Alex Johnson (left), George McKenna (right)

Tomorrow is election day. After eight months without a representative on the LA Unified school board, residents of District 1 will once more have equal representation with the other six members, maybe by the end of the week.

The new member replaces the late Marguerite LaMotte and will join the board after the vote count is certified, a process expected to take only a few days — especially if predictions of a low turnout prove accurate. Just 13 percent of registered voters bothered to cast ballots for school board candidates in the June 3 primary, when other elections were also underway.

This time, the school board election stands alone for District 1 voters.

As for the candidates, they could not be more different:

George McKenna, 74, who won the primary with nearly 45 percent of the vote, is a former school and district administrator. He is, perhaps, best known for his role in turning around Washington Prep decades ago, leading to a 1986 TV movie in which he was portrayed by Denzel Washington. McKenna has widespread name recognition in the district for his decades of experience.

Alex Johnson, 34, who finished second to McKenna with about 24 percent, is a former prosecutor, now an aide to LA County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas. He has some classroom experience, serving as an adjunct teacher in the Washington, D.C. public school system and as a lecturer at Lehman College in New York. At the start of the campaign, he was virtually unknown.

Both candidates have generated long lists of endorsements that include politicians and a variety of labor groups. Within LA Unified, the teachers union (UTLA) and the principals union (AALA) back McKenna; the service workers (SEIU Local 99) are behind Johnson.

Another big difference is financial backing. Through the weekend, Johnson had out-raised McKenna, $134,470 to $101,749, and held a big edge in money spent on his behalf by independent groups, $687,731 to $136,456. Befitting the usual chasm in LA Unified politics, a sizable portion of spending for Johnson comes from groups affiliated with the California Charter Schools Association, and almost all the outside spending for McKenna comes from teacher unions.

While both candidates have said they would not be beholden to any political groups or outside agenda, it’s unlikely to expect them to forget where their support came from when it’s time for the board to vote.

And that leads to what may be the ultimate impact of the election: Where does it leave a board that generally breaks along a union/reform fault line.

In the most general terms, union interests are reflected in votes by Monica Ratliff, Bennett Kayser and Steve Zimmer, with Tamar Galatzan and Monica Garcia more sympathetic to reform efforts. 

Board President Richard Vladovic, who has shown a distinct aversion to conflict in recent months, fills whatever middle there has been on a six-member board that records a 3-3 vote as failure.

Ratliff, Kayser and Zimmer have endorsed McKenna. Galatzan and Garcia have endorsed Johnson. Vladovic has endorsed no one.

A victory by McKenna would appear to give the pro-union side an unbeatable majority, rendering Vladovic’s vote moot on many issues and posing new challenges for Superintendent John Deasy, who is widely regarded as a leader for change and by unionists as an enemy.

A victory by Johnson would appear to bolster the reform side, returning Vladovic to swing-vote status and emboldening Deasy to hold stronger to his ideas. 

Certainly, Deasy’s employment — which the board can terminate at any time — would appear more secure with Johnson in the seat. McKenna has had problems with Deasy in the past — i.e. Miramonte scandal — but how he feels about Deasy’s performance as supervisor now is uncertain.

Both sides have talked about the importance of turnout, and that’s indisputable. District 1 has 342,493 registered voters, according to the city Ethics Commission. If only 5 percent vote — the most dire of predictions — that would mean a turnout of 17,124 and a majority needed for victory of just 8,563.

Whatever the turnout, voters at least won’t have to wait long before they get another shot. The election is only to fill the remaining months of LaMotte’s term, leading to next year, when the District 1 seat is up again, along with those for Districts 3 (Galatzan), 5 (Kayser) and 7 (Vladovic).

Previous Posts: Johnson campaign goes negative, citing the ‘myth’ of McKenna; Teachers go negative on Johnson, call him an education ‘rookie’; Johnson holding money lead over McKenna; Vladovic has donors

With LA Unified’s District 1 election approaching, LA School Report asked each of the candidates, Alex Johnson and George McKenna, a series of questions about some of the bigger challenges facing the district.

