Los Angeles Times - 04.03.2020

LATIMES.COM SS WEDNESDAY, MARCH 4, 2020A

ELECTION 2020

Four well-funded Los An-
geles politicians — two of
them incumbents, two of
them looking to win new of-
fices — were leading in their
respective races for City
Council late Tuesday, ac-
cording to partial returns.
In a Hollywood Hills dis-
trict, Councilman David
Ryu was leading his oppo-
nents but was at risk of being
pushed into a November
runoff election against non-
profit leader Nithya Raman.
In the northwest San Fer-
nando Valley, Councilman
John Lee was leading college
educator Loraine Lundquist
in their second head-to-
head contest in eight
months.
Former state Senate
leader Kevin de León was
ahead of his opponents in
the five-way race to replace
Councilman Jose Huizar on
the Eastside. And Los Ange-
les County Supervisor Mark
Ridley-Thomas was leading
attorney Grace Yoo as well
as three other challengers in
the race to replace Council-
man Herb Wesson in South
Los Angeles.
“I think this is an affirma-
tion of the leadership I have
displayed over several dec-
ades now — that I am com-
mitted to results, committed
to reform, which has been
my mantra ever since I took
office,” Ridley-Thomas said
shortly after the results
posted.
Yoo said she expected to
force Ridley-Thomas into a
runoff. While she was happy
to be placing second, Yoo
said the county’s handling of
the election — and the fact
that voters had to wait in line
for hours — was “completely
outrageous.”

“The voter suppression

going on in the county of Los

Angeles is awful,” she said.

Council President Nury

Martinez and Councilman

Paul Krekorian, both repre-

sentatives of the San Fer-

nando Valley, were coasting

to victory. And Councilman

Marqueece Harris-Dawson

prevailed in his race for re-

election in South Los Ange-

les. He was the only candi-

date on the ballot.

In contests where no one

receives a majority, the top

two candidates will compete

in a runoff election in No-

vember. De León, who held

slightly more than a major-

ity of the vote at about 11

p.m., said he was “cautiously

optimistic” about his pro-

spects.

“I’ve never taken any-

thing for granted, and I will

not take anything for

granted tonight,” he said.

Tuesday’s election was in

many ways historic for L.A.

For the first time in at least a

century, the municipal elec-

tion was conducted on the

same day as the state’s pres-

idential primary, a change

made by voters in hopes of

boosting voter turnout. The

presidential primary and

other high-profile races were

expected to lure more

Democrats to the polls.

Democrats had been

hoping a bigger turnout

would boost Lundquist, a

Democrat running in the

northwest Valley to unseat

Lee, who was until recently

registered as a Republican.

Lee said the early results,

which had him ahead by a

significant margin, showed

that the election “wasn’t

about party politics.”

“This is about potholes.

This is about funding po-

lice,” he said.

In other ways, Tuesday’s

election was much like those

that have been held in previ-

ous years. Incumbents and

established politicians were

far more successful in col-

lecting campaign donations

and big-ticket endorse-

ments.

Ryu, who is running for

his second term, raised more

than $1 million for his reelec-

tion campaign. De León,

who lost his race for U.S.

Senate in 2018, raised more

than $830,000. Ridley-Thom-

as, who is looking to return

to the council after an 18-

year absence, took in more

than $700,000.

All three secured the en-

dorsements of the Los Ange-

les County Democratic

Party, the Federation of La-

bor and an array of politi-

cians, including Mayor Eric

Garcetti. All three were

viewed by their rivals as part

of the city’s political estab-

lishment.

Former marketing execu-

tive Cyndi Otteson, running

a distant second behind De

León in the race to replace

Huizar, said she decided not

to accept contributions from

real estate developers, char-

ter school operators and

others with business at City

Hall. That decision, she said,

made the campaign more

challenging but also sent an

important message to the

public.

Ridley-Thomas, who has

been in office for 29 years,

had been viewed as the

front-runner in his race

against Yoo, former city

commissioner Aura

Vasquez, community organ-

izer Channing Martinez and

activist Melvin Snell. His ri-

vals attempted to run to his

left, calling for such mea-

sures as free bus and train

fares, a rent freeze and new

restrictions on oil drilling in

L.A.

