While Illinois’ delegation at the Democratic National Convention was nearly united in its support for Vice President Kamala Harris, one local school board member serving as a delegate did not join in backing her nomination for president, according to people with knowledge of the vote count.
Alejandro “Alex” Gallegos, a Crete-Monee Unit School District 201 board member, was the one person in the delegation to vote “present” rather than for Harris, two sources said.
Reached by phone Wednesday, Gallegos repeatedly declined to comment.
“It’s not about me,” he said.
The Illinois delegation cast 176 votes for Harris, Gov. JB Pritzker said in announcing the vote count Tuesday night during the ceremonial state-by-state roll call at the United Center.
According to The Associated Press, the official nomination in early August saw 4,563 votes for Harris and 52 for “present,” with 79 people not casting votes. While that vote count took place online, the festivities in Chicago on Tuesday were a strictly made-for-TV affair.
The “present” vote came to light at the convention, after Illinois Democratic Chair Elizabeth “Lisa” Hernandez, a state representative from Cicero, announced on Aug. 5 that the the state’s delegation had voted unanimously to make Harris the party’s nominee.
President Joe Biden’s response to the war in Gaza has divided Democratic voters, even as those in the United Center this week have generally locked arms in support of his vice president.
Though Biden’s decision to step aside has in some ways changed the conversation around the war, remnants of a primary season in which some voters denied him their support over the issue echoed in the form of “present” votes read on the convention floor late Tuesday.
Northern Public Radio reported earlier this week that Gallegos said he wants military aid to Israel to end.
“She’s not going to get to that policy without of a little bit of effort, a little bit of push,” Northern Public Radio reported that Gallegos said of Harris. “That’s all I’m here for — to give her that nudge that she needs to change course and do the right thing.”
Gallegos’ campaign fund information from his school board run shows he lives in Crete.
Chicago Tribune’s Jeremy Gorner contributed.