The effort was based on the fact — an unfortunate one for voters — that the two have not appeared together for a policy debate since they emerged at the top of the June 3 primary to face each other in Tuesday’s runoff. We believed District 1 residents might want to know where the candidates stand on issues that might come before the board over the year ahead.

Five of the eight questions were the same to each candidate, with the other three focusing on how their backgrounds might inform their views. Yesterday, we heard from Johnson, a lawyer and aide to LA County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas.

Today we wanted to give McKenna, 74, a former school administrator, the same opportunity to share his views so that voters could compare their answers. But repeated requests seeking his participation were ignored. Here are the questions we had sent:

Question: What do you consider the biggest challenges facing the school district? If you could address one of those issues now, what would you do?

Answer: No response.

Q: You have had a long career as a school principal and administrator with strong views and a strong will. What would be most difficult for you in adapting to a more collaborative role as a board member?

A: No response.

Q: In your campaign literature you reference your experience in the 1980s at Washington Prep when you worked to turn around the struggling school, making hard choices that included firing teachers. Has your thinking about how you approached that situation changed? 

A: No response.

Q: You have been supported by the teachers union in this election despite having been heavily criticized by union leaders in the past. What has changed?

A: No response.

Q:  What steps would you recommend to forestall a teachers strike?

A: No response.

Q: The Common Core curriculum has been embraced by LAUSD and the board. But it has generated intense opposition in other states. What do you think about the Common Core as a means to improve academic achievement?

A: No response.

Q: What have you learned from Sylvia Rousseau’s experience as a board liaison for District 1? 

A: No response.

Q: Parental involvement within LAUSD is at an all-time low.  How would you change that, taking into consideration the significant number of foster children in District 1?

A: No response.

Previous Posts: Low voter turnout predicted in LAUSD board race; Ratliff forgoes neutrality, endorsing McKenna in board race; Johnson outpacing McKenna in school board race for money

As the week comes to a close, Alex Johnson has expanded his overall lead in financial support over George McKenna in their quest to win election as the new District 1 board member in LA Unified, according to the latest figures from the City Ethics Commission.

At mid-day, he held the same ratio of support, about 8-to-1, in individual contributions that he had as the week started — now, $47,646 to $6,450.

But expenditures on behalf of his campaign have jumped considerably.

Today, the figurees show that money spent by outside Political Action Committees on behalf of Johnson’s campaign has doubled, to a $200,000-plus advantage over McKenna from a $100,000-plus advantage early in the week.

Also, with less than a month before the Aug. 12 election, the figures show Johnson holding a sharp advantage in cash on hand. By the latest numbers, he has more than $46,000 to spend while McKenna has only $2,258.

One caveat for all of Johnson’s money lead continues, however: McKenna remains well-known and popular in the district, and voter participation is expected to be lower than the usual turnout for local elections, especially ones that have the day to themselves. 

Also this week, each candidate picked up an endorsement from a sitting board member. Monica Ratliff endorsed McKenna while Monica Garcia appeared at a fundraiser for Johnson.

Previous Posts: Johnson outpacing McKenna in school board race for money; LA Fed’s PAC recommends Johnson for LAUSD board seat; McKenna, Johnson re-launch campaigns for school board seat

]]> https://www.laschoolreport.com/pac-spending-for-johnson-gives-him-200000-advantage-lausd/feed/ 1 https://www.laschoolreport.com/garcia-second-board-member-to-endorse-johnson-is-her-guy/ https://www.laschoolreport.com/garcia-second-board-member-to-endorse-johnson-is-her-guy/#comments Thu, 17 Jul 2014 19:05:02 +0000 http://laschoolreport.com/?p=26406 Monica Garcia, who represents LA Unified’s District 2, has become the second district board member to endorse one of the candidates running for the District 1 seat, last held by the late Marguerite LaMotte.

Garcia is the “special guest” at fundraiser tonight in Hancock Park for Alex Johnson, the Mark Ridley-Thomas aide who is opposing George McKenna in the Aug. 12 runoff.

Garcia’s appearance comes a few days after Monica Ratliff, the District 6 representative, threw her support behind McKenna.

Apart from the possibility each of the Monicas faces, the prospect of working alongside a new member she didn’t endorse, the expressions of support are entirely predictable.

