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These are the candidates who have filed to run for the L.A. Board of Education

Monica Garcia, who has filed to run again for her District 2 L.A. Board of Education seat.
(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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The pay is relatively low and the stress high, but that did not stop 19 people from filing to run for seats on the Los Angeles Board of Education by the Saturday deadline.

Millions are spent on the campaigns, which are usually dominated by two camps that seek influence over the nation’s second-largest school system: the teachers union and a group of philanthropists who generally oppose the union-backed candidates. In the last election, those philanthropists poured dollars into an independent campaign committee controlled by supporters of charter schools. Board members receive $24,000 a year, or $45,637 if they don’t earn another salary.

For the record:

4:55 p.m. Nov. 13, 2016

An earlier version of this post omitted the name of District 2 candidate Carl J. Petersen.

Two incumbents are running again for their seats, and a third is open. The primary election takes place in March, after which the top two finishers in each district face off in the May general election.

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Among the incumbents is Monica Garcia, who represents District 2, which encompasses downtown Los Angeles and surrounding neighborhoods. She’s the longest-serving board member, having joined the seven-member body in 2006. Garcia is expected to have the support of the philanthropists, but she has also been endorsed in the past by employee unions that typically back incumbents.

At this point, Garcia is the only candidate with significant campaign contributions — she has $132,658, according to the most recent filings.

Those who filed to run against her are businessman/parent advocate Carl J. Petersen, public school teacher Lisa Alva, education rights attorney Miho Murai and school council board member Manuel “Manny” Aldana Jr.

Five candidates have filed to run to represent District 4, which stretches from the Westside to the western San Fernando Valley. The two-term incumbent is Steve Zimmer. He is expected to draw support from unions and opposition from charter school backers, who accuse Zimmer of making it more difficult for charters that seek to operate within district boundaries.

Charters are managed independently of the school district, but L.A. Unified has substantial control over whether they can open or remain open. L.A. Unified has more charters than any other school system in the nation. Most are not unionized.

Running against Zimmer are educator/parent Allison Holdorff Polhill, police specialist/parent Gregory Martayan, educator/children’s advocate Nick Melvoin and Tracy Grand, whose ballot description is under review.

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Melvoin, with $161,742, has a big lead in fundraising so far, but Zimmer is expected to benefit from an independent union campaign.

The seat for District 6, which encompasses the eastern San Fernando Valley, is open because one-term incumbent Monica Ratliff is running for a seat on the Los Angeles City Council.

Those vying for the seat are: community youth advocate Imelda Padilla, education advocate Gwendolyn R. Posey, animal rights educator Jose Sandoval, educator/parent/businessman Araz Parseghian, academic advisor Joanne Baltierrez-Fernandez, public school teacher Kelly Fitzpatrick-Gonez, student/parent advocate Juanita J. Arevalo, engineering technologist/educator William Charles McMahan and state Assemblywoman Patty Lopez.

Lopez lost her bid for reelection to the Assembly days ago after winning the seat in an upset two years ago.

So far, Parseghian has reported the most contributions: $18,975.

To actually make the ballot, candidates must submit petitions with at least 1,000 signatures from registered voters in their district. Candidates can submit just 500 signatures if they are willing to pay a $300 filing fee.

To read the article in Spanish, click here.

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howard.blume@latimes.com

Twitter: @howardblume

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