Writing Shotgun

WHAT TO DO BETWEEN XMAS AND NEW YEAR’S? VOTE IN LBUSD ELECTION!

Dave WielengaMon. December 28
 

Today is the last day to mail absentee ballots for Tuesday’s—that’s tomorrow’s—special election to choose a replacement for erstwhile fugitive and school board member Michael Shane Ellis.

Five candidates are on the holiday-season ballot to replace Ellis, a long-controversial board member who finally resigned after The District Weekly’s Theo Douglas revealed on July 29 that there was a $15,000 bench warrant for his arrest—the revocation of his probation for an Oct. 2006 arrest in Redondo Beach and subsequent conviction on two misdemeanors: a hit-and-run and driving on a suspended license.

The best known of the group is Richard Lewis, who got that way through his work as a financial controller at JR van Dijs Inc., his presidency of the East Village Neighborhood Association and his membership on the executive board of the Downtown Long Beach Associates. In fact, Lewis runs in such powerful circles that his name has already been mentioned as a future candidate for city council; Bonnie Lowenthal and Suja Lowenthal previously springboarded from the 3rd district school board seat to the 2nd district council seat.

Others on the ballot include Raymond Chavarria, who oversees health and youth programs at the Long Beach nonprofit United Cambodian Community; Kate Conrath, a middle school teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District; John McGinnis, the just-retired head librarian at Cerritos College; and Pauline Gonzalez Stenberg, who cites her experience as past PTA president at Newcomb Academy and Millikan High School.

Whoever wins will only serve the remainder of Ellis’ term and would face re-election in April.

Polls open from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm. If you are unsure of your polling location you can find it at http://www.lavote.net/LOCATOR/.

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  • Polls open at 7:00 am. Please get out and vote. Great schools make for good neighborhoods!
  • DWR
    Have already cast my absentee ballot for J.McGinnis. I won't vote for anyone who is endorsed by Suja Lowenthal or backed by the Chamber of Commerce.
  • lbresident
    What about the destructive teacher union?
  • howardx
    republican anti unionism in action

    "WASHINGTON — An attempt to blow up a trans-Atlantic flight from Amsterdam to Detroit on Christmas Day would be all-consuming for the administrator of the Transportation Security Administration — if there were one.

    The post remains vacant because Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., has held up President Barack Obama's nominee in opposition to the prospect of TSA workers joining a labor union."

    http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/story/81356.html

    what about the destructive republican party?
  • lbresident
    grow up
  • howardx
    pathetic response. you repub crybabies are the ones who need to grow up and put america before party for once.
  • lbresident
    if that ain't the pot calling the kettle black. I make a valid point about a specific union that causes harm to the educational system at least according to well respected steve perry, president obama and others and you start politicizing the conversation with totally irrelevant data.
  • howardx
    yeah your constant anti union rhetoric isnt political at all...

    maybe try giving it a rest, we all get that you side with the owners over the workers.
  • lbresident
    I'm not on anyone's side. But it's amazing people like you won't allow anyone the rewards for taking all the risk and you demonize the people who create jobs.

    To the actual topic, are you arguing the teachers union is good for education?
  • howardx
    im arguing that your anti unionism has nothing to do with "job creation or rewards" and everything to do with attempting to dismantle organized labor because they dont vote republican.
  • lbresident
    and you still didn't answer the question. which i guess is the point. make it about politics rather than confront what you know, which is that the teachers union is harmful to education.
  • howardx
    as i said before, republican anti tax kooks like howard jarvis and his prop 13 have ruined california's schools, not the teachers union.
  • lbresident
    do you own a house?
  • howardx
    yes we do.
  • lbresident
    good. I respect your opinion even more.
  • lbresident
    oh please you know that is bs. its not a money problem. it's mostly a parent problem but the teachers union doesn't help. you are not wrongbeach john. you're better than that. act like it.
  • howardx
    how is it bs? prove to me that its bs.
  • lbresident
    because your argument assumes we don't have enough money. private schools, charter schools, schools in other countries, and even schools in west vs. east lb prove that it isn't about money.
  • lbresident
    you couldn't be more wrong about me. I think people that start businesess take a lot of risk and should reap the rewards. I think the teachers union is harmful to education. Neither of these views are politically motivated. Stop reading into me what you have in yourself.
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