Villaraigosa can hardly do worse.
Feb 18, 2008 - When the Los Angeles Times calls you left-wing, it's the pot calling the kettle, but that's how they refer to the current leaders of the United Teachers Los Angeles who are facing a battle for leadership.
The band of left-wing, dissident back-benchers that took over the city teachers union three years ago faces a verdict this week on its revolution. United Teachers Los Angeles is holding elections, the results of which will affect not only teachers but also school-reform efforts and city politics.The battle for control of Los Angeles Unified School District is at stake.
The union lost a Lauritzen re-election bid in 2007, on which the union spent, by Duffy’s estimate, $1.4 million.Until last year, the school board was controlled by candidates the union had endorsed, but it lost that majority to Villaraigosa in two stages.
In 2006, the union spent at least $200,000 trying to elect UTLA staffer Christopher Arellano, but his campaign collapsed after revelations about a past criminal record and exaggerated academic credentials. Winner Monica Garcia sided uniformly with Villaraigosa. Then last year, UTLA split two races with the mayor's allies, while sitting out two others won by his picks.
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Don't miss the photo of A.J. Duffy and a smiling Roy Romer, former Superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District and former Democrat National Committee chairman.
Feb 22 - Duffy was re-elected. About 21% of union members cast ballots. He won with 58.7% of the vote.
See Teachers union graded opinion - debate between David Tokofsky and Lisa Snell.
As for Christopher Arellano, the union candidate? He had two arrests, one of which sentenced him to mandatory psychiatric treatment.
In 1992, he appeared before a municipal court for stealing merchandise and for battery at Pioneer Market in Boyle Heights. He pleaded guilty to the theft charge in a plea agreement. The court fined him $415 and placed him on unsupervised probation for 24 months.Oh, then there was the name change and he didn't have the college degrees that he claimed and the Los Angeles Times hyped, either.
In 1995, Los Angeles police arrested him for stealing more than $400, which qualifies as grand theft. After initially pleading not guilty, he eventually entered a no-contest plea, according to court records. A judge fined him $125 and sentenced him to three days in prison, 30 days of forced labor with Caltrans, and mandatory psychiatric treatment. He subsequently missed multiple court appearances. Court records indicate two bench warrants were issued for his arrest for failure to appear in court, spanning from 1995 to March 1999. The 1995 case continued until September 2004.
The 1992 case did not officially close until a hearing today (Thursday) in Los Angeles Superior Court, according to court records. For more than 10 years - until today - there has been an outstanding warrant for his arrest due to repeated failures to appear in court.
