Though his name will still appear on the ballot this fall, Ron Sofo is no longer running for the District 2 seat on the board of Pittsburgh Public Schools.
Sofo lost in the Democratic primary this spring to incumbent board member Devon Taliaferro, but he appeared on both major party tickets and won the Republican nomination.
Still, Sofo told WESA on Friday that he will not actively seek election on the GOP ticket, “given that I am a registered Democrat.” He said he reached out on Aug. 22 to the Allegheny County Elections Division, seeking to remove his name from the ballot, but he found he had missed the Aug. 14 deadline to do so.
“Regardless of my candidacy, there is an urgent need to transform public education in Pittsburgh so that all students have equitable access to quality, safe, and caring public schools,” Sofo wrote in an email.
During his candidacy, Sofo secured backing from the Allegheny County Democratic Committee and the advocacy group Black Women For a Better Education.
Candidates running unopposed for the board’s two other open seats also received endorsements from the organization.
