"As a working-class, immigrant Mexican child who grew up in Los Angeles, I understand the importance of an educated mind and directly experienced how the world can open up through learning." - Dr. Rocio Rivas
Accused felon Jose' Huizar began his political career representing LAUSD Board District 2. His Chief of Staff was Monica Garcia, who succeeded him when Huizar became a Los Angeles City Councilman in 2005. Fifteen years later, Garcia is set to leave the Beaudry Boardroom due to term limits. Her hand-picked successor is Maria Brenes, who has reportedly promised Garcia the Chief of Staff position in exchange for her support. This would bring Garcia full circle in her LAUSD career.
The results of the primary election show that voters may have other plans for Brenes and Garcia. Despite outspending public schools champion Dr. Rocio Rivas by more than $300,000, the Huizar/Garcia/Brenes political machine received 9,584 fewer votes. At $52.09, Brenes' cost per vote was almost double Rivas' cost of $26.60. This is in a district whose new borders were custom drawn for Brenes by her husband, Luis Sanchez, as chair of the Redistricting Commission.
Each of these races is a must-win for the charter school industry as a loss in any one of them will result in them losing their control of the LAUSD School Board. Expect them to pour millions of Walmart and Netflix-supplied dollars into campaigns to stop this from happening. If history is any indication, much of this will pay for nasty and bigoted advertising meant to confuse the electorate. The campaign should set a great example for the children whose needs are supposed to be front and center in these contests. So much for #KidsFirst.
Picture of Huizar by Charlie Kaijo on Wikipedia
(Image by Picture of Huizar by Charlie Kaijo) Details DMCA
Carl Petersen is a parent advocate for students with special education needs and public education. He is elected to the Northridge East Neighborhood Council and serves as the Education Chair. As a Green Party candidate in LAUSD's District 2 School Board race, he was endorsed by Network for Public Education (NPE) Action. Dr. Diane Ravitch has called him "a valiant fighter for public schools in Los Angeles." For links to his blogs, please visit www.ChangeTheLAUSD.com. Opinions are his own.
