READING — City Democrats and Republicans will head to the polls on May 20 to choose who they want to lead the city council for the next four years. The winners of those primaries will face off in November. There are three Democrats and one Republican on the ballot.
Reading has six council members who each represent a different area of the city, called a district, and are selected by the voters in their area. The council president is elected by all the voters in the city. The president has the same voting power as the other six council members.
City council is responsible for adopting Reading’s $118 million budget and capital program, and approving the hiring and promotion of police and firefighters.
Republican Evelyn Morrison is unopposed. Morrison ran for city council president two years ago and lost to current president, Donna Reed, a longtime council member. Reed faces challenges from two newer council members, Vanessa Campos, who represents District One, and Jaime Baez Jr., who represents District Two.
Campos is also on the primary ballot to retain her council seat. She is being challenged in the Democratic primary by Denise Johnson. Baez has two years remaining on his council term.
If after the November election a candidate holds a seat and the presidency, they have to formally resign one of the positions, and then the city council appoints a replacement.
Spotlight PA sent a questionnaire to all the city council president candidates. This guide includes their answers to questions about their priorities, blight, staff turnover, and downtown revitalization.
This guide may be updated with additional information as the general election approaches.
What does the city council president do?
Reading’s home rule charter gives the city council president a crucial role in deciding what legislation and appointments come before the body for a vote. The president speaks for the council, communicating with the mayor and other governmental entities. The position is paid $6,875 annually.
The president runs council meetings to ensure rules of order are followed, and has the power to limit debate when it veers from topics on the agenda.
Baez, 35, grew up in Reading and Lancaster. He is a first-term council member representing District Two, which encompasses the southeast section of the city. He also works as constituent service adviser for state Rep. Johanny Cepeda-Freytiz (D., Berks).
In his candidate announcement and council biography, Baez touts a career marked by resilience and adaptability. He started as a janitor, then earned a certification in massage therapy, followed by work as a packer and line mechanic. He also worked in banking as a customer service representative and loan processor. He owns a food truck.
Baez served as events coordinator, volunteer coordinator, and briefly as vice president for Reading Pride Celebration.
He said Reading’s biggest challenges include the income stability of its residents, homelessness, out-of-town ownership of homes, rising rent costs, and low wages.
“These issues often lead to increased drug use and crime,” he wrote in his response to Spotlight PA questions. “I’m committed to being hands-on, continuing to engage directly with residents and connecting them to vital services and information.”
When it comes to making sure city departments staff are able to respond to residents and implement a new housing and blight strategy, Baez wrote that while the council’s scope is somewhat limited, the president can stay engaged with department heads, follow up consistently, and push for accountability to keep the strategy on track.
Baez wrote that by visiting the codes and police departments more often, the council can “lift morale, recognize their service.” He also wrote that the council can explore retention incentives such as bonuses for years of commitment.
Downtown revitalization is important but should not be the only focus for the city government, Baez wrote.
“Yes, downtown matters,” Baez said. “But revitalization shouldn’t stop there. We also need to invest in paving neglected roads, fixing sidewalks, and improving quality of life in overlooked neighborhoods. We’re stronger when we uplift everyone. We’re only as strong as our weakest link.”
Endorsements: Mayor Eddie Moran, Council Vice President Melissa Ventura, Pennsylvania AFL-CIO, Sheet Metal Workers Local 19, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, IBEW Local 743 Reading, Berks Stands Up, Reading FOP Lodge #9, Moms Demand Action Gun Sense Candidate.
Campos, 38, is an education specialist for Berks County Intermediate Unit, and holds a master’s degree in education. She is a licensed real estate agent and a former teacher who worked for more than 10 years for the Reading School District. She is a first-term councilor who was elected in 2023 to complete the last two years of Brianna Tyson, who resigned. She represents District One, which covers Reading’s southwest area.
She is a member of the city council’s Nominations and Appointments Committee, Reading’s Recreation Commission, and the Redevelopment Authority. Campos completed voluntary courses in local government and budgeting.
Campos, the sister of the county’s first Latina magistrate, wrote in an email to Spotlight PA that she’d bring an “analytical and reflective perspective to local governance where data, research, results, and strategy are a prominent trait.” She wrote that her roles as department head, committee chair, intern supervisor, coach, and mentor have strengthened her ability to navigate difficult conversations with challenging personalities to reach a common goal and prioritize tasks.
She is also an adjunct Instructor for English Language Learners at her alma mater, Reading Area Community College.
Campos additionally serves as a catechist teacher at her local church, and as an executive board member of the Berks County Democratic Committee and the Greater Reading PAC.
She wrote in response to a Spotlight PA questionnaire that the most pressing issues facing city residents include a lack of affordable housing and blighted properties, and that she anticipates economic hardships in light of ongoing and upcoming federal cuts. Campos wrote that revitalizing the downtown core so families and visitors are able to shop and eat is also a pressing issue. She believes that restoring Reading’s core would boost the city's economic growth. Campos also wrote of the importance of having effective transportation for accessibility in and out of town for older adults and working families.
Discussing the city’s new blight strategy, Campos wrote that the council president should ensure open lines of communication exist between the city council and the mayor’s administration.
“Consistent follow-up, time frames, and updates are important to keep the projects moving and staffed appropriately,” she wrote. “These conversations and meetings help council support and/ or propose any legislation needed in terms of amending or adopting ordinances to facilitate the process of blight and housing efforts.”
