This fall, four candidates are vying for three seats on the South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education. They are Patricia Azeez, Liz Callahan, Kevin Diaz, and Will Meyer. Each year, three seats come up for election on the 9-member governing body. Terms are for three years. Election Day is November 3. Village Green is accepting candidate statements, campaign announcements, and endorsements for candidates, and is covering candidates forums. Follow Village Green’s election coverage here.
From the Diaz for School Board campaign:
This past Sunday, Kevin Diaz, flanked by many of his campaign supporters, formally launched his campaign for the South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education.
In an event brimming with energy, Kevin spoke about his commitment to the community he and his husband have chosen to call home and his intention to bring the values of “Empathy, Equity and Accountability” to his work as a Board member, keeping in mind the many parents with whom he’s spoken over the last two months. He voiced his commitment to preserve and improve the district’s Intentional Integration Initiative, to mobilize a community-wide campaign involving the Board and all parents and staff to end the epidemic of bullying and to increase the Board’s oversight of Special Education services. Kevin also emphasized the need for a new budget process that is more transparent and timely, enabling public engagement, to prevent mistakes like the decision to switch vendors of para-professional services, breaking the continuity and stability that the one-to-one paras bring to the students they serve. “Sometimes these aides are the people who know these children the best,” he observed, “and are the ones able to anticipate and avert a child’s setback before it happens.”
Diaz campaign kickoff event. September 20, 2026. Courtesy of Diaz for School Board.
Repeatedly noting throughout his campaign that “it takes a community”, Kevin expressed his gratitude to former Board of Education President Annemarie Maini for hosting, to his friend and campaign treasurer, former Board member Robin Baker, and to the four dozen others who attended, representing “a cross-section of the wonderful diversity that helps make SOMA a great place to raise a family.”
Several community leaders attended, including former BOE member Mark Miller; Devyani Guha; David Huemer, former Maplewood Township committee member and Board of School Estimate representative; Barbara Cokorinos, longtime music parent and arts advocate, who lent her support by helping Maini stage the event; and Jessica Mingus, founder of SOMA Peer Support & Action Network for IEP Families (PSAN).
Following Kevin’s remarks, Mingus observed, “I am heartened that Kevin understands the adversities that many students with disabilities experience from systemic cuts to the district’s special education services. I believe him when he says he will add strong Board oversight to the district’s service delivery, and advocate for true transparency, timeliness and community participation in next year’s budget process.”
Devyani Guha of South Orange voiced support by agreeing to join Annemarie Maini, Robin Baker and Melissa Randazzo on the Diaz Campaign Committee.
Huemer offered the following thought: “Through his campaign, Kevin is demonstrating that he will be a conscientious steward of both our children and our tax dollars.”
Annemarie Maini, wrapping up the formal part of the program, urged everyone to get involved and spread the word about Kevin’s campaign, by canvassing their neighborhoods, wearing Kevin’s campaign t-shirt around town, placing lawn signs and making donations to help cover campaign costs. She urged campaign supporters to share Kevin’s posts on Facebook and direct friends and neighbors to visit the campaign website at DiazForSchoolBoard.com/my-platform, to learn more about Kevin’s campaign platform.
