u2019s Board of Education on March 3.\u00a0<\/span> \u201cHe is among the finest teachers in the memory of Durham’s public school system. And he was an excellent school board member,\u201d said Tom Miller, a coordinator for People\u2019s Alliance.<\/span><\/p>\n Valladares, an educator and high-profile volunteer leader in the schools, was the better candidate partly because the school board lacked a Latinx member, Miller said. Durham Public Schools identifies more\u00a0<\/span>than 32% <\/a><\/span>of its students as \u201cHispanic\/Latino.\u201d<\/span> Valladares, a Durham Public Schools graduate and a DPS parent, has worked with BOOST, a Duke University program that encourages middle school students to pursue training in science and medicine. She has led multiple district projects as a volunteer, including <\/span>convening a<\/span> Superintendent-Parent Forum series for Latinx familie<\/span>s. <\/span> \u201cYa es Hora!,\u201d was one of her campaign slogans. In English that means \u201cIt is time!<\/span> Unruhe, a national-award winning educator, taught at Northern and Riverside high schools over 29 years.<\/span> During four years on the board, he helped revise the budget to increase funding for the construction of new two schools, among other accomplishments.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Both competed for the People\u2019s Alliance endorsement, one of many <\/span>decided <\/span><\/a>during the PAC\u2019s Jan. 14 meeting, where over 600 members<\/a> were present.<\/span><\/p>\n This year, the decision about who to endorse for the at-large school board seat was difficult for PAC members, Miller said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
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\n<\/span>Valladares beat incumbent <\/span>Steven Unruhe<\/span><\/a>, who Mayor Steve Schewel, former Mayor Bill Bell, fellow school board members and the Durham Association of Educators all endorsed. The left-leaning People\u2019s Alliance supported him in 2016 but not this year, despite wide appreciation for his contributions to the school board.<\/span><\/p>\n
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\n<\/span> \u201cIt is a reasonable expectation, where an excellent candidate is available, to have the school board reflect, at least in one member, that makeup of the constituency,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n
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\n<\/span>A former resident of McDougald Terrace, a musician, and a Human Relations Commission member, Valladares emphasized the need for Latinx leadership during her campaign for the seat. <\/span>
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