By Lyn Jensen, Carson Reporter
Tom Torlakson, California’s elected superintendent of public instruction, is facing term limits, meaning that, on June 5, voters across the state will be choosing among four candidates for an open seat. Four years ago supporters of public schools — and public employee labor unions — battled charter school advocates for control of the state’s schools. That, again, appears to be the central issue.
Being a non-partisan office, the superintendent of public instruction is not subject to California’s top-two primary rule. That means the June 5 primary may be the only opportunity for voters to decide the course of public instruction within the next four years. If one candidate gets more than 50 percent of the vote in the June 5 primary, that person is declared the winner. If none of the candidates receive more than 50 percent of the vote, then the top two are advanced to a run-off on Nov. 6.
In an election season when a “blue” Democratic wave is predicted to affect even non-partisan races, Marshall Tuck and Tony Thurmond are both Democrats but their agendas for education are completely different.
Tuck lost a close and expensive race to Torlakson in 2014, when Tuck was perceived as the candidate of charter school supporters while teachers’ unions (and other labor groups) backed Torlakson. Tuck is a former charter school executive and CEO of the Partnership for Los Angeles Schools, a nonprofit that operates 16 schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District. He previously served as education adviser to Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. He’s also a former Wall Street banker.
His campaign site takes pains to emphasize what “our public school system needs to prioritize over the next decade” but a major portion of it discusses, “supporting high-quality, non-profit charter schools.”
Like former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, Tuck favors a longer period of professional probation for teachers before they may receive tenure and wants to make it easier for schools to fire teachers.
In contrast, Thurmond’s campaign site includes a plan for public schools that declares: “But … fighting for education starts with opposing President Donald Trump and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’s agenda, which threaten to defund our public schools.” DeVos is a major advocate for charter schools.
Since 2014, Thurmond has represented the 15th Assembly District around eastern San Francisco Bay. He has been endorsed for superintendent by dozens of Democratic office-holders and by more than a dozen labor organizations. He also vows to ensure “accountability for charter schools” and to resist “efforts by the Trump administration to bring guns into our schools.”
According to the California Secretary of State website, at press time Thurmond has raised over $1.15 million, mostly from a combination of individuals and labor organizations. Tuck has raised more than $1.71 million, but nothing from labor organizations.
In a season when voters may be open to diversity, Lily Espinoza Ploski could draw enough votes to be a factor. She is the daughter of a Mexican immigrant and she professes no party affiliation. She also possesses what may be the most extensive and relevant experience for the job of any of the candidates. She has a doctorate in education leadership from Cal State University Fullerton and she has spent the past 15 years in various college administrative positions.
A fourth candidate, Steven Ireland, appears on the ballot but identifies himself only as “parent.” He has a campaign site but he does not have a statement in the Official Voter Information Guide.