Politics & Government

Echo Park's Bennett Kayser Looks to Win LAUSD District 5 Race

With all 158 precincts counted, Kayser had nearly 51 percent of the vote, leaving Luis Sanchez with just over 49 percent.

Echo Park resident Bennett Kayser looks to be the winner in Tuesday's runoff election for the open Los Angeles Unified school board district 5 seat.

Kayser, a former teacher supported by the local teachers unions, got 8,854 votes--50.78 percent. Luis Sanchez, the current chief of staff for LAUSD board president Monica Garcia, got 8,582 votes--49.22 percent.

"This election affirms the frustrations we were hearing when we walked precincts" said Kayser, who ran for the seat four years ago. "Teachers are being scapegoated, and they can't do their jobs."

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"Now, while teachers won't have a majority on the board, we'll have 3 votes, something we can work with."

Kayser will replace Yolie Flores, who chose not to run again. He suffers from early stage Parkinson's disease, but said his doctor thinks working will be good for him.

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Sanchez was favored by several unions and the mayor. 

Kayser supporters gathered at Teresita's Restaurant in East Los Angeles Tuesday night to await election returns.

Those on hand included former LAUSD district 5 board member David Tokofsky,  UTLA president-elect Warren Fletcher and UTLA treasurer and Echo Park resident David Goldberg.

Kayser's wife Peggy and his son Nathan were also part of the gathering.

Also, in the crowd were a number of campaign workers, who used Teresita's as their base as they reached out to voters in East Los Angeles and the independent cities like South Gate, Maywood, and Bell in the district--all heavily Latino.

Just 7.41 percent of registered voters participated in the election--just over two-thirds by mail.

But, according to Amelia Velazquez, an El Sereno Middle School teacher and key organizer for Kayser, phone-banking, precinct walking and community meetings all helped in the victory.

LAUSD district 5 includes Los Feliz, Silver Lake, Echo Park, Eagle Rock and Highland Park.


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