Garcia is a well-known proponent of charter schools and overall school reform — her website carries the headline “Reform The L.A. Way,” and much of Johnson’s support has come from a political action committee affiliated with the California Charter Schools Association.

Ratliff, a former teacher, is more closely aligned with traditional schools and United Teachers Los Angeles, the local teachers union whose PAC is supporting McKenna.

The fundraiser is being hosted by Ben Paul, chief executive of the nationwide program After-School All-Stars, which provides activities for students beyond the daily final bell.

Previous Posts: McKenna is the union candidate, but CTA gave to Johnson backers; Ratliff forgoes neutrality, endorsing McKenna in board race; Johnson outpacing McKenna in school board race for money

According to the California Secretary of State, which tracks political contributions, the California Teachers Association (CTA) gave the money to the African American Voter Registration and Education Project (AAVREP) in June of last year.

AAVREP, a Super PAC founded in 2002 by LA County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, has spent over $114,000 in independent expenditures on behalf of Alex Johnson, a strong supporter of charter schools who is running against George McKenna, whose only independent expenditure group for the Aug. 12 runoff election is the PAC for the LA teachers union, an affiliate of CTA.

Johnson works for Ridley-Thomas as an education advisor.

The Project says it’s the largest organized effort targeting African American and urban voters in California, registering more than 175,000 voters over the last 20 years. Its goal is to increase political participation among African American and urban voters.

Since CTA made the donation to AAVREP, the group has also spend money to support Wendy Gruel in her mayoral campaign and the Los Angeles County Democratic Party. 

“Educators believe it is extremely important for citizens who are eligible to vote do so in order to make their voices heard,” said Claudia Briggs, a spokeswoman for CTA. “This is why from time to time we support voter registration projects around the state.”

Previous Posts: UTLA votes to endorse McKenna in District 1 board race; Vote-by-Mail request for District 1 school board starts today; McKenna, Johnson re-launch campaigns for school board seat

Board member Monica Ratliff

Monica Ratliff, who was elected to the LA Unified school board last year, became the first member of the board to take sides in the District 1 school board race, endorsing George McKenna over Alex Johnson, McKenna’s campaign announced late in the day.

No other board member has expressed public support for either of the contenders in the Aug. 12 runoff.

“It is with the utmost respect for his long history of success and dedication to students that I wholeheartedly endorse George McKenna for School Board,” Ratliff was quoted as saying in the announcement. “His many years of experience as a dedicated and successful teacher, principal, and administrator will continue to serve the students and parents of District 1 well.”

McKenna, a retired school administrators with decades of experience, said, “I am humbled to have earned the support of superb educator Mónica Ratliff. Since the voters elected her to the LAUSD board in 2013 she has proven to be a deliberate member and strong advocate for our children. I look forward to working with her and all the board members when the people elect me to be their school board representative on August 12th.”

Ratliff, who represents the East Valley District 6 on the board, did not immediately respond to an email message, seeking confirmation of her endorsement. The message also sought to ask how she would forge a working relationship with Johnson if he were to defeat McKenna.

In the announcement, McKenna’s campaign manager, Jewett Walker, cited Ratliff’s successful campaign last year over Antonio Sanchez as similar to McKenna’s campaign against Johnson. Sanchez had raised far more money than Ratliff, and McKenna is far behind Johnson in both individual donations and money spent on his behalf by political action committees.

“In her 2013 race for school board, Ratliff was outspent by over $2 million dollars,” Walker said, referring to his support that included wealthy westside donors, then Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, “big” charter school operators, the LA County Federation of Labor and SEIU Local 99, the school service workers union.

“They thought the electorate would support a 30-something unknown with no record in education who many believed was only running to use the school board seat as a political stepping-stone,” Walker said. “Voters chose Ratliff, an LAUSD teacher, who forged a campaign led by educators who pounded the pavement. The parallel between the two races is interesting.”

Previous Posts: Johnson outpacing McKenna in school board race for money; Labor groups split on support for McKenna and Johnson in runoff; UTLA votes to endorse McKenna in District 1 board race

Alex Johnson, District 1 candidate

An internal poll conducted by Alex Johnson’s campaign suggests that he is gaining on George McKenna as they compete for the vacant LA Unified school board seat.

