As voters headed to the polls on Tuesday, March 5, two LAUSD board candidates were rattled by controversy. One was accused of agreeing with antisemitic posts on social media and lost his backing from United Teachers Los Angeles, and another was temporarily removed from her LAUSD administration job due to a lawsuit against her.
Candidates are vying to represent the board’s odd-numbered districts 1, 3, 5 and 7, with two incumbents running for their seats and two empty seats. The powerful seven-member Board of Education oversees policy for the Los Angeles Unified School District — the second-largest district in the nation.
See the latest election results.
Candidates who get more than 50% of the vote will avoid a runoff. Otherwise, the top two finishers in each of the four districts will advance to the November general election. For some races, the primary results may not be known for days or weeks, while votes are being counted.
The United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) made a dramatic move on Monday, March 4, withdrawing its powerful endorsement of candidate Kahllid Al-Alim. He had been criticized for his activity on X, formerly Twitter, which was decried as antisemitic, and for following accounts that were sexually explicit.
And in the LAUSD District 5 race, candidate Graciela Ortiz was accused of employing a campaign worker who assaulted a minor. Ortiz has lost the backing of a key school employee labor union.
After polls closed at 8 p.m., the L.A. County registrar’s office released its initial vote count, which reflected vote-by-mail ballots the office received before election day. Later updates will include ballots cast at vote centers.
Here’s a look at where the races stood as of 8:35 p.m. on Tuesday.
LAUSD District 1
In South L.A., seven candidates are running for a seat that will be left empty by the departure of George McKenna.
With 11.83% of the vote in early returns, Al-Alim was leading with 23.24%. Candidate Sherlett Hendy Newbill, a former teacher, coach and mentor who is now a policy advisor to LAUSD board member George McKenna — who endorsed her — was close behind with 22.81%; and candidate DeWayne Davis, a former teacher and principal in L.A., now an educational strategist, was in third place with 19.40%. The remaining four candidates trailed behind with 16% or less of the vote, and they included Didi Watts, an educator with 15.19%; Rina Tambor, a tutor, with 8.48%; Christian Flagg, director of training at Community Coalition, founded by L.A. Mayor Karen Bass with 6.66%; and John Aaron Brasfield, an educator and coach, with 4.22%.
Al-Alim, a community organizer and janitor born in the district found himself in a controversy over his online comments about sexually explicit images and antisemitic books. He apologized on his campaign website.
UTLA board’s late-hour decision on March 4 to drop its support for Al-Alim could impact the outcome. In addition to UTLA’s action, the L.A. County Federation of Labor had suspended its campaign activities in support of Al-Alim.
LAUSD District 3
LAUSD board member Scott Schmerelson is running for reelection against four candidates to represent West San Fernando Valley and has represented the district since 2015. In early returns, he was dominating the race with 44.11% of the vote, compared to second-place candidate Dan Chang, a nonprofit leader and a math teacher at LAUSD’s James Madison Middle School who got 30.55%.
The lagging candidates included Raquel Villalta, an educator, with 10.74%; Elizabeth Badger, a parent, with 8.47%; and Andreas Farmakalidis, a veteran and owner of a music school with 6.13%.
LAUSD District 5
District 5 gets a new representative this year with four candidates running to replace retiring board President Jackie Goldberg. District 5 includes Koreatown and Pico-Union and takes in much of Southeast L.A. County, from South Gate to Vernon.
In early returns, Graciela Ortiz was in front with 34.06% of the votes, followed by Karla Griego, a special education teacher for 20 years from Eagle Rock with 30.58% of the votes.
Ortiz is a former Huntington Park City Council member and mayor. In February, Local 500 of the California School Employees Association rescinded its endorsement of Ortiz after a lawsuit alleged she was liable for the sexual assault of a minor by one of her campaign workers. Ortiz’s campaign says the lawsuit was politically motivated.
Educator Fidencio Gallardo, a deputy to Goldberg and the mayor of Bell, followed with 24.81% of the votes, and Victorio Gutierrez of South Gate, a retired teacher and principal, had 10.54% of the votes.
LAUSD District 7
Incumbent Tanya Ortiz Franklin is being challenged by Lydia Gutierrez in a district that covers the South Bay and Harbor Area regions. Franklin has emphasized her experience and significant board resolutions and was leading with 56.90% in early results. Gutierrez, a teacher for more than 25 years, and active in the California Teachers Association, had 43.10%.
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