In Partnership with 74

Only Alex Johnson gets PAC money in school board race

Vanessa Romo | May 30, 2014



Your donation will help us produce journalism like this. Please give today.

Alex Johnson Portrait School Board Candidate District 1

Alex Johnson

With the the LA Unified school board special election only four days away, Alex Johnson is the only candidate of seven whose campaign is supported by independent expenditure committees, also known as super-PACS.

So far, groups are spending more than $52,000 to get him elected, according to the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission.

These groups operate separately and are not coordinated by a candidate’s campaign. They have spend millions in the past on local school board races.

The California Black Political Action Committee, supported by a diverse group that includes telephone, insurance and energy companies, spent $16,959.20 paying for pro-Johnson signs, fliers, and newspaper ads.

And a local group called the Los Angeles Parents, Teachers, and Students for Great Public Schools, which has received major funding from the California Charter Schools Association Advocates Independent Expenditure Committee, shelled out $35,669.65 to pay for phone banks, fliers and mailings urging voters to support Johnson.

Johnson and George McKenna are considered the frontrunners in the District 1 race. Through the first two reporting periods, Johnson has out raised all other candidates in running for the seat, with $208,000 in individual contributions.

The third and final reporting period ends today.

Read Next