The board seat left vacant by Dr. Ref Rodriguez in the Los Angeles Unified School District Area 5 will be filled by special election to be held in March, 2019. Currently, some 17 individuals have taken out the paperwork required to run for the position. Although it is possible that there will be 17 names on the ballot in March, we won’t know for sure until after the registrar receives the paperwork back from the candidates on December 5, 2018 to see how many and who actually qualifies to appear on the ballot.
Candidates have until the 5th of December to file their nominating petitions with signatures (from within the district) to qualify for the ballot. Candidates can submit 1000 valid signatures to avoid paying a filing fee or they could submit 500 valid signatures and pay $300.00.
Among the candidates who filed are a couple of well known names to Angelenos: Jackie Goldberg and Bennett Kayser. Both have served on the LAUSD board in the past, Kayser, you may recall was replaced by Dr. Ref Rodriguez in 2015, and Goldberg also served on the LA City Council and in California legislature. There are some newcomers on the list as well, including several educators; Erika Alvarez, Salvador “Chamba” Sanchez, Scott Cody, James C. O’Gabhmann III, Ana Cubas and Fidencio Joel Gallardo all list themselves and teachers or professors.
Bell City Councilman Nestor Enrique Valencia and Huntington Park City Councilwoman Graciela Grace Ortiz like Gallardo (Mayor of Bell) are already elected officials.
LAUSD Principal, Cynthia Gonzalez is on the list. And the others are Allison Greenwood Bajracharya, Heather Repenning (endorsed by Eric Garcetti), Justine Gonzalez and Rocio Rivas (both parents), LA County Arts Commissioner, David Valdez, and Non-Profit Director, Eduardo Cisneros.
We will keep a close watch and see who makes it past the December 5th deadline.
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