Lancaster City Hall is seen in this photo taken Aug. 5, 2019.
Ian Sterling for WITF
Lancaster City Hall is seen in this photo taken Aug. 5, 2019.
Ian Sterling for WITF
(Lancaster) — With the presidential election over, both the Republican and Democratic parties are shifting focus to 2021 municipal elections. The two people now leading Lancaster’s Democratic Committee are rooted in an area of the city known for its racial and ethnic diversity.
Tene Darby has lived almost all her life in the city’s southeast quadrant, a neighborhood where U.S. Census data shows a higher percentage of Black and Latino residents.
Darby says the neighborhood has too often been undervalued and disenfranchised. She recently started the Southeast Times newsletter in hopes of combatting negative perceptions of the community and sharing political information with people.
The project ties into some of Darby’s priorities as chairwoman of the city’s Democratic committee. One is getting more people registered to vote. Another is to ensure all community members have the information they need to become more involved in the democratic process.
“Too many times, with our city government, we lead people to assume things, instead of actually giving them the information so they know the facts,” she said.
A recent example: when Darby posted the requirements for candidacy on Facebook, people expressed surprise a college degree was not one of them.
Darby is the first Latina chair and the first Black chair of the committee. She said the milestones come with internal pressure to do well, but she does not feel alone.
“The great part of it is that I have the backing of all those people who asked me to run,” she said. “[They] are also stepping in and making sure that I have that support system that I need to make sure that I have a successful reign.”
Darby is replacing Diane Topakian, who for a year led both the city and county committees, which she said ended up being “a lot more work than I could handle.”
She stepped down from the city position to ease her own workload and allow new leaders to step up.
“I thought this is a perfect time, then. I’m feeling like I can’t do it all but I’m also feeling like I’m leaving it in a good place.”
Topakian nudged Ricardo Almodovar, the new vice-chairman, to run for the seat formerly filled by Miguel Tirado.
Almodovar also lives in Southeast Lancaster and has been involved in advocacy and politics since college. He was a community organizer with Make the Road PA in Allentown before returning to Lancaster to work with CASA. Both groups partner to advocate for immigrants and Latinos in different regions of the state.
He was recently appointed to the Pennsylvania Commission on LGBTQ affairs.
“I believe representation matters, and as an openly gay man, I want to make sure folks are aware that there are folks in the LGBTQ+ community that are taking active leadership roles, not just in the Democratic Party but beyond,” he said.
Since he began organizing in Lancaster, Almodovar said the southeast quadrant has “struggled” to obtain political representation. “We should have two committee people per precinct and there are a number of vacancies,” he said. “Our goal is to fill all those vacancies.”
Another goal is to broaden language access by translating materials into languages other than Spanish.
Ahead of the municipal primary in May, the committee is currently preparing endorsements, which Darby said could be finalized in early February.
The Lancaster City GOP did not immediately return requests for interviews, but its Facebook page lists county Republican party treasurer Lisa Colon as chair.
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