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LA School Report has learned that the teachers union’s political arm, UTLA-PACE, has sent a direct mail piece on behalf of a Westside District 4 candidate, Steve Zimmer, in what appears to be its first election expenditure. The mailer is notable because UTLA-PACE is expected to spend big on behalf of UTLA-backed school board candidates, but it hasn’t yet disclosed any campaign activity. The Los Angeles City Ethics Commission confirmed today that no disclosures had been filed.
To comply with city election law, committees that make independent expenditures (IEs) on behalf of candidates must file disclosure papers within 24 hours if an expenditure meets or exceeds a cumulative total of $1,000. This mailer may not have pushed UTLA-PACE to its spending threshold, though according to Ethics Commission records, mailers like this one are usually costly.
UTLA-PACE has not yet responded for comment. We’ll let you know.
