Meet the Candidates Running in the 2020 School Board Elections
/
Marilyn Koziatek is one of two candidates running against the incumbent in District 3.
While the presidential election is top of mind for voters in 2020, one of the most important school board elections in recent years will coincide with the presidential primary on March 3.
Voters will decide on four LAUSD school board seats, including the seat in District 1, where Board Member George McKenna will appear alone on the ballot but will face a write-in candidate, Michael Batie, president of the Los Angeles Council of Black Engineers. Batie filed as a write-in candidate after parent challenger Tunette Powell determined there was no legal path to getting on the ballot and declined to launch a write-in campaign herself.
Five candidates are running for an open seat in District 7 currently held by Board President Richard Vladovic, who is retiring. Incumbents Scott Schmerelson (BD3) and Jackie Goldberg (BD5) are also running for reelection.
Like McKenna, Goldberg has only one challenger, educator Christina Martinez Duran, so the races in BD1 and BD5 will be decided in March. If no one gets 50% of the vote in board districts 3 or 7, though, then runoffs will be held on Nov. 3, the same day as the presidential general election.
Previous school board races have not aligned with presidential elections, and turnout typically has been low. In a huge Blue Wave presidential election year, turnout is expected to surge in 2020, and the outcome could shape the direction of the school board for years to come.
In fact, we’ve seen that a change in just one board seat can dramatically alter the course of the board. The addition of Goldberg this year, for instance, led to the board dismantling a new system to let parents know how well all schools are serving kids on the eve of its launch, which the board had supported in a 6-1 vote just last year.
Here’s a look at the new candidates who qualified for the ballot:
District 3
Two challengers who qualified for the ballot in District 3, which includes much of the San Fernando Valley, are parents of school-aged kids.
Marilyn Koziatek is the parent of two boys and member of the PTA at her neighborhood LAUSD school in Chatsworth, Superior Street elementary. She leads the community engagement department at Granada Hills Charter, which includes parent engagement, community outreach, fundraising and communications. She’s also the chair of the education committee at the Valley Industry Commerce Association.
Christina Martinez Duran is running in District 5.
Elizabeth Badger, who has six kids, including two with special needs, owns a small business and serves on the board of the North Los Angeles County Regional Center and as CEO of the nonprofit Minority Outreach Committee. She ran for the same office in 2015, and she has served as a delegate to two Democratic National Conventions.
Parent Kenchy Ragsdale, founder of the Kids Not Politics education advocacy organization, decided not to pursue a legal challenge after falling eight signatures short of qualifying for the ballot.
District 5
A Latina educator is challenging Goldberg for the seat in District 5, which was specifically drawn according to the Voting Rights Act to maximize the chances of Latino/a/x representation. District 5 includes Southeast Los Angeles and neighborhoods such as Los Feliz and Echo Park.
Christina Martinez Duran has an extensive resume as a teacher, fiscal adviser and educational consultant. She has an undergraduate degree in accounting, a doctorate in educational leadership, and she’s credentialed as a reading specialist, administrator and bilingual multiple subject educator.
Duran works as an educational consultant to schools, helping with WASC accreditation, board policies, leadership and governance training, budgets and strategic plans. She worked as a teacher in Los Angeles Unified, Alhambra Unified and in the Dominican Republic, and she also worked for the Compton Unified School District.
District 7
Five candidates are competing for the open seat in District 7 being vacated by Vladovic. District 7 runs from South Los Angeles down through Gardena to San Pedro.
Mike Lansing is a former teacher and administrator who served on the L.A. school board from 1999-2007. He works as the executive director of the Boys & Girls Clubs of San Pedro.
Silke Bradford is one of five candidates running for the open seat in District 7.
Tanya Ortiz Franklin is an educator and attorney who works for the Partnership for Los Angeles Schools. She taught English and history for five years at Stephen White middle school, and she now focuses on restorative justice, social emotional learning and teacher and principal coaching at 18 high-needs LAUSD schools. She grew up in the district and graduated from Narbonne High.
Silke Bradford has worked as a teacher, assistant principal and principal in South L.A. and Compton, and she works as a charter school authorizer in the Compton Unified School District, a position she previously held at the Los Angeles County Office of Education and Oakland Unified. She has a doctorate of education in leadership and policy, and she successfully advocated for the state assembly to mandate that charter schools serve free and reduced lunch to low-income students.
Patricia Castellanos is a workforce deputy who served as Deputy Director for the Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy.
Lydia Gutierrez is a teacher with Long Beach Unified and a longtime Republican who ran against Vladovic unsuccessfully in 2015. Born, raised and educated in District 7, she has served for seven years as a Neighborhood Councilmember. She worked in the aerospace industry as an administrator and cost estimating supervisor prior to starting her teaching career. She also serves as the California Teachers Association co-chair of the State Legislative Committee for Adult, Alternative, and Career Technical Education.
To learn what board district you live in, check these maps. To register to vote, click here.
*This story was updated to reflect Michael Batie’s decision to launch a write-in candidacy, as well as the decision by Ragsdale and Powell to decline to pursue legal challenges to the City Clerk’s decision to keep them off the ballot.
