Andrew Thomas, who finished third behind Ref Rodriguez and Bennett Kayser in the District 5 school board primary election, has complained to Kayser that an invitation to a Kayser fundraiser this afternoon incorrectly says Thomas is supporting him in the May 19 runoff. An email from Kayser’s campaign circulated yesterday describes Kayser as “The choice...

Together for the final time before Tuesday’s elections, the three candidates for LA Unified’s Board District 5 seat were determined last night to set themselves apart from each other. In a small church in a residential neighborhood in South Gate, incumbent Bennett Kayser, and his opponents, Andrew Thomas and Ref Rodriguez, spoke only to the...

LA Unified’s school board District 5, runs a tortured, ear-muff-shaped path from Los Feliz in the north, following a narrow band south, and expanding in the south to Lynwood. Along the way it reaches parts of Echo Park, Vernon, Maywood, Huntington Park, Bell and South Gate. With an Hispanic population of 74 percent, District 5...

No more Mr. Nice Guys. Last night’s forum for the three candidates in the LA Unified District 5 board race included lots of head shaking, some eye rolling, silently mouthing words (“That’s not true”) and at least one tiff. Perhaps some of the frustration was due to changing rules. Initially there was no time set...

Incumbent Bennett Kayser appeared spoiling for a fight last night, sharing the stage with his two challengers for the LA Unified District 5 board seat at a candidate forum in El Sereno. Right out of the gate, he goaded PUC charter school founder Ref Rodriguez and education researcher Andrew Thomas to state their positions on Prop 39, a...

This is the next in a series of profiles on candidates running in the March 3 primary for the LA Unified school board. Today’s focus is Andrew Thomas, a candidate for the District 5 seat. When Andrew Thomas’s two children started at John Marshall High School in Los Feliz, the 49-year-old dad was disappointed in...

* UPDATED After days of tension leading to the first debate with all three candidates running for LA Unified’s board District 5 on March 3, a forum last night at Eagle Rock High School played out with a relatively civil tone and a focus more on policy than politics. Surprisingly, incumbent Bennett Kayser, who is...

Hours after criticizing LA Unified School Board Member Bennett Kayser for dropping out of today’s District 5 campaign forum, one of his challengers, Andrew Thomas, announced that he, too, is pulling out. That leaves the stage to the only other candidate in the race, Ref Rodriguez, who is promising to attend. The forum is the...

Andrew Thomas came to the conclusion the LA Unified school board had grown too distant from issues at the school level. He tried one approach at improving things, serving as a member of the Parents Advisory Committee, which was suppose to help shape spending. Not satisfied that it had much impact, Thomas is now running...