Elizabeth Badger

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Elizabeth Badger

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Nonpartisan

Elections and appointments

Last election

March 5, 2024

Contact

Personal website

Personal Facebook

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Elizabeth Badger ran for election to the Los Angeles Unified School District to represent District 3 in California. She lost in the primary on March 5, 2024.

Biography

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Badger is the founder and CEO of Minority Outreach Committee, Inc., a nonpartisan and nonprofit organization that seeks to encourage and facilitate political, economic and social development in Los Angeles, California. She is also co-owner and office manager of a small, family business. A self-identified Democrat, Badger was a delegate to both the 2008 and the 2012 Democratic National Conventions. She was named Democrat of Year by the Los Angeles Democratic Party. Badger earned her bachelor's degree in political science and her master's degree in public administration and policy from California State University at Northridge. She also graduated from the University of Southern California's Public Policy Institute. Badger has three children and three step-children.

Elections

2024

See also: Los Angeles Unified School District, California, elections (2024)

General election

General election for Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education District 3

Incumbent Scott Mark Schmerelson defeated Dan Chang in the general election for Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education District 3 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Scott Mark Schmerelson (Nonpartisan)	51.6	124,331
		Dan Chang (Nonpartisan)	48.4	116,478

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 240,809
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education District 3

The following candidates ran in the primary for Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education District 3 on March 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Scott Mark Schmerelson (Nonpartisan)	44.5	50,669
✔		Dan Chang (Nonpartisan)	29.0	33,004
		Raquel Villalta (Nonpartisan)	12.0	13,632
	Submit photo	Elizabeth Badger (Nonpartisan)	8.2	9,287
		Andreas Farmakalidis (Nonpartisan)	6.3	7,131
	Submit photo	Janie Dam (Nonpartisan) (Write-in)	0.1	81

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source 1 Source 2 Source 3	Total votes: 113,804
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Badger in this election.

2020

See also: Los Angeles Unified School District, California, elections (2020)

General election

General election for Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education District 3

Incumbent Scott Mark Schmerelson defeated Marilyn Koziatek in the general election for Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education District 3 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Scott Mark Schmerelson (Nonpartisan)	53.2	143,370
		Marilyn Koziatek (Nonpartisan)	46.8	125,914

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 269,284
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education District 3

Incumbent Scott Mark Schmerelson and Marilyn Koziatek defeated Elizabeth Badger and John Sandy Campbell in the primary for Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education District 3 on March 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Scott Mark Schmerelson (Nonpartisan)	42.4	56,737
✔		Marilyn Koziatek (Nonpartisan)	31.6	42,301
	Submit photo	Elizabeth Badger (Nonpartisan)	26.0	34,856
		John Sandy Campbell (Nonpartisan) (Write-in)	0.0	48

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 133,942
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2015

See also: Los Angeles Unified School District elections (2015)

Four of the seven seats on the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education were up for primary election on March 3, 2015. Only one candidate, unopposed District 1 incumbent George J. McKenna III, received more than 50 percent of the votes cast in the primary. Because of this, he won his seat outright, and the top two vote-getters in Districts 3, 5 and 7 advanced to the general election on May 19, 2015.

Incumbents Tamar Galatzan, Bennett Kayser and Richard A. Vladovic from Districts 3, 5 and 7, respectively, received enough votes to advance to the general election. They each faced at least two challengers in the primary. In District 3, Galatzan faced five challengers, Elizabeth Badger Bartels, Filiberto Gonzalez, Ankur Patel, Carl J. Petersen and Scott Mark Schmerelson. She and Schmerelson faced each other again in the general election. Kayser and challenger Ref Rodriguez defeated challenger Andrew Thomas to continue on to the District 5 general election. In the District 7 primary, Vladovic ran against challengers Euna Anderson and Lydia Gutierrez. Gutierrez received enough votes to advance to the general election with Vladovic.

In the general election, both Galatzan and Kayser were unseated by their challengers. Schmerelson won the District 3 seat, and Rodriguez was elected to the District 5 seat. In District 7, Vladovic defeated Gutierrez to secure another term on the board.

Results

Los Angeles Unified School District, District 3 Primary Election, 5-year term, 2015
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Tamar Galatzan Incumbent	40.2%	15,326
	Nonpartisan	Scott Mark Schmerelson	20.4%	7,767
	Nonpartisan	Ankur Patel	12.8%	4,870
	Nonpartisan	Elizabeth Badger Bartels	10.8%	4,125
	Nonpartisan	Carl J. Petersen	10.1%	3,839
	Nonpartisan	Filiberto Gonzalez	5.8%	2,213
Total Votes				38,140
Source: Los Angeles City Clerk's Office, "Primary Nominating Election: Official Election Results," accessed March 23, 2015

Funding

Bartels reported $14,864.10 in contributions and $5,385.95 in expenditures to the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission, which left her campaign with $9,478.15 as of February 25, 2015.