De León was running

ahead of Otteson, school

board member Mónica

García, high school counsel-

or Raquel Zamora and non-

profit founder John

Jimenez.

Both De León and Rid-

ley-Thomas faced criticism

from their rivals for refusing

to rule out a run for mayor in

2022.

Ryu, for his part, faced

criticism from his rivals over

the city’s handling of an on-

going homelessness crisis.

Screenwriter Sarah Kate

Levy called for the city to set

up safe sites for people to

pitch tents or sleep in their

vehicles. Raman outlined

plans for a network of service

centers that would assist un-

housed Angelenos.

Ryu pointed to his efforts

to open homeless shelters

and housing developments.

Familiar faces lead for council

FORMERstate Senate leader Kevin de León was ahead of four opponents in the race to replace Councilman Jose Huizar on the Eastside.

Luis SincoLos Angeles Times

COUNCILMAN David Ryu was ahead of his two opponents, with the crisis over

homelessness being a major campaign issue in the Hollywood Hills district.

Francine OrrLos Angeles Times

By Emily Alpert Reyes
and David Zahniser

A bond measure that

would raise $15 billion for

new construction and reno-

vation at schools and col-

leges across California was

trailing in returns Tuesday

night, but nearly half of the

state's precincts had yet to

report any results.

Although “no” votes were

leading statewide, early

numbers from some of the

state’s heavily Democratic

counties, including San

Francisco and Alameda,

suggested a closer race. The

measure, which is not a tax

and will be funded through

general obligation bonds,

needs a simple majority to

pass.

Of the bond’s $15-billion

total, $6 billion would be

divided evenly among the

University of California, Cal

State and community col-

lege systems, and $9 billion

would go to preschool

through K-12 schools, includ-

ing charter schools and ca-

reer and technical education

facilities.

“I feel very optimistic,”

said Jeff Freitas, president of

the California Federation of

Teachers, which endorsed

the measure. “I believe in the

voters of California who have

done a great job in support-

ing schools in California, and

I think it can pass.”

Ahead of the vote, Pro-

position 13, which has no re-

lation to the 1978 measure

that capped property tax in-

creases, enjoyed widespread

support from public school

districts, teachers unions,

charter advocates and all

three systems of higher edu-

cation. Notably absent from

the list of endorsers was

the Los Angeles Unified

School District, where offi-

cials did not say how much

money they expected to

lose or gain from the mea-

sure.

Concerns about L.A.’s eli-

gibility for the funds and re-

duced revenue from devel-

oper fees may have played a

role in their lack of an official

endorsement. L.A. schools

Supt. Austin Beutner said

he considered Proposition 13

helpful, but L.A. public

schools need much more

than the bond measure

would provide.

In the past, the state

awarded funds on a “first

come, first served” basis,

which critics said gave an ad-

vantage to bigger and

wealthier districts. Under

the new Proposition 13, dis-

tricts that demonstrate a

need to make “health and

life-safety repairs,” have a

hard time raising funds lo-

cally, and serve high shares

of low-income students,

English learners and foster

youth will receive priority

consideration.

The measure also

changes how districts may

raise money locally. It in-

creases the amount they can

issue in local bonds but re-

duces the “impact fees” that

they may charge developers

of multifamily housing.

Prop. 13

school

measure

trailing

By Nina Agrawal

In early results Tuesday
night, Jackie Goldberg had a
comfortable lead in her bid
to remain on the Los Angeles
Board of Education. Results
in two other competitive
contests were tighter, follow-
ing campaigns marked by
big spending from outside
interests and negative, fre-
quently inaccurate mailers
against some of the candi-
dates.
The early tallies in all
races were too small to be
conclusive.
Four of seven board seats
were on the ballot in con-
tests that are expected to
determine whether the
teachers union or charter
school supporters will have
greater influence in the na-
tion’s second-largest school
system. Headed into the
election, all four seats were
held by board members who
leaned pro-union, and the
shift of even one seat could
result in a more pro-charter

Board of Education.

