Five days after submitting the required signatures and filing fee, Raquel Zamora removes her name from the ballot.

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Raquel Zamora, an Attendance Counselor and former LAUSD teacher, was one of the 17 potential LAUSD School Board candidates who filed with the Los Angeles City Clerk to appear on the June 7 ballot. Last Friday it was verified that she had submitted enough signatures and had paid the filing fee. This afternoon, Zomara is listed as having withdrawn from the race.

In addition to Zamora, four other candidates have qualified for the ballot in the newly redrawn LAUSD Board District 2. If Maria Brenes or Miguel Angel Segura, a former member of convicted felon Ref Rodriguez's staff, are elected, they are predicted to canvass with the block of board members supported by the charter school industry. Rocio Rivas is supportive of public education and is endorsed by Network for Public Education Action, Parents Supporting Teachers, and UTLA. It is not yet known how Erica Vilardi-Espinosa would align herself. The signatures submitted by Miho Murai are still being verified by the City Clerk.

The primary will be held on June 7, 2022.

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Carl Petersen is a parent advocate for students with special education needs and public education. He is an elected member of 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.

Authors Website: http://www.changethelausd.com/

Authors Bio:

Carl Petersen is a parent, an advocate for students with special education needs, an elected member of the Northridge East Neighborhood Council, a member of the LAUSD's CAC, and was a Green Party candidate in LAUSD's District 2 School Board race. During the campaign, the Network for Public Education (NPE) Action endorsed him, and Dr. Diane Ravitch called him a "strong supporter of public schools." For links to his blogs, please visit www.ChangeTheLAUSD.com. Opinions are his own.

Carl Petersen is a father of five, including two daughters who are on the autism spectrum. His involvement in education issues began when the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) refused to provide services that his daughters' teachers agreed they needed. It was then that his family was forced to sue the District.

At the end of two days of mediation at the District's headquarters, he turned to his wife, Nicole, and said: "somebody has to change this." His wife replied, "What about you?" He accepted the challenge and has run twice for a position on the LAUSD School Board. His platforms included advocacy for special education issues and strong support for public education. In his last election he was endorsed by Americans for Democratic Action Southern California, SFV/NELA Chapter of the National Organization for Women, and Network for Public Education (NPE) Action, a group co-founded by Dr. Diane Ravitch.

When Carl is not working or engaging in activism, he enjoys hanging out at theme parks with his family. He took his oldest daughter to Woodstock '94 when she was two and used to play in several local bands. If he is at his home in Northridge, California, there is a dog at his feet and he is probably writing one of his blogs which have been published in OpEdNews, Medium, Patch, and K-12 News Network.