Campos wrote that the council should amend some ordinances meant to maintain order and a sense of security, saying that they are outdated. The candidate also argued that adequate staffing is crucial to achieve goals and that there needs to be an “ongoing conversation with council and administration to help recruit and retain these positions.”
“City council can look into the data and findings that are co-related to these turnovers,” Campos wrote.
“We can work closely with [the] administration to address issues that affect retention and be part of the discussion to develop plans that would help attract and retain the workforce,” she continued.“Legislation such as position ordinances and salary increases/ benefits involve the approval of city council and the more background we have on these topics, the more successful we can be as a body to push these efforts forward.”
She also said that revitalizing downtown is a priority.
“It is the core of our city and it is where most of our city's potential has been dormant,” Campos wrote. “Changes in improvement of our downtown area would attract the footprint of outside investors, partnerships, consumers, and local municipalities. “
Donna Reed
Website: None
Reed, 72, has been elected seven times to city council and seeks to remain president. She was elected to the role in 2023 to serve the final two years of the late Jeff Waltman. Reed, a semi-retired writer and journalist, previously served as councilor for District Five, which consists of the northwest section of the city.
She emphasized her many years of council experience and working in a “team environment,” noting she has served through five mayoral administrations and been a journalist for more than two decades.
Reed is the city council liaison to the BCTV board and Reading Planning Commission and the city representative on the Reading Area Transportation Study board. She is a member of the Foundation for the Reading Pagoda, and the Greater Reading Chamber Alliance Women2Women Council. Reed has been a board member of Crime Alert Berks County for more than 20 years. She previously served on the Reading Planning Commission and the Reading Parking Authority.
She worked for 23 years at the Reading Eagle as a reporter, editor, and columnist. After leaving the Eagle, she served as vice president of communications for the former Berks County Chamber of Commerce. She also served as assignment editor for the Berks Edition of Channel 69 News during a brief hiatus from the council.
She is a past editor of the Historical Review of Berks County, and now serves as a trustee of the Berks History Center.
In response to Spotlight PA’s questionnaire, Reed wrote that parking, public safety, housing, economic development/job opportunities, blight, and aging infrastructure are Reading’s biggest issues.
To implement the city’s new blight strategy, the council president can advocate and push for results, Reed said. But Reed noted that under the city’s home rule form of government, neither the council president nor any councilor can direct personnel.
“However, we are the fiduciary stewards and approve positions and we can encourage the administration to improve Community Development staffing to better address blight,” Reed wrote. “Also, there is a need to re-evaluate the Reading Redevelopment Authority which has become almost inert when it comes to its role in dealing with blight and eminent domain.”
Reed wrote that addressing turnover codes and police departments is difficult for the council.
“We should be able to get more answers regarding the codes department which is critical to maintaining quality of life standards in the city,” Reed said. “When it comes to the Reading Police Department, we lose many good young as well as experienced officers to departments that pay more. At collective bargaining time, we can be open to substantial salary increases to compete with other local departments. I know our RPD is working hard to recruit new officers. Recruitment is a challenge nationwide. ”
Revitalizing downtown would not be effective without a public-private partnership, Reed argued. “A strong downtown core should radiate prosperity out to the neighborhoods,” Reed wrote. “Clearly, we are not in a good position right now. Bright spots are the investments of Alvernia's CollegeTowne as well as RACC's continuing growth near the river. The city-owned buildings at Fifth and Penn are in a plan to be revitalized and repurposed by Philly Office Retail, a reputable and proven firm, and the Shuman Development Group has done more than any entity since Albert Boscov's Our City Reading which spearheaded the GoggleWorks and Entertainment Square and the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel.”
Reed wrote that the cooperation between Our City Reading, a community development nonprofit founded by the late Albert Boscov, and the city “to reimagine the Santander Operations Center is promising to bring more folks living downtown just as Shuman has and Philly Office Retail intends.”
She added, “The core will only thrive if we have more folks living and working in center city, folks that will patronize small retailers and eateries.” “Also, the possibility of passenger rail returning should bring more young professionals to the downtown housing market as an alternative to living in more expensive Philadelphia and its suburbs. That needs to happen.”
Endorsements: Reading-Berks Association of Realtors
Morrison, 72, is a lifelong Reading resident who has served on the city charter review commission. She ran for city council president two years ago, losing to Reed. Morrison, of Abbas Advocates, a local religious community organization, and We the People Citizens, a city advocacy group, has been critical of the city’s parking authority. She holds an MBA from Alvernia University and is a founding member of the African American Coalition of Reading.
Morrison said a lack of environmental justice is the most pressing issue facing the city. She pointed to the city’s recent equity plan that outlines barriers to affordable housing and other issues. She connected those to environmental problems.
“Our air quality, lead in the pipes, lead in our houses, the cancer causing agent, in our body, our
work places, our schools, and our environment [are] our concern,” Morrison wrote. “Environmental justice is the most important issue in Reading, Pa., which has a major post- industrial footprint.”
To tackle blight, Morrison recommended a multiphase approach that starts with communication with city departments and engagement with the community. The process would then progress through planning, staffing, and evaluation and accountability, she explained.
To address turnover, Morrison said she would advocate for training and problem solving sessions and other measures for staff. Tiered salaries, workload management, rewards, and incentives could also help retain workers, she wrote. For police officers, she advocated for mental health breaks, assigned rotations throughout the city, and giving them a say in the work environment.
Morrison wrote that downtown needs economic development that produces more jobs, widens the tax base, and makes businesses more sustainable in the long term.
