Sanchez v. Kayser: RIORDAN, BROAD, THE EASTSIDE LATINO MACHINE, AND THE LEGACY OF DISTRICT 2
BY MULHOLLAND TERRACE [JOSEPH MAILANDER] FROM THE STREET HASSLE BLOG | HTTP://BIT.LY/IYB4NG
Once upon a time, doddering Republican Richard Riordan (below left) used his influence as Mayor to bring "reform" to the Los Angeles Unified School District. The reform movement not only swept many Riordan-backed candidates into office, it also made an uneasy, certainly unholy alliance with the old eastside Latino political machine. If you help us with our school reform, the Riordanites whispered, we'll make sure the (largely Anglo) teachers union doesn't win any races it shouldn't in largely Latino districts.
This deal--which may have helped Latinos get elected, but didn't help Latinos become better educated at all--ironically played mostly into the interests of Anglo billionaires. Riordan, a multimillionaire, was an obsequious part of a billionaire cabal in the early 1990's. The billionaires, who included Eli Broad (top), wanted to take over public education by handing the public's schools to private businesses, without the businesses having to buy the property from the state; this was the foundation of the charter school movement.
Public school teachers are unpopular, the billionaires reckoned. They're a soft target. They are perceived to work only six hours a day and nine months a year. Imagine running our own schools! We wouldn't even have to prepare students for arts, culture, living at all--