List Of School Board Candidates Finalized

“Our political leaders will know our priorities only if we tell them, again and again, and if those priorities begin to show up in the polls.”
- Peggy Noonan

Of the 17 potential LAUSD School Board candidates who filed with the Los Angeles City Clerk, ten have collected enough signatures and paid the fee required to appear on the June 7 ballot. One, Negar Nikgohar, withdrew prior to having petitions issued. Raquel Zamora was certified by the City Clerk but withdrew from the race shortly afterward.

In Board District 2, Miho Murai says that she submitted 627 signatures, but the City Clerk determined that only 431 were valid. She intends to contest this determination saying that her volunteers mostly used voter registration precinct lists and she was not allowed to review the results in person. In 2016, Murai sought to become the first elected Asian Pacific American woman on the LAUSD School Board but 110 of her 537 signatures were rejected. She did not contest those results.

The contact information for the candidates along with links to their answers to my questionnaires is as follows:

Board District 2:

• Maria Brenes

Occupational Designation: Education Advocate/Parent
Email: jguard@kaufmanlegalgroup.com
Web Site: https://www.mariaforlaschools.com/

Did not respond to any of the candidate questions.

• Erica Vilardi-Espinosa

Occupational Designation: Accountant / Community Activist
Email: ericaforschoolboard2022@gmail.com
Web Site: www.ericaforschoolboard.com

Special Education Should Be Individualized And Celebrated

• Miguel Angel Segura

Occupational Designation: Public School Teacher
Email: miguel.segura.1174@gmail.com
Web Site: https://www.seguraforlausd.com...

Unpaid Charter School Debt Is No Big Deal

• Rocio Rivas

Occupational Designation: Education Policy Advisor
Email: jane@leidermanassociates.com
Web Site: https://www.drrivasforschoolbo...

Unpaid Charter School Debt Hurts Students

Board District 4:

Nick Melvoin

Occupational Designation: Educator/School Boardmember
Email: melvoin2022@deaneandcompany.com
Web Site: https://www.nickmelvoin.com/

Did not respond to any of the candidate questions.

• Gentille Barkhordarian

Occupational Designation: Electrical Engineer/Mother
Email: gbarkhor@yahoo.com
Web Site:?

Did not respond to any of the candidate questions.

• Tracey Schroeder

Occupational Designation: LAUSD Teacher/Parent
Email: schroeder4schoolboard2022@gmail.com
Web Site:?

Did not respond to any of the candidate questions.

Board District 6:

Kelly Gonez

Occupational Designation: School Boardmember/Educator
Email: gonezkelly@gmail.com
Web Site: https://www.kellygonez.com/

Did not respond to any of the candidate questions.

• Marvin Rodriguez

Occupational Designation: LAUSD Teacher/Parent
Email: rodriguez.marvin2022@gmail.com
Web Site: https://www.marvinrodriguez2022.com/

Revoke The Charter Of Any School With Ongoing Unpaid Debt

Community Through Inclusion and Collaboration

Marvin Rodriguez: Prioritizing Community Participation In The LAUSD

• Jess Arana

Occupational Designation: Educator/Police Sergeant
Email: mymsanders@politicalreportingplus.com
Web Site: https://www.jesus-arana.com/

Did not respond to any of the candidate questions.

Carl Petersen is a parent advocate for students with special education needs and public education. He is an elected member of the Northridge East Neighborhood Council and serves as the Education Chair. As a Green Party candidate in LAUSD’s District 2 School Board race, he was endorsed by Network for Public Education (NPE) Action. Dr. Diane Ravitch has called him “a valiant fighter for public schools in Los Angeles.” For links to his blogs, please visit www.ChangeTheLAUSD.com. Opinions are his own.