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Teachers union super PAC ups spending to defend Kayser’s seat
The teachers union super PAC is starting to spend on behalf of school board District 5 incumbent Bennett Kayser, unleashing a flurry of campaign pieces to defend his seat in what is shaping up to be the most hotly contested race in this election. To date, the Super PAC, an independent expenditure committee, run by...
By LA School Report | February 11, 2015
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Pique with Kayser’s no response drew Thomas into District 5 race
This is the next in a series of profiles on candidates running in the March 3 primary for the LA Unified school board. Today’s focus is Andrew Thomas, a candidate for the District 5 seat. When Andrew Thomas’s two children started at John Marshall High School in Los Feliz, the 49-year-old dad was disappointed in...
By Vanessa Romo | February 9, 2015
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Kayser, his 2 challengers keep it civil in first forum together
* UPDATED After days of tension leading to the first debate with all three candidates running for LA Unified’s board District 5 on March 3, a forum last night at Eagle Rock High School played out with a relatively civil tone and a focus more on policy than politics. Surprisingly, incumbent Bennett Kayser, who is...
By Vanessa Romo | February 6, 2015
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In forum tonight, Kayser facing board rivals for first time
Bennett Kayser, who represents District 5 on the LA Unified school board, is front and center tonight, facing his two rivals for the first time in a much anticipated candidate forum at Eagle Rock High School. After suddenly pulling out of two forums last week, Kayser is appearing in the wake of a recent attack mailer...
By LA School Report | February 5, 2015
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Commentary: The anti-Kayser flyer ‘a new low in campaign tactics’
By Steve Zimmer The vicious lies contained in the California Charter School Association (CCSA) mailer represent a new low in school board campaign tactics. They attack not only Bennett Kayser’s service to his district but his heart and his soul as well. I know these attacks. They were leveled at me, my life work and...
By Guest contributor | February 3, 2015
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Charter group says Kayser policies ‘by no means race-neutral’
After days of silence, the California Charter Schools Association is defending a controversial campaign flyer targeting Bennett Kayser, who is running for reelection for the LA Unified District 5 board seat. Kayser, too, is speaking out about the flyer for the first time, calling its portrayal of him “a pack of vile misrepresentations.” Paid for...
By Michael Janofsky | February 3, 2015
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Consultant who helped Kayser win in 2011, now working against him
*UPDATED Four years after playing a major role in Bennett Kayser’s election to the LA Unified school board, an Encino-based political consulting firm is now working to defeat him. Shallman Communications in 2011 was paid more than $60,000 by the LA teachers union, UTLA, to help shape Kayser’s image. Through the union’s independent expenditures, it...
By Michael Janofsky | February 2, 2015
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Charter group drawing more fire for ‘racist’ flyer on Kayser
A campaign flyer implying that LA Unified board member Bennett Kayser is racist is drawing more fire, as two more would-be beneficiaries renounced its message, and an LA Times editorial accused the sponsoring organization of engaging in “slimy tactics on behalf of children.” Produced by an arm of the California Charter Schools Association, the flyer...
By Michael Janofsky | February 2, 2015
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Campaign against Kayser turns negative with charter-funded flyer
Let the negative campaigning begin! An arm of the California Charter Schools Association‘s political action committee has unleashed the first campaign attack with a full color, glossy flyer aimed at District 5 board incumbent Bennett Kayser. The message targets a very specific demographic: Latinos. It features five sad looking brown-skinned kids with their heads in their...
By Vanessa Romo | January 30, 2015
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LAUSD board election ‘debate’ becomes Ref Rodriguez show
It was supposed to be the first debate of the LA Unified school board races, but it wasn’t: Only one candidate showed up. With board member Bennett Kayser and challenger Andrew Thomas pulling out, the floor for the District 5 forum belonged to candidate Ref Rodriguez, who had all the time he liked last night to...
By Craig Clough | January 29, 2015