2013

See also: State legislative special elections, 2013

Badger ran in a special election for California State Assembly District 45. The seat was vacant following Rep. Bob Blumenfield's (D) election to the Los Angeles City Council. Badger was defeated in a blanket primary, which took place on September 17.

California State Assembly, District 45, Blanket Primary, 2013
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Matt Dababneh	24.7%	6,088
	Republican	Susan Shelley	21.1%	5,205
	Democratic	Elizabeth Badger	2.8%	679
	Democratic	Damian Carroll	6.8%	1,680
	Democratic	Dennis De Young	2.7%	673
	Democratic	Jeff Ebenstein	13.8%	3,407
	Democratic	Andra Hoffman	10%	2,477
	Democratic	Dan McCrory	1.1%	262
	Republican	Armineh Chelebian	2.5%	624
	Republican	Chris Kolski	12.7%	3,141
	Independent	Eric Lewis	1.8%	432
Total Votes				24,668

Endorsements

Badger received endorsements from a number of local community members. A list of her supporters can be found here.

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Elizabeth Badger did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Elizabeth Badger did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

2015

Ballotpedia survey responses

Badger participated in Ballotpedia's 2015 survey of school board candidates. The following sections display her responses to the survey questions. When asked what her top priority would be if elected, the candidate made the following statement:

“	Budget Invest in Early Childhood Education Lower drop-out rate/raising graduation rate Creating partnerships with parents, staff and board Special Education	”
—Elizabeth Badger (2015)

Ranking the issues

The candidate was asked to rank the following issues by importance in the school district, with 1 being the most important and 7 being the least important. This table displays this candidate's rankings from most to least important:

Education policy
Click here to learn more about education policy in California.
Education on the ballot

Issue importance ranking
Candidate's ranking	Issue
1	Balancing or maintaining the district's budget
2	Improving education for special needs students
3	Closing the achievement gap
4	Improving college readiness
5	Expanding school choice options
6	Expanding arts education
7	Expanding career-technical education

Positions on the issues

The candidate was asked to answer 10 questions from Ballotpedia regarding significant issues in education and the school district. The questions are in the left column, and the candidate's responses are in the right column of the following table:

Question	Response
What is your stance on implementing Common Core standards?	"Modifications are required before they are implemented."
Should your district approve the creation of new charter schools?	"Not against expanding; but should work on making traditional school better."
Should the state give money to private schools through a voucher system?	Badger did not answer this question.
Are standardized tests an accurate metric of student achievement?	"Not 100%."
How can the district ensure equal opportunities for high and low achieving students?	"Invest in Early Childhood Education. Studies state that when you invest early in a child's education, they tend to be successful their entire educational careers."
How should expulsion be used in the district?	"Expulsion cases must be viewed on a case-by-case basis rather than the district having an overarching policy."
If a school is failing in your district, what steps should the school board take to help the students in that school?	"Early Childhood Education Professional Development for teachers Counseling for children struggling. Identify children in trouble before they fall between the cracks Parent Inclusion"
Do you support merit pay for teachers?	"No"
How should the district handle underperforming teachers?	"Set up a mentorship program for the underperforming teacher with a more experienced teacher in the district."
How would you work to improve community-school board relations?	"Develop partnerships with parents and community. Develop a more collaborative, respectful relationship and communication with parents, teachers and community groups. User friendly offices of board member to parents and community. Organize more town halls to fact find and advise parents of changes confirmed and proposed. Use of social media to communicate with parenta and community."

Candidate website

Badger highlighted the following issues on her campaign website:

“	I believe our community, city and state is made better when our children can receive a quality world-class education. As a parent of two young special needs children in LAUSD system, I have a personal stake in the future of LAUSD. We can no longer claim to be the most superior and influential city on earth, with an inferior educational system! Education, I believe, is one of the leading Civil Rights issues of this era. Our children are withering on the educational vine, and we can no longer turn a blind eye to the inefficiencies in our LAUSD public schools system. From elementary to secondary schools must have the resources and competency needed to provide a balanced, equitable and sufficient curriculum for all children. LAUSD Education Board works for the public, and serves as our children’s last line of defense. They deserve a school board that is transparent and ethical while making policy decisions on their behalf. I plan to insure that our children have access to a free, fair and appropriate fully-accessible public education by working to provide for: Accountability The LAUSD School Board, Teachers and Principals need to be held accountable. I will work to support measures to evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of administrators, teachers and schools. I will fight to make sure that all schools (traditional and charter) are held to the same set of standards, and are offering the same opportunities to students regardless of race, skill level, economic status, and/or special need or disability. Standardized testing is important in evaluating students. But, it should not be the only tool that measures a child’s educational worthiness or even a teacher’s ability to teach. Schools are spending more time on the measurement of learning; rather than the learning itself. Education is so much larger than any standardized test. I will work to make sure that teachers are not spending all their day preparing to fill in the appropriate standardized test bubble, rather than teaching the whole curriculum. Early Childhood Intervention Invest in early childhood education. Data demonstrate that the greatest challenges facing our communities, from school dropout rates, to crime, to the ability to compete in the global marketplace, can be met by focusing on the early childhood intervention. When children show up to kindergarten, ready to learn, their educational struggle will be minimized their entire lives. Therefore, I believe that investing in early childhood programs are the most cost-effective way to ensure healthy development and offer the greatest return to society. Parents Participation and Inclusion LAUSD School Board is our children’s last and only line of defense. Parents should be welcomed at both their children’s schools, as well as to the office of their board representative. Parents should have more access on campuses, and should not be made to feel like strangers in their own child’s educational lives! Providing Equitable/Sufficient Resources New resources, via Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), are being allocated to our school district. This LCFF will provide additional resources to children facing some the greatest challenges. I will work to ensure these monies are contributed fairly and equitable throughout the district, rather than financial allotments based only on numbers. I support more teachers, parents and school administrators input and control on how resources are used and prioritized based on a child’s specific needs. Reducing Dropout Rate Dropout is a product of ineffective resources and lack of reaching out to our children who are leaning in the wrong direction. How can a child make it all the way to high school with the basic skills of a 3rd or 4th grader? This is because resources and efforts were never done to identify them in their early education. Our children should not need luck to get a good education. We can/must do better! We must make sure our children are remaining in school. Dropouts are not just children with questionable attendance records. They are children who have been allowed to fall through the cracks. It is our responsibility to find ways to identify these children early, and fill in the cracks before they are allowed to fail. Safety/Security I believe one of the most important issues is that our schools offer a place where students, staff and parents, can feel safe. I will work to make sure that students and staff are free from bullying, harassment, and outside influences that might impact the security in our schools. Training in tolerance, mediation, counseling, and peaceful conflict resolution are crucial to that becoming a reality. Special Needs I know from first-hand experience the abuse and challenges being perpetrated on our special needs community. When my only son Lucas was diagnosed on the autism spectrum, it was a devastating blow to me, my husband and entire family. After the initial shock turned into acceptance, we started our research on what this diagnosis meant for our son’s life. All medical professionals assured us that as long as he received the necessary educational tools, Lucas could grow to be a contributing member of society. Armed with such positive prognosis, we relied on LAUSD to help facilitate the necessary educational tools; and ultimately, Lucas’ future. We were met with rejection after rejection, which led to many costly Due Process/Lawsuits just to attain Lucas’ required educational support. Quite frankly, I don’t believe that our parents need to fight so hard to get their children educated. The LAUSD Board’s responsibility to ensure that all of our children are treated with dignity and respect. It is cruel what our children and parents are having to endure by an educational system which claims to have their better interest. Parents are not being informed of their rights, and their children are not being given the appropriate tools that are imperative to accessing their curriculum. Children are being diverted away from Special Education Centers to general education campuses, and not provided appropriate protections ensuring them a safe and productive learning environment on these campuses. Parents are being forced to exercise costly lawsuits just to keep their children safe, and our district representative has remained silent on this issue. Our 3rd LAUSD District deserve better…they deserve a VOICE! They deserve a representative who cares about them. I will work FULLTIME, rather than the current PART TIME representative, to ensure that our special needs children receive the tools and supports necessary to access their educational curriculum. They deserve someone who understands, through experience, the trials and tribulations, and will work to ensure that all of our special needs children receive a quality education. A Free, Fair and Appropriate Education! Teachers/Staffing Support The quality of our school depends on the people who have devoted their time, talents and treasures to their uplift. I will work to make sure our teachers/staff are receiving their proper support. This includes wages, professional development and tools needed to properly educate our children. I will also work to bring the necessary support staff, including administrative staff, janitorial staff, nurses and counselors, back to pre-recession levels.	”
—Elizabeth Badger's campaign website (2015)

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