Your donation will help us produce journalism like this. Please give today.
Caputo-Pearl, left, phone-banking for Steve Zimmer in March
The first step of running for office is raising money, and the UTLA Presidential election is no exception. In an email to would-be supporters this week, candidate Alex Caputo-Pearl set a fundraising goal of $100,000 by the end of the year for his slate of seven candidates, dubbed “Union Power.”
“The Union Power slate has the kind of broad-based support that gives us a real opportunity to win this election,” he said in the email. “It is, however, going to take major funding to do it.”
The email was sharply critical of the current wave of “school reform” thinking, or what Caputo-Pearl calls the “run schools like businesses” approach, “with test scores being viewed as the bottom line.” The email makes no mention of his chief rival and incumbent, Warren Fletcher, viewed by many as the slight favorite to be re-elected for a second three-year term.
Outsider candidate David Garcia said in a recent interview that he will not raise or spend any money. He contends that spending $100,000 has become typical in recent UTLA elections, and that, “for last five cycles, the slate that has spent the most amount of money has won.”
Anyone can contribute to a candidate for UTLA office, although only UTLA members vote. The elections are set to take place in February.
Previous posts: Another Candidate Emerges to Challenge for UTLA Presidency; UTLA Factions Lining Up to Oust Fletcher as President; ‘Political Season’ Starting with UTLA Leadership Conference; Union President Likely Faces 2014 Challengers; Union President Volunteers for Pay Cut