Manuel “Manny” Delgado may be the newest member on the Moorestown Township Council, but he has already made his mark in Moorestown history by being the first Hispanic council member in Moorestown. However, he said he doesn’t really think about it that often. He feels in Moorestown, there are many people of different ethnicities and has never felt it to be a big deal.
“Surprisingly, more people know and have congratulated me in Camden,” Delgado said.
According to Delgado, those who live in lower-income areas and know those struggles appreciate it more. It is a big deal being the first of Hispanic heritage and they felt he had moved up in the world. Delgado said people were saying it’s nice seeing someone who grew up in a lower-income neighborhood is able to contribute.
Delgado came from humble beginnings.
Delgado grew up in Philadelphia, going to Roman Catholic High School and Temple University for his undergraduate degree in Spanish linguistics and Spanish and medieval text. All his free time wasn’t spent in extracurricular activities; instead he was working full-time while also going to school. He paid his way through undergraduate school, and when he went for his Ph.D., also at Temple, he was teaching.
However, he didn’t end up finishing his Ph.D. When he and his wife Amy had their second child, the decision was made to work full time as well as move to New Jersey.
Delgado did community development work in Camden and Philadelphia for years and works in Rutgers Camden in its Community Leadership Center helping redevelop charter schools.
When deciding on where to move, Delgado said they ultimately chose Moorestown for one reason — schools. In Philadelphia, private schools are expensive and they knew they couldn’t afford it, so they decided Moorestown, with its quality schools and lower tax structure, would be the place to move.
A nine-year resident, Delgado’s favorite parts of Moorestown are the people and families. He said he really likes how the town connections and relationships are made through families and professions.
“I really enjoy that. We have great friends in town. It’s a completely different experience and I am happy and fortunate my kids are growing up in this town,” Delgado said.
Delgado is a very big family man. Everything he does is with and for his family. Having four kids between the ages of 5 and 12, it is understandable.
“It’s all about them,” Delgado said. “They take up a majority of my time, thankfully. We have a lot of fun with it.”
Weekends are filled with driving to sports events, Delgado coaching a few of them. He and his family are big into sports, watching them together as a family.
“We’ll watch anything sports wise. We’re sad football season is over, so we can’t wait for baseball season to start,” Delgado said.
Delgado’s typical day begins and ends with family. He gets up and helps get the kids off to school, then he is off to work in Camden at Rutgers University until about 6 p.m., when he comes home to help with home stuff, homework, practices or games, and then goes to bed by 10 p.m. or 11 p.m.
He said his favorite nights are Tuesdays where he and his family have nothing going on and they get to sit around the table, eat together and just talk.
“Those are my favorite nights, Tuesday nights,” Delgado said.
