New political action committee forms in L.A. school board race
A new political action committee has formed to influence the outcome of Los Angeles school board races, filling a gap created when a group of civic leaders, which includes former Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, decided to sit out next month's key upcoming election.
The new organization, Great Public Schools Los Angeles Political Action Committee, joins other outside groups involved in the campaign to replace Marguerite Poindexter LaMotte, who died in December.
The Aug. 12 special election pits George McKenna, a retired senior school district administrator who finished first in a June primary, against Alex Johnson, education advisor to Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas.
The new campaign committee is controlled by Dan Chang, who most recently headed the nonprofit foundation created to raise money for the L.A. Unified School District.
Through last weekend, Chang had reported raising nearly $100,000 in support of Johnson.
Chang's operation is vying to fill the void left by Villaraigosa, who left the mayor's office in 2013. As mayor, Villaraigosa acted as chief fundraiser of Coalition for School Reform, a political action committee established as a counterweight to the teachers union, United Teachers Los Angeles.
The coalition delivered mixed results, with Villaraigosa winning an allied board majority early on, then stumbling in some later elections despite record fundraising, including $1 million from then-New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
The teachers union also has been unable to dominate, resulting in a politically divided school board.
Chang lists his contributors as including former U.S. Ambassador Frank Baxter, a charter-school funder, who donated $10,000 to the new venture after regularly supporting Coalition for School Reform.
The teachers union is backing McKenna. Through last weekend, UTLA's committee had New political action committee forms in L.A. school board race - LA Times: