"I look to engage the communities I serve at every level."
- Board District 6 Candidate Marvin Rodriguez
By all measures, teacher and parent Marvin Rodriguez should have been crushed during the primary election. After all, he was outspent by over 66:1 and the incumbent in the race, Kelly Gonez, was endorsed by both the teachers' union, UTLA, and the charter school industry. Still, Rodriguez managed to secure 31.37% of the vote, which was good enough for a second-place finish. Since Gonez failed to earn more than 50% of the vote, she will face Rodriguez in a runoff on November 8, 2022.
Rodriguez's strategy for the general election will be very similar to the one he used to secure the upset in June when he earned the votes of 21,495 constituents in Board District 6. Instead of being sidetracked by the noise created by the establishment in their effort to maintain the status quo, Rodriguez will take his case for change directly to his neighbors in the eastern portion of the San Fernando Valley.
One of the ways that Rodriguez will engage with his community will be to visit neighborhood parks within BD6 on Saturdays between the Labor Day weekend and Election Day. Last Saturday, he kicked off this effort at the Hansen Dam recreation area. He and his family set up a booth outside the Discovery Cube and had conversations with constituents who had braved the 105Â degrees heat to visit the park.
Compare these efforts to engage with the attitude of his opponent. Within minutes of becoming Board President, Gonez announced that she would keep the Parent Engagement and Special Education Committees from holding meetings. When parents pressed for a resumption of these meetings, Gonez responded that parents already had enough of a voice. She has also refused to answer questions sent to her about a variety of topics including engagement with the community.
In the following weeks, you can meet Rodriguez and discuss a new vision for our neighborhood public schools at the following locations between 10:00 AM and 2:00 PM:
- September 10: Sunland Recreation Center
- September 17: David M. Gonzales Recreation Center, Pacoima
- October 1: Hubert H. Humphrey Pool Park, Pacoima
- October 8: North Weddington Rec. Center, North Hollywood
- October 15: Sepulveda Rec. Center, Panorama City
- October 22: Fernangeles Rec. Center, Sun Valley
- October 29: Branford Rec. Center, Arleta
- November 5: El Carriso Park, Sylmar
Carl Petersen is a parent advocate for students with special education needs and public education. He was elected to the Northridge East Neighborhood Council and is 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.