The Johnson campaign says that polling conducted in April and June shows that Johnson’s name recognition has grown to 52 percent, from 14 percent percent.

It also said Johnson’s favorable rating climbed to 42 percent from 12 percent while McKenna’s grew to 49 percent from 29 percent. Each candidate’s unfavorable rating also rose — to 10 percent from 2 percent for Johnson and to 8 percent from 7 percent for McKenna.

The two were the leading vote-getters among seven candidates for the vacant District 1 board seat in the June 3 primary. They’re now facing off in an Aug. 12 runoff.

The Johnson poll, included in a campaign staff memo, was sent, unsolicited, to LA School Report, for the apparently obvious reasons that it shows encouraging results for Johnson, a political neophyte who has been working as an education aide to LA County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas.

The memo said that the campaign has fulfilled the first of two goals, holding McKenna, a former school administrator and the subject of a television movie, under 50 percent in the primary, thus denying him an outright victory. “We knew from the outset that McKenna’s higher initial name ID would virtually guarantee him a first place finish in a multi-candidate race,” it said.

The campaign’s second goal, the memo said, is to turn Johnson’s opportunity into victory by convincing voters he represents “a  new direction for L.A. schools.” The memo said voters are responding favorably to his positions on a series of issues but it offed no polling results showing how they compare with voter sentiments on McKenna’s positions on the same issues.

With the runoff election still six weeks away, it’s hard to assess the true impact of the polling data. McKenna far outdistanced Johnson in the primary, 44.6 percent to 24.7 percent, and as a rule, internal campaign polls usually project good news for the campaign conducting the poll.

Nonetheless, the memo concludes that a third of the voters remain undecided and Johnson “can and will win the runoff.”

LA School report sent a message to the McKenna campaign, sharing some of the numbers in the Johnson memo. The message asked for any similar poll conducted by the McKenna campaign and for reaction to Johnson’s poll.

Jewett Walker, McKenna’s campaign manager, provided an ambiguous, one-word response — “Absurd!.” It was unclear if he were referring to the requests or to the conclusions of the Johnson poll.

He did not respond to another message seeking clarification.

Previous Posts: Labor groups split on support for McKenna and Johnson in runoff, SEIU endorses Alex Johnson for LAUSD school board in runoff, LAUSD candidates McKenna, Johnson set for election runoff

Incumbent Board President Dr. Richard Vladovic

In its final meeting of the 2013-14 fiscal year, the LA Unified school board may decide to break tradition by delaying the annual vote for board president.

Normally, board members elect a new leader for the coming year during a summer meeting prior to the start of the next academic year.

But the members may push back this year’s vote until after the Aug. 12 runoff to elect the new District 1 board member. As the top two vote-getters in a primary early this month, George McKenna and Alex Johnson are now competing in for the seat.

The vote for president would occur as soon as the winner is sworn in as a board member, giving District 1 full representation for the first time since last December, when Marguerite LaMotte died after a decade on the board.

Monica Garcia was behind the motion to delay the election to give the new member a vote in who will lead the board for the next year. Richard Vladovic, who is completing his first term, is expected to run — probably unopposed — for a second and final term. Presidents can serve only two consecutive years at a time before relinquishing the seat.

Chris Torres, Vladovic’s chief of staff, said Vladovic has no comment on the possibility that the board might delay the vote for president.

While many at last week’s meeting applauded the nod toward inclusiveness, the move would appear inconsistent with a board decision early this year to hold an election to fill the vacant seat, rather that appoint someone right away with voting rights.

Since LaMotte’s death, District 1 has had only a liaison to the board, not a voting representative, as the remaining six members shaped and approved major financial, instructional and administrative issues, including the final Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP)  and the final $7 billion budget for 2014-15, which goes before the members for a vote tomorrow.

District 1 residents had no say in any of the actions, apart from input provided by Sylvia Rousseau, the USC professor of education who served as the district liaison for several months as the election played out.

