Five unions representing teachers and staff working in Evanston/Skokie District 65 officially endorsed the candidacies of Sergio Hernandez, Mya Wilkins and Omar Salem for the district school board Wednesday, March 22.

Representatives for those unions — the District 65 Educators’ Council (DEC), Evanston Teachers’ Assistant Association (ETAA), Evanston Association of Childcare Professionals (EACCP), District 65 Educational Secretarial and Clerical Association (DESCA) and Evanston Custodial Maintenance Association (ECMA) — conducted virtual interviews of all five candidates for the board on Saturday, March 18, according to a press release from the Illinois Education Association.

Candidates for the District 65 school board. Top row (from left): Sergio Hernandez Jr. and John Martin. Bottom row (from left): Ndona Muboyayi, Omar G. Salem and Mya Wilkins. Credit: Composite image

The five people running for a seat answered the same questions in each interview.

“The strongest, pro-public education candidates for the D65 Board of Education are incumbents Sergio Hernandez and Mya Wilkins and newcomer Omar Salem,” the union presidents said in a joint statement. “The local associations strongly believe in equity and diversity for all. We believe in partnering with the board and school leadership. We look forward to, and strongly encourage, open communication and transparency in order to reach the optimum for our students. We believe these candidates will provide just that.”

The two other candidates, John Matthew Martin and Ndona Muboyayi, did not receive an endorsement.

Earlier this week, the RoundTable published candidate responses to a questionnaire. Early voting began Monday, March 20, with Election Day set for Tuesday, April 4.

Duncan Agnew covers Evanston public schools, affordable housing, City Hall and more for the RoundTable. He also writes long-form investigations, features and the morning email newsletter three times a...

5 replies on “Five local unions endorse three D65 school board candidates”

  2. In view of the Round Table’s recent announcement that they would not be accepting endorsements for candidates, it seems wrong to publish the DEC endorsements, with no opportunity for others to voice opinions.
    Mary Anne Wexler

    1. My understanding is that the other two candidates have been an endorsed by an organization called FAIR, a dark money organization that is trying to get rid of equity initiatives in education. It seems as if the candidates and the members of FAIR have been hesitant to publish this endorsement.

      1. FAIR has not made any endorsements to the other two candidates. There is a lot of misleading information being shared on social media about potential local members of FAIR and the ties to the other two candidates.

        1. Ann Marie. Maybe I should clarify my original comment. FAIR did not endorse the candidates because they are a “dark money” organization; however, several confirmed FAIR members have hosted coffees and gatherings for the other two candidates. Even though that is not a public endorsement, I feel that it is definitely an under the radar endorsement. The candidates need to disassociate themselves
          from FAIR and return any campaign contributions they have received from FAIR members. Otherwise what they represent is hurtful to our community, our young people and our schools.

Comments are closed.