LAUSD Election Endorsements: Why I’m Supporting Ankur Patel and Dr. Rocío Rivas

“If you choose not to decide,

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You still have made a choice.”

— Rush, “Freewill”

To say this year's LAUSD election season has been frustrating would be an understatement. Despite the district facing a series of unprecedented crises, only five challengers stepped forward to hold the incumbents accountable. Three failed to make it through the signature-gathering process, leaving Kelly Gonez to run unopposed in the June 2, 2026, primary.

With a lack of candidates, the campaign has been quiet with a dearth of independent events. This has deprived the electorate of the opportunity to gather facts and become informed voters.

The candidates themselves contributed to this embargo on information. Nick Melvoin and Kelly Gonez did not respond to my questions asking about their reelection campaigns. Only Ankur Patel answered my questions about special education.

With the district facing layoffs and its Superintendent on paid leave while he remains under investigation by the federal government, the stakes of this election could not be higher. These are my endorsements:

LAUSD Board District 4

Covering the Westside and the southern portion of the San Fernando Valley, including West Hollywood, Westwood, Brentwood, Venice, Mar Vista, Playa Vista, the Pacific Palisades, and Woodland Hills.

I wholeheartedly endorse Ankur Patel.

This is a no-brainer, as his opponent, Nick Melvoin, is closely aligned with the charter school industry. Melvoin has spent his career on the LAUSD Board fighting to prevent failing charter schools from closing:

• Melvoin supported Green Dot continuing to operate Locke High School, despite the charter chain’s long and continued failure to make good on its promises to improve the school's performance.
• Melvoin defended the oversight process that allowed a charter school executive to embezzle $3.1 million.
• Melvoin voted to keep a charter school open despite data showing that only 3.26 percent of its students were meeting math standards.

I first met Ankur when we both ran against Tamar Galatzan. Both of our goals were to remove her from office and by helping to elect Scott Schmerelson, we were successful.

Unlike most school board candidates, Ankur continued to advocate for change after the campaign was over. As part of Schmerleson's staff, he was instrumental in pushing the district to move students away from the dangers of the Porter Ranch gas leak.

Since then, Ankur has gained experience in the classroom as a substitute teacher. This has informed his viewpoints, as evidenced by his answers to my special education questions. I am confident he will be an effective advocate for all students, especially those with special education needs.

In the 2022 election, I encouraged the electorate to vote for “anyone but Nick.” This year, I am supporting Ankur Patel in BD4.

LAUSD Board District 2

Covering portions of Downtown and the eastern portions of the city, including Chinatown, Little Tokyo, Historic Filipinotown, Boyle Heights, City Terrace, and East Los Angeles.

With reservations, I endorse Dr. Rocío Rivas.

I was an early supporter of Rivas, serving as the treasurer during her first campaign, which she lost to Jackie Goldberg.

When Goldberg stepped down, I supported Rivas again as she successfully campaigned to replace the veteran Board Member. In some ways, her win fulfilled my expectations, especially around charter school accountability. The district is finally revoking charters of failing schools, something that was not being done when the charter school industry controlled the board.

But there have been concerns. The decision to renew Superintendent Carvalho's contract without public debate was unanimous, which is disappointing since Rivas ran on a platform that emphasized transparency. Also, she rebuffed my requests to sponsor the proposed “Improving Special Education Within the LAUSD” resolution.

The tenuous hold the pro-public education forces have on the school board means there is not a lot of room for error. Rivas' opponent, Raquel Zamora, did not help her case by neglecting to answer my questions about special education. There is too little information known about her to feel confident that she would continue Rivas’ policies while doing more to hold the giant bureaucracy accountable.

Too much is at risk not to vote for Dr. Rocío Rivas in BD 2.

Carl Petersen is a former Green Party candidate for the LAUSD School Board and a longtime advocate for public education and special needs families. Now based in Washington State, he writes about politics, culture, and their intersections at TheDifrntDrmr.