For those keeping score, it’s now 3-2. A second member of the LA Unified school board, Tamar Galatzan, is endorsing Alex Johnson for the open District 1 seat. She joins Monica Garcia as the board backers for Johnson. Three others — Monica Ratliff, Steve Zimmer and Bennett Kayser — have endorsed George McKenna. That leaves...

Recent campaign material supporting Alex Johnson that questions the record of his opponent in the LA Unified District 1 school board race, George McKenna, are rattling two of Johnson’s high profile supporters, U.S. Congresswoman Janice Hahn and former Congresswoman Diane Watson. “I do not support the negativity that has come out,” Watson told LA School Report. “I never have...

Endorsements in the District 1 school board race continued to pile up today as two LA Unified board members jumped on the George McKenna bandwagon, and former Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa weighed in for Alex Johnson. Steve Zimmer and Bennett Kayser appeared at a news conference outside City Hall this morning to offer their strong support for...

Alex Johnson has gone negative. In two recent mailings (here and here) to “most likely” voters in LA Unified’s District 1, the Johnson campaign is questioning George McKenna‘s accomplishments as the two candidates seek the open school board seat. “We always knew that at some point, our campaign has to address to the myth of George McKenna,”...

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,...

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...

California’s biggest teacher union contributed $20,000 to an organization that is a major supporter of the LA Unified school board District 1 candidate that UTLA is trying to defeat. 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...

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...