Teachers’ union flexes political muscle

Deirdre Newman

Tom Egan’s victory last month over incumbent school board member

Wendy Leece illustrated the potent power of the teacher’s union,

which rallied its troops and spent about $6,000 to unseat an

adversary it had battled for years.

The Newport-Mesa Federation of Teachers only backed one challenger

-- Egan -- along with incumbents Judy Franco and Serene Stokes. It

put all three endorsements on one slate, raising Egan’s profile by

association. Egan ended up beating Leece 53% to 48%.

The union’s involvement is still sparking repercussions as Leece

has threatened to file charges with the district attorney’s office

and the Fair Political Practices Commission for what she considers

illegal campaigning on school campuses.

At issue, is how much influence the teacher’s union should exert

on the school board. The majority of the board is now endorsed by the

union.

Leece, who directly blames the union for her defeat, contends it

has an “incestuous” relationship with the trustees, helping to get

its favorites elected so they will give teachers raises and approve

union-supported programs, all to ensure their reelection.

“This race was bought by the teachers’ union leaders,” Leece

charges. “The union resents my ideas, my criticism and my rejection

of their ideas.”

But Linda Mook, president of the federation, claims that the

endorsements are an extension of the union’s focus on issues that

teachers value, but which Leece didn’t.

“[Leece] was disconnected with the very fundamental questions that

we have to deal with as a public school system and those are the

curriculum, standards, assessment and professional development,” Mook

said. “And I think when people see what we’re really about, they’ll

see that she wasn’t there.”

A FOCUS ON BACKGROUND

The union decided to endorse Egan after inviting all the

candidates for an interview. Egan appealed to union leaders because

of his history of activism on the Westside, his analytical background

and his ability to work with people of varying opinions, Mook said in

October.

The union campaign included mailing postcards, walking precincts

and putting up yard signs. The effort unleashed a groundswell of

support that took even union leaders by surprise, Mook said.

“We had more support than we anticipated,” Mook said. “Everybody

did what they were able to do as teachers, given that they have

full-time, demanding jobs and they were right in the middle of

implementing a new standards-based report card.”

The union ran all three of its endorsed candidates on a slate for

financial reasons, Mook said.

“We may have misguided people into thinking there were board

members grouped against [Leece], but it was simply that our campaign

was supporting three candidates,” Mook said.

A QUESTIONABLE CAMPAIGN

The union also advertised its endorsements on school campuses,

posting fliers on the union bulletin boards. While the union

characterizes this as “communication,” Leece calls it “campaigning”

and said it is illegal under her interpretation of the California

Education Code and the Fair Political Practices Commission.

“When I read the rules, I interpreted it [to mean] that ‘no

campaigning’ means ‘no campaigning’, not with the exception of the

teachers’ union bulletin board,” Leece said. “Whatever it takes to

get rid of [me], they’re going to do it.”

In addition, the union enlisted the help of the Coast Federation

of Educators to distribute its fliers at Orange Coast College. Tina

Bruning, the federation’s president, said the group supported the

candidates because they seemed to put students’ needs first.

“We have lots of teachers that live in the Newport-Mesa school

district and they have children and they want board members that will

reflect the best education for the students,” Bruning said. “I think

[Egan] represented the needs of students and resonated parents’

wishes and that’s why he won.”

Throughout the entire campaign, the union steered clear of

attacking Leece, Mook emphasized.

“We never said anything negative during the campaign about

[Leece],” Mook said. “It was just teachers expressing their

collective opinion about who would best serve students in our

community.”

SEEING OTHER SUPPORT

The union has not had any interaction with Egan since he won,

although it does expect to talk to him, as it would any other board

member, as various issues arise, Mook said.

While Egan said the most significant endorsement he received was

from the teachers’ union, he emphasized that he feels equally

obligated to all the district’s “stakeholders” including students,

parents, teachers and administrators.

“That obligation is to help provide to all children the

opportunity to get a world-class public education so that they

graduate as productive, contributing members of our community,” Egan

said.

Despite her charges, Leece said she is not bitter about losing the

election and will continue to encourage parent participation in

education as a counterweight to the union.

“I will be working with parents to let them know how important it

is to stay involved because the union doesn’t always have the best

interest of children and kids,” Leece said.

* DEIRDRE NEWMAN covers education. She may be reached at (949)

574-4221 or by e-mail at deirdre.newman@latimes.com.