Article: General Election School Board Candidates Finalized

"We do not have government by the majority. We have government by the majority who participate."

--Thomas Jefferson

Clockwise from top left corner: Sherlett Hendy Newbill, Scott Mark Schmerelson, Karla Griego, Khallid A. Al-Alim, Dan Chang, and Graciela 'Grace' Ortiz (from their websites)
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Two major scandals marked the LAUSD School Board primary elections. First, the Charter School Industry candidate in BD5, Graciela "Grace" Ortiz, was sued by a student who claimed the candidate had not done enough to protect her from a sexual assault at gunpoint, something Ortiz referred to as an "unfortunate occurrence". Then Kahllid Al-Alim, the UTLA-endorsed candidate in BD1, was outed for a Tweet saying that a book that many view as anti-Semitic should be assigned reading in LAUSD classrooms.

In the initial March 5th election results, it looked like both candidates would escape accountability for their actions. The results from those who had voted early and uncontested in-person votes showed Al-Alim and Ortiz in the lead. However, neither was near the 50% + 1 they needed to avoid a runoff.

By the next day, both candidates had lost their lead and as mail-in ballots continued to arrive they fell further behind. It is now clear that the scandals did affect the opinions of the electorate shifting the momentum to their leading opponents.

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In BD3, Schmerelson has maintained the lead throughout the counting process and increased his margin of victory since the first tally but still did not earn enough votes to avoid a runoff. To secure re-election he must find a way to convince enough supporters of the eliminated candidates to vote for him instead of Dan Chang.

The following are summaries of the candidates who have progressed to the General Election on November 5, 2024:

BD1