As voters headed to the polls on Tuesday, March 5, two LAUSD board candidates were rattled by controversy. One was accused of agreeing with antisemitic posts on social media and lost his backing from United Teachers Los Angeles, and another was temporarily removed from her LAUSD administration job due to a lawsuit against her.
Candidates are vying to represent the board’s odd-numbered districts 1, 3, 5 and 7, with two incumbents running for their seats and two empty seats. The powerful seven-member Board of Education oversees policy for the Los Angeles Unified School District — the second-largest district in the nation.
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Candidates who get more than 50% of the vote will avoid a runoff. Otherwise, the top two finishers in each of the four districts will advance to the November general election. For some races, the primary results may not be known for days or weeks, while votes are being counted.
The United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) made a dramatic move on Monday, March 4, withdrawing its powerful endorsement of candidate Kahllid Al-Alim. He had been criticized for his activity on X, formerly Twitter, which was decried as antisemitic, and for following accounts that were sexually explicit.
And in the LAUSD District 5 race, candidate Graciela Ortiz was accused of employing a campaign worker who assaulted a minor. Ortiz has lost the backing of a key school employee labor union.
After polls closed at 8 p.m., the L.A. County registrar’s office released its initial vote count, which reflected vote-by-mail ballots the office received before election day. Later updates will include ballots cast at vote centers.
Here’s a look at where the races stood as of 8:35 p.m. on Tuesday.
LAUSD District 1
In South L.A., seven candidates are running for a seat that will be left empty by the departure of George McKenna.
With 11.83% of the vote in early returns, Al-Alim was leading with 23.24%. Candidate Sherlett Hendy Newbill, a former…
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