![\"Vanessa](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Vanessa-Campos.jpg\")
Vanessa Campos<\/p>\nCity Council at its regular meeting Monday selected Councilwoman Vanessa Campos as its new vice president.<\/p>\n
Campos represents District 1, which includes the city\u2019s southwest neighborhoods of Wyomissing Park, Millmont, Oakbrook and areas south of Penn Street.<\/p>\n
She was appointed on a 5-2 vote, with Councilman Jaime Baez Jr. and Councilwoman Melissa Ventura voting for Baez.<\/p>\n
Campos was nominated by Councilman O. Christopher Miller and Baez was nominated by Ventura during a process reflecting differing views and ending with pledges of collaboration and unity.<\/p>\n
Miller said he based his nomination on his confidence in Campos\u2019 ability to reflect council as a whole when acting as a representative of the body or speaking publicly.<\/p>\n
Addressing council before the roll call, Campos said she was honored by the nomination and did not feel the need to lobby her colleagues.<\/p>\n
\u201cI trust the will of the body, regardless of their choice,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Vanessa Campos<\/p>\n
A longtime city resident, Campos spent more than a decade working in the Reading School District as an educator and leader before joining council.<\/p>\n
She is a graduate of Reading Area Community College and Kutztown University, where she earned her bachelor\u2019s degree summa cum laude and her master\u2019s degree magna cum laude. She serves as an adjunct instructor for English-language learners at RACC and also works as a licensed real estate agent.<\/p>\n
Calling herself a proud Latina whose family immigrated from the Dominican Republic, Campos said she has used her educational and professional experience to benefit Reading and will continue to collaborate with council and the administration to move the city forward.<\/p>\n
In a statement Tuesday, she said the vice presidency does not change her core responsibilities as a district councilor but adds a broader leadership role. She described teamwork as central to her approach, emphasizing the importance of considering various viewpoints in council\u2019s decision-making processes.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not about me in isolation,\u201d she said. \u201cIt is all about that teamwork and inclusion that I think are very important to me as a leader in this role.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Councilman](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Jaime-Baez.jpg\")
Councilman Jaime Baez Jr. (Courtesy of Jaime Baez Jr.)<\/p>\n
During the public comment before the vote, several residents spoke in English and Spanish in support of Baez, praising his community involvement and leadership style.<\/p>\n
Addressing council before the vote, Baez emphasized what he described as his active approach to leadership.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t believe leadership is about waiting your turn or waiting to feel comfortable,\u201d he said. \u201cI believe it\u2019s about showing up and doing the work.\u201d<\/p>\n
He cited legislation he has introduced, community meetings he organized during his first year on council and outreach efforts to colleagues as evidence of that approach.<\/p>\n
Ventura said her nomination was based on Baez\u2019s leadership and energy and her belief that he would work with colleagues regardless of differences.<\/p>\n
Before casting one of the votes for Campos, Councilman Raymond E. Baker said the decision was difficult and cautioned against framing the discussion around vote totals from past elections.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to represent the city as a whole,\u201d he said, stressing that council represents Democrats, Republicans, independents and residents who do not vote.<\/p>\n
Baker described both nominees as wholly qualified and said council cohesion is more important than who holds the title.<\/p>\n
City clerk<\/p>\n
Later in the meeting, council unanimously reappointed Linda Kelleher as city clerk for a two-year term. Kelleher has served in the role since January 1996.<\/p>\n
Baker praised Kelleher\u2019s longevity and experience, saying he was once told that two people run the city, the mayor in office and Linda Kelleher.<\/p>\n
\u201cMayors have come and gone, and Linda Kelleher is still here,\u201d he said, noting no disrespect to the current administration was intended.<\/p>\n
Reed praised Kelleher as a good administrator and citizen, describing her as a steady presence who consistently provides guidance and administrative support.<\/p>\n
Though they haven\u2019t always agreed, Reed said she has relied on Kelleher\u2019s knowledge and counsel.<\/p>\n
\u201cHer institutional knowledge supersedes virtually anyone in City Hall,\u201d Reed said, noting Kelleher has also assembled a knowledgeable staff that is responsive to council. \u201cShe certainly has my support.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"City Council at its regular meeting Monday selected Councilwoman Vanessa Campos as its new vice president. Campos represents…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1767,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[349,857,182,139,28,736,128,130,129,706],"class_list":{"0":"post-86487","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-reading","8":"tag-berks-county","9":"tag-essential-reading","10":"tag-local-news","11":"tag-news","12":"tag-pennsylvania","13":"tag-reading","14":"tag-reading-city","15":"tag-reading-city-headlines","16":"tag-reading-city-news","17":"tag-top-stories-reg"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86487","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=86487"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86487\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1767"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=86487"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=86487"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=86487"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}