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Abelardo Diaz
Abelardo Diaz was a 2013 candidate seeking election to the Los Angeles Unified School District Board representing District 2.
Biography
The following is a list of biographical highlights provided by the candidate:[1]
- Occupation: High School Teacher
- National Board Certified Teacher
- Master of Arts in Education, Pepperdine University, 2000
- Master of Arts in Educational Leadership, California State University-Los Angeles, 2008
- Bachelor's of Arts in International Relations, National University of México (UNAM), 1983
Elections
2013
Diaz ran in the 2013 election for the Los Angeles Unified School District Board, representing District 2. Diaz was defeated in the primary election on March 5, 2013.
| Los Angeles Unified School District 2, 2013 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan |  Mónica García Incumbent |
55.8% | 19,300 | |
| Nonpartisan | Isabel Vazquez | 10.1% | 3,480 | |
| Nonpartisan | Annamarie Montañez | 11.8% | 4,093 | |
| Nonpartisan | Abelardo Diaz | 7.1% | 2,448 | |
| Nonpartisan | Robert D. Skeels | 15.2% | 5,244 | |
| Total Votes | 34,565 | |||
| Source: Office of the City Clerk of Los Angeles These results are final. | ||||
Endorsements
Diaz received the following endorsements:[1]
- United Teachers Los Angeles[2]
- Gil Cedillo- candidate for city council district I
- Cynthia Anderson Barker-National Lawyers Guild
Funding
| Candidate | Campaign contributions | Personal funds | Indpt. expenditures in support | Indpt. expenditures opposed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abelardo Diaz | $3,916.08 | $1,422.61 | $7,180.43 | $0 |
| Monica Garcia | $429,745.29 | $0 | $1,210,250.86 | $111,354.85 |
| Annamarie Montañez | $9,273.00 | $5,000.00 | $8,181.93 | $0 |
| Robert D Skeels | $19,009.56 | $6,025.00 | $7,180.44 | $0 |
| Isabel Vazquez | $15,228.00 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Campaign contributions and personal funds as reported through February 27, 2013 in the required filings with the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission. Independent expenditures were continually updated by the Commission. They were last updated here March 5, 2013. Source: Los Angeles City Ethics Commission[3] | ||||
Campaign literature
During the 2013 election campaign, Diaz registered two pieces of campaign literature with the City of Los Angeles City Ethics Commission. Both pieces were flyers.[4]
Among independent expenditure groups, a political action committee associated with the United Teachers Los Angeles registered one mailer in support of Diaz. No independent groups registered any literature opposing Diaz.[5]
Issues
Priorities
Diaz listed the following priorities:[1]
- Ensure the academic success of our students and their safety in our Public Schools
- Support and Empower Parent Participation in our Public Schools
- Collaborate, support and empower our Teachers in our Public Schools
Q&A
The following questions were prepared by the League of Women Voters of Los Angeles:[6]
1. What is the single most important issue facing LAUSD today? As a Board Member, what would you do to deal with it?[6]
|
"The academic success of our students is at stake. In 2006 the graduation rate districtwide was 72%, now, six years later is 61%. This is not acceptable. The irresponsible leadership of the district and the misinformation given to the public to protect charter schools and to cover the district's mismanagement needs to stop. The stakes are very clear. We can watch the money we devote to our public schools drained by standardized testing and policy decisions driven by one new political scheme after another. Or we can invest every dollar in our students, focus on developing excellent teachers, and sustain the investment we have made in secure, effective public schools that work for everyone." |
2. How would you prioritize your local constituency in overseeing LAUSD management, setting District policy, and day-to-day decision-making?[6]
|
"I will open the district budgets for review to the public. I will hold monthly townhall meetings to review budgets, policies and listen to my constituency for changes or improvements that will support our local public schools. I will empower community participation, all stakeholders, by creating local committees to support our local public schools and to make decisions that will support the academic success of our students and increase their graduation rate." |
3. What experience in general management, fiscal management, and budgetary oversight would you bring to the job of Board Member?[6]
|
"I will partnership with nonprofit organizations and neighborhood councils to oversee policies and decisions before supporting any budget decisions. All budgets, policies and fiscal management will be driven to support our local schools and our children academic future and success." |
4. How should LAUSD deal with its rapidly increasing costs for retiree and employee health care?[6]
|
"LAUSD needs to have an oversight committee who constantly review budgets, spending and the use of public resources at the district level. The issue is the mismanagemet and priorities set by the district and its superintendents not the cost of benefits to the district employees. All school employees + and all workers in our communities + deserve better pay and we want to attract the best professionals to work in LA schools. Teachers need salaries comparable to others with their education and experience. They need time to adequately plan their lessons and collaborate with colleagues, as well as the autonomy and shared decision-making to encourage professional judgment." |
5. What part should standardized testing play in LAUSD's educational programs?[6]
|
"Our public schools are not corporations, and they are not a laboratory. They must be a safe place to learn. And our mission together must be clear: To provide a high-quality education to every student, leaving none behind, and attracting, training, supporting and systematically tapping into the talents of the very best teachers we can. We need to use our resources to drastically reduce class size. We currently have some of the largest class sizes in the nation. This greatly inhibits the ability of our students to learn and thrive. Standardized testing needs to decrease and we need to rebuild and create a well-rounded curriculum with arts, music, electives, and PE. Staff each and every school with increased support service providers such as counselors, psychologists, nurses, and librarians. Educational researches and data have proven that standardized testing has minimun or none effect in educational programs." |
Arts for LA survey
Diaz did not fill out the candidate survey from Arts for LA, a group advocating greater investment in the arts.[7]
Candidate forums
District 2 candidates participated in several forums dating back to October 2012. Videos of the October 17, 2012 forum[8], the November 15, 2012 forum, and the February 13, 2013 forum were made available on YouTube.[9]
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Abelardo + Diaz + Los + Angeles + School"
External links
- Campaign website
- Campaign Facebook page
- LinkedIn profile
- Candidate information from the League of Women Voters of Los Angeles
- Diaz profile in Young Angelenos' "The GOOD Voter Guide to the Los Angeles Election," p. 65
- LA School Report Candidate information
- First video in series on October 2012 candidate forum
- First video in series on November 2012 candidate forum
- Video of February 13, 2013 candidate forum
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 The League of Women Voters, "Abelardo Diaz," February 4, 2013
- ↑ United Teachers Los Angeles, "Political Endorsements – School Board Primary Election on March 5," accessed February 13, 2013
- ↑ Los Angeles City Ethics Commission, 2013 Municipal and LAUSD Election Disclosures
- ↑ LAUSD District 2 campaign literature, LA City Ethics Commission
- ↑ LAUSD District 2 independent expenditures related to Abelardo Diaz, LA City Ethics Commission
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 Candidates' answers to questions from the League of Women Voters
- ↑ Arts for LA Spring 2013 Candidate Surveys: LA Unified School District
- ↑ District 2 Neighborhood Coalition, "LAUSD District 2 Candidate Forum #1," accessed February 14, 2013
- ↑ Los Angeles Daily News, "LAUSD board candidates to appear at forums," January 19, 2013
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