An Endorsement

This blog endorses Mr. Neal Kleiner for the L.A.U.S.D. School Board seat #7 being vacated by Mike Lansing.

The election on March 6, 2007 can be thought of as a referendum on many issues, including the Mayor of Los Angeles' attempt to take over the L. A.U.S.D.. Mr. Kleiner strongly opposes the Mayor's attempts at taking over our schools.

All four candidates agree that a large, 2025 seat Senior High School at the Ponte Vista site would be a very bad idea. Mr. Kleiner suggests a separate academy-sized school be built at Angel's Gate on property already owned by the school district. Mr. Kleiner believes that such a new academy would ease any overcrowding at San Pedro High School. This is something this blog has been advocating.

When the subject of campaign financing came up, specifically whether candidates accepted contributions from Mr. Bisno or anyone in the Ponte Vista at San Pedro organization, Mr. Kleiner spoke clearly and effectively that he would not take any contributions from anyone associated with the project.

Neal Kleiner has a Web site where you can visit to gain more information. Please visit:
http://www.kleinerforschoolboard.org/.

I attended the candidates' forum held on February 24 at the Cabrillo Aquarium. Both Neal Kleiner and Dr. Richard Vladovic were in attendance from the beginning of the forum. Mr. Escadon and Mr. Love, the write-in candidate, arrived late, but all four of them were very informative and we all learned a lot from the answers to questions posed to them by Mr. John Greenwood.

Both Dr. Vladovic and Mr. Kleiner have decades of experience working within the L.A.U.S.D. I found Mr. Kleiner's answers more convincing to me that he would be a better board member than Dr. Vladovic, for our community, at this time.

I am wary of a candidate who will take contributions from developers, and in particular from Mr. Bisno, a person who has brought more division into our community than I have seen in many years. Neal Kleiner stated "no Bisno" during the forum and while that is not the deciding factor in this endorsement, it sure didn't hurt.

Neal Kleiner and Richard Vladovic both demonstrated their passion for their careers in education. Both of them have been in the classroom and outside as administrators. Neal Kleiner has less experience as an administrator than Richard Vladovic has, but I feel that he was closer to the teachers and students for a longer period of time than Dr. Vladovic was.

All four candidates talked about troubles with the bureaucracy of the L.A.U.S.D. It is my feeling that as an area superintendent, Dr. Vladovic has been more involved in that bureaucracy.

Neal Kleiner would bring much more experience into the L.A. School Board seat #7 than many of the previous holders of that seat. He believes in term limits and stated that, if elected, he would only serve a total of eight years, if he stands for reelection.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is attempting to take control of our schools using another layer of bureaucracy and large contributions to the campaigns of several candidates. Dr. Vladovic is one such candidate. Neal Kleiner will fight the Mayor's takeover plan and opposes too much bureaucracy in our community and our schools.

The Mayor is not my Mayor. He is also not the Mayor of Carson, Lomita, or Torrance. These areas and mine have children attending L.A.U.S.D. schools, but are not in the City of Los Angeles. Not only would we be left out of many decision-making arenas, we would also not be allowed to vote for L.A. City representatives who would be the decision-makers.

On March 6, 2007, please exercise your right to vote. Please read all the candidates' literature and after you have looked at everything, I hope you will find that Mr. Neal Kleiner would be our best selection to this very important seat.
www.kleinerforschoolboard.org