Repenning, Goldberg Battle in Runoff for Vacant LAUSD Board Seat
LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Former Los Angeles Unified School District board member Jackie Goldberg will look to rejoin the seven-member panel today when she faces former teacher and mayoral aide Heather Repenning in a runoff election.
Goldberg and Repenning are vying for the Board of Education seat left vacant by the resignation of Ref Rodriguez, who stepped down last July after pleading guilty to conspiracy and other charges for laundering campaign donations from family and friends.
In the March 5 primary election, Goldberg fell just short of the 50 percent majority vote needed to avoid a runoff. Since she fell short of the mark, she must face the second-place finisher, Repenning, in today's runoff election. Repenning barely edged out Huntington Park City Councilwoman Graciela “Grace” Ortiz in the March 5 primary to win second place in the election, collecting a little more than 13 percent of the overall vote. Goldberg had roughly 48 percent.
The primary results would appear to give Goldberg -- a former teacher, LAUSD board member, Los Angeles City Council member and Democratic state legislator -- an edge in the race. She is heavily backed by United Teachers Los Angeles, the union representing the district's teachers. The union has poured money into Goldberg's campaign, hoping to undo a board majority that generally favored expansion of charter schools in the district. Rodriguez's departure left the board with a perceived 3-3 split on the issue, and a Goldberg victory would swing the panel back in UTLA's favor.
In her campaign, Goldberg touted her experience on the board. “I'm running to be a strong progressive voice on the board who will put the interests of the students first, and as someone who will not have a big learning curve when elected,” according to a statement on Goldberg's campaign website. “I believe my experience and passion for helping students will be a steadying force on a board that continues to face turmoil.”
Repenning, a former teacher and aide to Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, has the backing of Garcetti and several City Council members, along with a host of labor unions. Repenning told CNS that LAUSD schools are “not currently set up to meet the challenges facing the many students whose families are living in poverty, 80 percent of which qualify for free and reduced lunch.”
“Many of our families have enrolled their kids in charter schools which are not subjected to the same level of transparency and accountability as district schools, and many union jobs have been lost in this process,” Repenning said.
District 5 stretches from Eagle Rock, Highland Park and to Atwater Village, Los Feliz, and Silver Lake south to Vernon, Maywood, Huntington Park,Cudahy, South Gate and Bell.
Top Image: Courtesy Heather Repenning and Jackie Goldberg
