Teachers union backs newcomers

For the first time, the Newport-Mesa Unified School District’s teachers union will campaign against every incumbent in November’s school board election.

The Newport-Mesa Federation of Teachers, which has never backed a losing candidate, plans to campaign this fall for three new faces. Late on Tuesday, the union declared its support for Karen Yelsey and Sandy Asper, who are facing longtime board members Serene Stokes and Judy Franco. The union also endorsed Michael Collier, a candidate for the seat that trustee Linda Sneen is vacating this year.

Over the last decade since it began endorsements, the teachers union has backed five candidates, three of whom were incumbents and all of whom went on to win. This year marks the first time that the union has opposed all sitting board members.

“I think what we’re looking at is, as much as we appreciate the support teachers have received from Judy and Serene on the board, we’ve reached a point where we’d like some fresh eyes looking at things,” said union president Jim Rogers.

Although the union supported both Stokes and Franco in their last races, neither trustee said she was surprised by the announcement. Franco, who has been on the board since 1980, pointed to Asper’s past leadership in the teachers union and her current post on the group’s benefits committee as possible factors in the decision.

“I was not shocked, if you will,” Franco said. “I’m still doing my campaign, and doing it as I have done it in the past.”

Stokes, a board member since 1994, suspected that the union bypassed her in part due to her views on contract negotiation. She said she favored bargaining between the teachers and school board and opposed outside arbitrators, which the union has occasionally brought in to settle disputes.

“You are always disappointed not to be endorsed,” Stokes said. “However, you need to evaluate your commitment to the endorsers.”

Jeff Qualey, the co-chair of the committee that interviewed the candidates last week, countered that his group generally shared Stokes’ views and that her positions had not played a large role in the union’s decision. The union favored Yelsey, he said, simply because it agreed with her opinions and saw her as an inspired leader.

The union first endorsed a candidate in 1996, when it supported Dana Black for an open seat on the board. Later, the group campaigned for Martha Fluor in 2000, then Stokes, Franco and Tom Egan in 2002. Egan, who defeated trustee Wendy Leece, is the only challenger that the union had backed against an incumbent before this year.

After Qualey announced the union’s choices on Tuesday, the candidates said they were grateful for the boost. When the union backs a candidate, it does its own campaigning, calls potential voters and distributes materials.

“I feel great about it,” said Asper, who retired from Ensign Intermediate School last year. “Considering that I’ve been a teacher in the district for 30 years, it wasn’t a big surprise, but it was a long process and I’m very happy.”

Yelsey, who recently served as PTA president of Corona del Mar High School, said she was “thrilled” by the union’s endorsement.

“I look forward to working with them,” she said. “They can be very supportive of my campaign, and I’m glad they believed in me.”

Collier, the PTA president of College Park Elementary School, is facing family therapist Kimberly Clark in November. A former band teacher at Estancia High School, he said he was eager to run for the board at a time when the district was pushing for more arts in the classroom.

“I’m unique in that respect, I think,” he said. “I know how a music program should be run.”

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