District 1, parts

of south and

southwest L.A.

The easiest race was in

District 1. One-term incum-

bent George McKenna was

opposed only by write-in

candidate Michael Batie,

whose name does not ap-

pear on the ballot.

District 5, parts of

east and north L.A.,

southeast cities

In District 5, Goldberg

has been the presumed fa-

vorite. But that did not stop

businessman Bill Bloom-

field from swamping the

race with positive mailers

about opponent Christina

Martinez Duran and nega-

tive mailers about Goldberg.

Goldberg had a comfort-

able majority in early re-

turns.

Bloomfield spent more

than $600,000 in support of

Duran and more than

$744,000 on negative mailers

that distorted Goldberg’s

record of pushing for in-

creased funding for schools

and supporting gun control.

Unions spent about $232,

on behalf of Goldberg, who

already was well-known in

areas of her district north

and northeast of downtown.

She’s less well-known in the

cities of southeast L.A.

County.

Goldberg first served on

the board in the 1980s and

later on the L.A. City Council

and in the state Assembly.

She returned to the Board of

Education last May in a spe-

cial election to complete the

term of Ref Rodriguez, who

resigned after pleading

guilty to campaign finance

violations.

The switch from Rodri-

guez, co-founder of a group

of charter schools, to Gold-

berg, a union ally and char-

ter critic, altered the board’s

ideological balance. Char-

ters are privately operated

public schools that compete

with district operated

schools for students. Most

charters are non-union.

In her first year, Goldberg

has suggested that she

would look with some skep-

ticism at petitions for new

charters, but also insisted

she would not target exist-

ing charters — more than

200 — for shutdown.

District 3, West

San Fernando

Valley

To tilt the board toward

supporting charter growth,

backers needed only one

win, and they pushed hard in

District 3. In this race, one-

term incumbent Scott

Schmerelson — a retired

principal backed by the dis-

trict’s employee unions —

was opposed by charter-

backed Marilyn Koziatek, a

district parent who has led

community outreach efforts

at a local charter school.

Schmerelson was ahead

in early returns, but the race

was far from settled.

Charter backers spent

more than $1.6 million to

boost Koziatek and more

than $1 million against

Schmerelson. Unions spent

more than $671,000 in sup-

port of Schmerelson and

also tried to flood neighbor-

hoods with teachers who

volunteered to walk pre-

cincts.

The other candidate,

Elizabeth Bartels-Badger,

was third in early returns,

suggesting that she may pull

in enough votes to keep the

other two candidates from

winning an outright major-

ity. If no candidate wins a

majority of votes, the top two

finishers will face off in No-

vember.

District 7, South

L.A. and Harbor

area

This competitive seat

opened up because term

limits prevented incumbent

Richard Vladovic from run-

ning again.

In early returns, the lead-

ing vote-getters included the

three candidates who ben-

efited most from outside

campaigns: Mike Lansing,

Tanya Ortiz Franklin and

Patricia Castellanos. But

Lydia Gutiérrez, who had no

significant funding support,

was in that tight grouping.

As in District 5, the cam-

paign spending pitted char-

ter ally Bloomfield against

the teachers union and its al-

lies. And, as in District 5, his

dollars swamped what ei-

ther the unions or individual

candidates were able to do

on their own.

In this race, Bloomfield

backed two candidates: for-

mer two-term school board

member Lansing and edu-

cation-program administra-

tor Franklin. Bloomfield’s

apparent goal was to keep

edge out union-backed can-

didate Castellanos from

making a runoff.

Bloomfield also funded

negative campaigns against

Gutiérrez, a teacher, and

Castellanos, a veteran labor

organizer and district par-

ent.

Also running in District 7

was Silke M. Bradford, a

school district administra-

tor who evaluates the per-

formance of charter schools.

Union-backed Goldberg ahead in school board race

By Howard Blume
and Sonali Kohli