As for the final votes on the budget and the LCAP, it’s not entirely clear whether they will go smoothly. Certain members have certain priorities that they want fully funded, and they might perceive Superintendent John Deasy‘s proposals as falling short. Deasy needs four votes for approval. Whether he gets them may depend on how firm the members hold to their priorities.

For Curriculum and Assessment meeting agenda, click here, and materials, here.

For Special Board Meeting agenda, click here, and materials, here.

Previous Posts: LAUSD candidates McKenna, Johnson set for election runoff; Marguerite LaMotte, Long-Serving Member of LA Unified School Board, Dies, at 80; Rousseau’s LAUSD legacy, a push for standard English learning

George McKenna

*UPDATED

The LA teachers union, UTLA, voted last night to endorse George McKenna for LA Unified’s District 1 board seat in the August runoff election.

McKenna, a retired administrator, had no direct ties to the union and in his winning primary campaign struck a note of independence in assessing various issues.

But in the end, said Marco Flores, chairman of the union’s political action committee, PACE, members of the union’s House of Representatives “overwhelmingly” preferred McKenna over Alex Johnson, a legislative aide to LA County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, for two reasons.

First, Flores said, McKenna “stood with us” in the aftermath of the Miramonte child abuse scandal, openly opposing Superintendent John Deasy’s decision to pull all teachers out of the school.

“That was inhuman and degrading, and that stuck with our teachers,” Flores said. At the time, McKenna was a superintendent for a region that included Miramonte.

The other reason, Flores said, is that McKenna has emerged as the District 1 community’s favorite, by virtue of his many years as a school administrator and his strong victory in the primary last week. He won with 43.7 percent of the vote to Johnson’s 24.4 percent.

In the primary, the union had endorsed three teacher candidates — Sherlette Hendy-Newbill, Hattie McFrazier and Rachel Johnson — but none of them reached double figures in percentage of the vote. The union supported each with a $1,100 campaign contribution, the maximum, and Flores saids McKenna would get $1,100 from UTLA, as well.

Flores said that a motion was raised tonight to not endorse anyone in the runoff. “But that,” he said, “was overwhelmingly defeated.”

Flores described McKenna as “the choice of the community” and as someone who would work smoothly with the union’s new leadership team “which is all about grass roots.” President-elect Alex Caputo-Pearl takes over on July 1.

“It was a natural conclusion,” Flores said. “We stand for community.”

He also said some members held it against Johnson that the majority of independent expenditure money spent on behalf of his primary campaign, more than $54,000 of $80,000, came from a group affiliated with the California Charter Schools Association.

But the choice was more a pro-McKenna vote than anti-Johnson, Flores said.

“Alex is bright, articulate and intelligent,” Flores said. “He’s a good politician. But at this point, we don’t need a politician. We need an educator.”

Adds campaign contribution information.

SEIU Local 99

The union, which represents 45,000 school-related employees including teachers’ assistants, bus drivers and cafeteria workers, made its decision last night after a members-only town hall event. The endorsement was confirmed by Courtni Pugh, Executive Director of SEIU.

Both Johnson, a senior aide to County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, and his opponent, retired administrator George McKenna, were interviewed at the meeting. McKenna was the top vote-getter in last week’s primary for the vacant seat in South LA’s District 1, with 44.3 percent of the vote. Johnson came in second, with 24.7 percent of the vote out of a field of seven candidates.

While there has been little to distinguish the candidates from each other on many issues, Johnson has publicly supported Superintendent John Deasy and campaigned with strong financial support from charter school groups. McKenna has refused to go on record about his views on Deasy. SEIU is considered to have a cordial relationship with Deasy.

SEIU backing could provide a boost to the Johnson campaign; historically the union’s endorsement comes with significant spending on behalf candidates by SEIU’s super PAC. The union also has thousands of members who live within the district, which could prove important in what is expected to be an exceptionally low turnout election.

The union had decided last April to sit on the sidelines during the primary, but said at the time that a re-evaluation of the race was in order for the runoff.

Previous Posts: SEIU 99 decides not to endorse a candidate for District 1 board seat; LAUSD candidates McKenna, Johnson set for election runoff

Monday is the deadline to register for any LA Unified District 1 resident who intends to vote in the June 3 special election.

