With a choice of appointing a replacement or calling a special election to fill the seat, the board, which rarely reaches unanimity on anything, seems to be leaning toward an election, by three votes to two.

For the moment, at least three members appear to favor a special election.

Board President Richard Vladovic leans toward an election, according to someone who has discussed the issue with him. Monica Garcia told LA School Report today, “The best way to honor Ms. LaMotte is to assure the community that there’s a fair process. There should be an election.” And Tamar Galatzan said, in a statement, “I think it is vitally important for every community to have the right to be represented by the elected official of their choosing.”

Meanwhile, Bennett Kayser’s office confirmed that he favors the board making an appointment to fill the position, and today he wrote a commentary in the Daily News arguing for that.  A source friendly with Monica Ratliff said she also favors picking a replacement.

That leaves Zimmer, whose vote for an appointment would result in a 3-3 deadlock. He declined to comment.

The board is expected to consider the options at the board meeting scheduled for December 17, and in all likelihood will vote. They might even vote on the replacement, should they choose to make an appointment.

What’s less certain is whether there will be four votes for one approach over the other. With only six sitting members, any resolution needs a majority, and a 3-3 vote spells defeat.

Each approach poses challenges. An election could cost the district in excess of $1 million and leave District 1 residents without representation on the board for months. An election would have to be coordinated and approved by the LA City Council and could not be scheduled for at least 110 days after the Council approves a motion to hold the election.

An appointment opens the door to what could become a contentious and possibly acrimonious process in deciding who the replacement should be. Not only are there no set rules for recruiting and vetting a potential replacement board member, the final selection runs the risk of angering community groups who might oppose any specific candidate.

And now that US lawmakers from Los Angeles districts overlapping school board District 1, including Representatives Maxine Waters and Karen Bass, have expressed opinions about filling the seat, board members have additional sentiments to consider.

Sources outside the board said today that conversations on several fronts have been underway, including efforts to identify a consensus candidate who might satisfy elected officials and community leaders, regardless of which approach for selection the board chooses.

Previous Posts: Charter Schools Association Pushing Election for LaMotte Seat, Black Leaders Speak Out on How to Fill LaMotte’s Board Seat, Filling LaMotte Seat by Election or Appointment? Board is Decider

As officials at the LA Unified school board scramble to work out options with the city and county on how best to fill the school board seat left vacant last week by the sudden death of longtime member Marguerite LaMotte, they are weighing elements of timing, tradition and of course, politics.

The law relating to vacancies on the school board, written into the LA City Charter, clearly lays out two options for the school board: appoint a replacement or call a special election.

And while appointing someone may seem simpler, cheaper and faster, doing so has big liabilities.

Politics
For one, it’s dangerous politically. The seat for school board district 1, which encompasses a wide swath of south LA, extending from Hancock Park to Gardena, has been held continuously by a black woman since 1979. That was the first year board members were no longer elected at-large, a change brought about in part because the black community argued it was under-represented electorally. So having the school board hand-pick an appointee raises red flags in the black community, which is already voicing concerns.

Tradition
For another, there’s a long tradition of vacancies being filled by election, not appointment. City council seats — which are frequently vacated by members seeking higher office — have uniformly been filled by special election. The last long term appointment was in 1966.

Timeline
But calling a special election takes consensus, too. The last time a special election was called by the school board was when Jose Huizer vacated his seat after being elected to city council in 2005.

That year, the school board fast-tracked a special election in late November by giving notice and approving a motion (seconded by LaMotte) to hold a stand-alone primary the following March and consolidating with a statewide election for a run-off in June 2006.

City Council quickly approved, setting the election into motion. Monica Garcia won that seat, which she still holds.

But a March/June timeline in this case would require swift action by a school board already hobbled by divisiveness.  A board meeting scheduled for tomorrow was pushed back a week because of LaMotte’s death, leaving little time for coordinating an election with city council before the new year.

Another scenario would be to call for the primary to take place on June 3, 2014, the same day as a statewide primary, while pushing the runoff to a later, stand-alone election. This would also give prospective candidates notice in case they need to move into the district to meet the City Charter’s residency requirements of 30 days.