LAUSD Board Member Steve Zimmer: under a million-dollar assault from the privatization movement
Politicos in Los Angeles don't get a break after presidential elections, and not simply because it's never too early to gear up for the next cycle. Rather, the city of Los Angeles has a peculiar election schedule: Our municipal elections, as well as those of many other cities and districts in Los Angeles County, happen to occur on the first Tuesday in March of odd-numbered years. That means that as soon as the big November elections are over, those of us who care about what happens in our own city have to turn out focus immediately to the next big election a mere four months away. Most of the time, it's not so bad. We haven't had a contentious mayoral election since 2005, and the downballot races, such as city council and school board, are usually more local concerns without anything of major interest to national observers. The 2013 election, however, is one of the most contentious and high-profile municipal cycles in recent memory. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is termed out and will be leaving office on June 30 of this year, and the battle to replace him has become very expensive, and very negative.
Unless a miracle occurs, that race will not be decided in March; if no candidate gets a majority—and, given the number of well-funded candidates, this is the strong likelihood—the top two candidates will proceed to a runoff on May 21. Two candidates are widely expected to make it into that runoff: former City Council President Eric Garcetti, and City Controller Wendy Greuel, both of whom had raised close to $5 million as of the last reporting period. Garcetti, who endorsed Barack Obama as far back as 2007, was a California co-chair for both the 2008 and 2012 campaigns, and is the chair emeritus of the organization of Democratic Municipal Officials. Greuel got her start with Mayor Tom Bradley before joining President Clinton's administration working under Secretary Cisneros in the the Department of Housing and Urban Development. While Garcetti and Greuel have led in both public polls and fundraising and are poised to do battle until May, two other candidates have an outside shot: a third Democrat, Councilmember Jan Perry, who represents downtown and parts of South Los Angeles; and Republican attorney and radio host Kevin James, whose candidacy is primarily bankrolled by a Super PAC created by fellow GOP strategist Fred Davis. (Full disclosure: I have endorsed Eric Garcetti.)
Follow me below the fold to find out what's at stake in this election.
Also up for election—and also likely to head to a runoff, given the number of candidates involved—are the other citywide races on the ballot: city attorney and city controller. In the former race, former Assemblyman Mike Feuer, who is endorsed by the Democratic Party, is challenging incumbent City Attorney Carmen Trutanich, whose old law firm still represents the National Rifle Association and the rest of the gun rights lobby. In the city controller race, Democrat Ron Galperin, who has the party's endorsement, is running against a somewhat crowded field to replace the aforementioned Wendy Greuel, who has foregone the possibility of a second term in the controller's office to run for mayor.
Those are the races that are getting the most attention, but in all three cases, it is likely that we will have another eleven weeks to sort them out. There is one race, however, that will be decided this Tuesday, and has attracted national attention that would seem to far outweigh the scale of the race: the race for Los Angeles Unified School Board, District Four. The Fourth District includes most of West Los Angeles and Venice, and is currently represented by Boardmember Steve Zimmer, who is running for reelection. Zimmer has the support of United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA), which represents classroom teachers in the city, as well as the Democratic Party. However, as Laura Clawson wrote last week, he is under severe attack.
Zimmer is being challenged by Kate Anderson, a community activist in Venice who, whether she wanted to or not, has become the vessel for the billionaires who want to privatize our schools. The independent expenditure spending in this race dwarfs the amount the candidates themselves are spending on the race, and the numbers tell the tale: It is an all-out war, with the teachers on one side supporting Steve Zimmer, and charter school groups and the so-called "Coalition for School Reform" going all in to kick Steve Zimmer out of office. As of the last reporting period, each side has spent roughly $1 million in support of their respective candidates.
And who is funding this Coalition for School Reform? The usual privatizers and billionaires. Michelle Rhee's StudentsFirst, which has given a quarter million to the group. As Clawson wrote, Mayor Bloomberg has given a full million, and several other members of the one percent have given their fair share of six-figure contributions. Unlike the other March races that are consuming more of the political oxygen, this race will be decided on Tuesday: There are only two candidates, which means that one of them will get a majority. Most other things on the March ballot in Los Angeles will be decided in May, but what will get decided on Tuesday is this: Will a group of outsider privatizers and billionaires who want to dismantle our public education system be able to use their unlimited personal wealth to buy a seat on my local school board, and unseat someone just because he stood with teachers?
The Los Angeles Unified School District is the second-largest in the country, which means that the stakes here are potentially bigger than anywhere else in the country. If the billionaires get their way in Los Angeles, it will set a very dangerous precedent.
(Many other municipalities and districts in Los Angeles County are holding elections this Tuesday. The Los Angeles County Democratic Party hosts a thorough endorsement process in every single race on the ballot. You can see those endorsements here.)