Registrants must be a citizen of the United States, live within the school district, be 18 years old by Election Day and not be in prison or on parole for a felony.

Registered voters who have moved or changed their names since the last election must re-register to vote.

More information is available here.

Candidates at USC forum

When Angela Jauregui arrived Saturday at USC for a debate with five of the seven candidates running for LA Unified’s District 1 board seat, she told her friends she was there to listen.“

Let’s pay attention,” she said in Spanish as she shushed all three, found a seat in the first row of the lecture hall and put on a head set that translated the hour-long event.

What they heard was pretty much the same from each of the five candidates who participated in an event sponsored by Parent Revolution, the Los Angeles Urban League and Students for Education Reform (SFER). The participants: Rachel Johnson, a kindergarten teacher; George McKenna, a former school principal and superintendent; Genethia Hudley-Hayes, a previous board president; Alex Johnson, a deputy to LA County Supervisor Mark Ridley Thomas; and Hattie McFrazier, an educator and health and human services director.

Two other candidates, Omarosa Manigault and Sherlett Hendy-Newbill, had been invited but declined to appear. The special election to replace the late Marguerite LaMotte is June 3.

Between the testimonials from a handful of the Parent Revolutionaries who filled the room, the candidates’ answers differed very little in content, if not style. Often, they began by agreeing with whatever the person before them had just said.

Yes, the district’s neediest schools should get more money under the Local Control Funding Formula.

Yes, if elected, I will work with parents to ensure teacher effectiveness.

Even on touchy subjects they agreed. “Should parents be allowed to weigh in on teacher evaluations?” All five took their allotted 30 seconds to say no.

McKenna, went first on that one. “It’s the responsibility of the supervisor, not the parent. Teachers need to be protected.” Hudley-Hayes, responded with a similar answer, adding, “We have not trained our administrators to properly evaluate a teacher.” McFrazier told the audience, “You do not have that right,” then directed them to LA Unified’s website to verify a teacher’s credentials themselves.

The only answer that was a real departure from the others came from McFrazier when she admitted she does not support the Parent Empowerment Act, the so-called Parent Trigger Law and raison d’etre of Parent Revolution. That drew an actual gasp from audience.

“Let me explain why,” she began. “I was at the board when 24th Street presented their case, and I sat there and I observed both sides, and I came out confused.”

Parents who had signed the petition to take over what would become the first Parent Trigger school in LA Unified didn’t fully know the consequences of what they were doing, McFrazier said, adding, “No one clearly explained to them what was going to happen. And it is important that both sides understand what is happening so everyone will know what they are deciding on.”

By the end, Jauregui and her friends, all of whom were outfitted in Parent Revolution t-shirts, had warmed to Rachel Johnson, who became a crowd favorite, telling the audience that she drives to Staples every week and spends her own money to make copies of work book lessons and reading materials for five new students who joined her class in January. Moms in the room nodded approvingly and clapped loudly.

“That’s the kind of commitment that makes her standout,” Jauregui  said afterward.

She and her friends said they would help spreading the word for Johnson, as they signed up to join a door-to-door get out the vote walk on May 31.

“I can’t vote,” she said, “but if I tell them why it’s so important, maybe they will.”

Former Mayor Villaraigosa

Former mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has thrown himself into the District 1 special election race by endorsing Genethia Hudley-Hayes, one of 13 candidates running to join the LA Unified School Board.

Hudley-Hayes, who served as school board president until she lost her seat to the late Marguerite LaMotte in 2003, released a list of endorsers this morning.

The election is scheduled for June, with a runoff, if needed, on August 12.

In addition to Villariagosa, the list includes Mayor Richard Riordan, U.S. Congresswoman Karen Bass, California State Senator Holly Mitchell, civil rights activist Connie Rice, former LA City Councilman Bill Rosendahl, retired pastor of First AME Church, Cecil Murray and Carolynn Martin, a regional leader of the National Council of Negro Woman and member of the board of Parent Revolution.

Bass’ support is notable in that she had been an early backer of George McKenna, who is also running for the seat.

Previous Post: 13 candidates for LAUSD special election.