As of Friday, the candidates on the March 5 ballot in Board District 5 are:

• Ana Cubas, nonprofit executive, former chief of staff to Los Angeles City Councilmember José Huizar and candidate for Los Angeles City Council District 9 in back in 2013
• Jackie Goldberg, former LA Unified board member and retired teacher
• Dr. Cynthia González, principal at Diego Rivera Learning Complex
• Allison Greenwood Bajracharya, an LA Unified parent and Camino Nuevo Charter Schools’ chief of operations
• Graciela “Grace” Ortíz, Huntington Park councilwoman
• Heather Repenning, City of Los Angeles commissioner and LA Unified parent
• Dr. Rocío Rivas, LA Unified community representative and parent
• Salvador “Chamba” Sánchez, Los Angeles City College professor and community activist
• David Valdez, Los Angeles County arts commissioner
• Nestor Enrique Valencia, councilmember of the City of Bell

There were originally 17 candidates that pulled the initial paperwork required to appear on the March 5th ballot, but these folks are the finalists that returned the required signatures and paperwork. I am going to be writing individual pieces on each candidate in the coming days.  As you can see, there a quite a few Latinos on the list. As there should be considering that District 5 has the second-highest concentration of Latino students, representing almost 89 percent of the student population. Over a quarter of the students are classified as English learners, and 11 percent require special education services. More than 85 percent live in low-income households, and an estimated 2,000 students are homeless.

This race will be interesting. The special election will be held March 5, with a May 14 runoff if needed. The winner will fill the seat for the remainder of former board member Ref Rodríguez’s term, through December 2020.

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Leticia Chavez-Garcia

Leticia Chavez-Garcia is a Mother, Grandmother, former Middle School Teacher, former Member of a School Board of Education and an Education Advocate for hundreds of parents and students in the Inland Empire. Having become a mother at 15, Leticia knows what it’s like to be a single mother trying to navigate the education system. Leticia received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Political Science and Public Administration from California Baptist University and a Masters’ Degree in Education Technology from Cal State Fullerton in her 30’s. Leticia has used her knowledge and experience to help hundreds of families as an Education Advocate in the Inland Empire and currently works as an Education Specialist.

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