School Board Races Shape Up as Filing Deadline Passes

As nominations closed for the Pasadena Unified School District Board of Education, incumbent Lisa Fowler will run unopposed while board President George Padilla faces one challenger and two others are competing for an open seat.

An expected challenge to both Fowler and Padilla by two well-known community activists, who pulled nomination papers, failed to materialize by the filing deadline Friday for seeking election to the board, which oversees schools in Pasadena, Altadena and Sierra Madre.

Fowler, 45, who ousted conservative educator Wilbert Smith four years ago to win her District 3 seat, had expected to face Steve Lamb, an Altadena community leader, in the March election. But at the last moment, Lamb decided not to compete against Fowler, a former mayor of Sierra Madre.

Likewise, Padilla, 50, an engineering company owner, faced the prospect of a tough race from Porfirio Frausto, Blair High School’s football coach and a former City Council candidate. Frausto has filed papers for a possible District 1 race, but decided not to run.

Instead, in seeking a third term on the board Padilla may face Darren Meyers, a 30-year-old printer. On Monday, the city clerk’s office was still checking to see if Meyers has the required 100 registered voter signatures on his nomination papers to qualify.

Meanwhile, with the retirement of incumbent Anne Pursel after a dozen years, Bonnie Armstrong, a consultant, and Bill Logan, a Pasadena City College professor, will face off for the District 5 office.