Redd picks two Latinos for Camden school board

With just two days left before the Camden Board of Education is reorganized, Mayor Dana L. Redd appointed two Latino members Tuesday.

Jose M. Brito, chief executive of a home-care agency in Cherry Hill, will take the place of Raymond L. Lamboy, whom Redd declined to reappoint. His three-year term expired this week.

Taisha E. Minier, a sociology student at Rowan University, will serve the remaining year in the term of Kathryn I. Ribay, who resigned after Gov. Christie announced a state takeover of the district in March.

Tuesday's appointments come weeks after Redd appointed Dorothy Burley, a longtime resident and former city clerk, and Jennifer Martinez, a Camden business owner. Burley replaced Sean Brown and Martinez was to replace Lamboy on the nine-member board.

But Martinez, 33, was never eligible because her primary residence is in Winslow Township, where she serves on the planning board. State law requires a year of residency to serve on a school board. Martinez withdrew her name the week she was appointed.

School Board President Kathryn Blackshear was reappointed to the board in April.

Redd was explicit about wanting to appoint two Latinos. She said she sought guidance on the picks only from Hispanic elected officials.

"To ensure the Board of Education reflects the diversity of the City of Camden, Mayor Redd again consulted with the Latino leadership to review possible candidates," read a statement from her office.

City Council President Frank Moran recommended Martinez and called Minier "another Latina up-and-comer."

Because Camden is a Type 1 district, Redd appoints all board members.

The mayor's office blacked out the addresses on Minier's and Brito's resumés while leaving legible the cities and zip codes.

In New Jersey, all elected public officials must list their addresses on the petitions they submit to run for office. But because Redd appointed Brito and Minier, they have no candidate petitions.

Property records show that Brito owns several buildings in the city. They also show that Minier sold her Cramer Hill house last year for $1 to her father, Louinsky Minier, who owns Gooddeal Supply Inc. on Westfield Avenue near the Pennsauken border.

Minier graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School. She has been working as a substitute teacher in the district for the last year, according to Moran.

Reached on her cellphone Tuesday afternoon, Taisha Minier said she had to run to a class and could not be interviewed.

Brito, a former real estate agent in Cherry Hill, has been president and chief executive of We Care Home Care in Cherry Hill since 2008. He could not be reached for comment.

Camden will become the fourth urban district under state control, after Paterson, Newark, and Jersey City. As part of that takeover, which is expected to be fully implemented for the start of the 2013-14 school year, the board's power is diminished to advisory.

Brito, Burley, Minier, and Blackshear will be sworn in at the reorganization meeting Thursday.

Thereafter the nine members will begin the transition to their advisory roles.