Never Underestimate the California Teachers Association
There was a lot of excitement in the California education community this week, anticipating the election for state Superintendent of Public Instruction. All of the major candidates were Democrats, but the contest was widely viewed as a faceoff between Tom Torlakson, the choice of the California Teachers Association, and Gloria Romero, the choice of the reform crowd.
Some people felt this was the time for CTA comeuppance, particularly after a May 28 e-mail from a Southern California UniServ director was leaked. The memo revealed, “The polling data on our own members has Gloria Romero ahead of Tom Torlakson by a healthy margin, about 31-21…. Most of our members have no idea who Tom Torlakson is and what he stands for.”
The Latino Politics Blog, which posted the e-mail, opined, “This is a primer in how unions mobilize their base, but in this case, there seems to be a disconnect between who the leadership wants to see in the state superintendent role vs. the sentiment of the rank and file teachers.”
You’re reading this blog, so you know this is hardly an unusual circumstance. When CTA leaders and
Some people felt this was the time for CTA comeuppance, particularly after a May 28 e-mail from a Southern California UniServ director was leaked. The memo revealed, “The polling data on our own members has Gloria Romero ahead of Tom Torlakson by a healthy margin, about 31-21…. Most of our members have no idea who Tom Torlakson is and what he stands for.”
The Latino Politics Blog, which posted the e-mail, opined, “This is a primer in how unions mobilize their base, but in this case, there seems to be a disconnect between who the leadership wants to see in the state superintendent role vs. the sentiment of the rank and file teachers.”
You’re reading this blog, so you know this is hardly an unusual circumstance. When CTA leaders and