Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
Scott Schmerelson Is The Apparent Winner Of LAUSD Board Race -- Despite Being Heavily Outspent
Marilyn Koziatek (l) and Scott Schmerelson (r) (Campaign photos)
()
In the past two decades, no sitting Los Angeles school board member seeking re-election has ever found himself more badly outspent than Scott Schmerelson this year.
Charter school advocates targeted Schmerelson for defeat, outspending his teachers union supporters in the race by a nearly 6-to-1 margin, setting new records for spending in an LAUSD race.
Schmerelson appears to have won re-election anyway. Today, his opponent, Marilyn Koziatek, conceded the race for the LAUSD Board District 3 seat, which covers the west San Fernando Valley plus Studio City and Sherman Oaks.
The latest vote count showed her trailing Schmerelson by 7 percentage points -- or around 18,000 votes. More ballots remain to be counted, and Koziatek has whittled away at Schmerelson’s lead in the early vote counts, but probably not by margins she’d need to overtake him.
Support for LAist comes from
"This election had unprecedented voter turn-out," Koziatek wrote in a Facebook post, "and my volunteers and donors should share my pride in the more than 110,000 votes for me. While it wasn’t enough to win, it represents a terrific campaign that we should all be proud of."
Schmerelson’s apparent victory is a consolation prize for United Teachers Los Angeles. The teachers union needed to win both of Tuesday’s LAUSD races in order to secure a friendly majority on the school board, but the candidate UTLA had backed in the District 7 races conceded earlier this week.
But UTLA supporters will still have an ally on the board in Schmerelson, who shares the union’s concerns about the expansion of charter schools in Los Angeles.
LAUSD BD3 Spending At A Glance
Infogram
Over the past year, the California Charter Schools Association spent more than $6.3 million trying to swing the race against Schmerelson — including more than $2.9 million on negative ads. Other than Schmerelson, only one other candidate in recent history has ever been hit by more negative advertising.
By comparison, UTLA was only able to muster just over $1.1 million to boost Schmerelson.
But in an interview on election night, Schmerelson said he felt the charter association’s negative ads had backfired.
Jenna Schwartz agreed. She's a Valley Village parent activist who helped raise money for Schmerelson and administers a Facebook group dominated by his supporters. She said:
Support for LAist comes from
A school board race should be about kids and teachers and schools. The fact that it’s become this partisan, divisive race is truly abhorrent. There’s no winners in that situation.
- Early Results Of LAUSD’s Most Expensive School Board Election Ever: What Do They Mean?
- A Field Guide To 2020's Super-Expensive, Bitterly Fought LAUSD School Board Elections
Our news is free on LAist. To make sure you get our coverage: Sign up for our daily newsletters. To support our non-profit public service journalism: Donate Now.
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
If approved, the more than 62-acre project would include 50 housing lots and a marina less than a mile from Jackie and Shadow's famous nest overlooking the lake. -
The U.S. Supreme Court lifted limits on immigration sweeps in Southern California, overturning a lower court ruling that prohibited agents from stopping people based on their appearance.
-
Censorship has long been controversial. But lately, the issue of who does and doesn’t have the right to restrict kids’ access to books has been heating up across the country in the so-called culture wars.
-
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity.
-
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
-
Monarch butterflies are on a path to extinction, but there is a way to support them — and maybe see them in your own yard — by planting milkweed.
Best of LAist