The “Camden Votes No” campaign is off and running. Camden residents, after years of having virtually no democratic control over their school district, now have a vote. It’s a convoluted vote. A “No” vote returns the school board to an elected board (it is currently appointed) — but that elected board would still be under state control and have no authority. But research has shown that stripping residents of their right to an elected school board happens in disproportionately in communities of color, and this is a chance to start to address that injustice. 

A few brief thoughts about the “Camden Votes No” campaign:

1. How will Camden vote? The mayor has already sent a letter encouraging “yes” votes, and the ballot initiative itself is a little confusing (a “yes” vote is for an appointed board, a “no” vote is for an elected board — but you have to read through a few details to really get it). But this type of ballot initiative is less prone to the type of ballot shenanigans such as the “line” which have impacted candidate votes. But recent candidates supporting democratic policies have struggled to get voters out to the polls. Will that change with this initiative?
   
   
2. This is a peek into the politics of an elected school board would look like. The mayor (and presumably much of the infrastructure of the Democratic Party) is supporting the status quo — state control, a shift towards charter and renaissance schools, etc. Parents for Great Camden Schools is largely in that camp as well. A group of residents, public school supporters and activists pushes for democratization, support for public schools, and more, but leans heavily on the New Jersey Education Association for resources. The literature that Camden residents are receiving, and CamdenVotesNo.org are a product of that coalition. If the referendum does pass, we can expect candidates to form along similar lines — even if the school board election is nonpartisan, we can expect slates of candidates from these dueling viewpoints. 
3. Will this vote become a referendum on school changes or on democracy? Camden is deeply divided on its opinion of school changes, in ways that are both hard to see and hard to know. There is a sense of loss, as schools have been closed; a sense of frustration, as inequities rise between charters, renaissance schools and traditional public schools; a sense of disenfranchisement, as these decisions have come with little control by residents; but there is also a group of parents who are fiercely protective of the new schools that have come out of this process. It’s possible that this vote becomes a referendum on that issue — do you like the changes or not? But it doesn’t have to be — it could be a referendum on something more basic: should Camden residents have democratic control over their school board?

More coverage to come, but after years of being disenfranchised by the state, residents finally have a vote and the ability to weigh in on these issues.