Candidate Retains Teachers’ Support

Los Angeles’ powerful teachers union has reaffirmed its support for Christopher Arellano, after learning that the school board candidate was twice convicted of shoplifting more than a decade ago.

United Teachers Los Angeles’ 300-member house of representatives voted Wednesday night to maintain its support for Arellano after a heated debate that included an explanation from the candidate.

“The house decided that it was a case of youthful indiscretions,” said union President A.J. Duffy. “It felt Christopher has turned his life around, is doing good work and decided to continue our support.”

Arellano, a UTLA employee who helps handle teacher grievances, has relied on the union almost entirely for funds to run his campaign. The loss of its backing could have dealt a significant blow to his chances in Tuesday’s election for a seat on the seven-member Board of Education.

The union, which has about 45,000 members, has given $200,000 to Arellano -- more than the total raised by any other candidate -- paid for campaign literature and sent scores of teachers into the district to drum up support for him.

Arellano, 33, confirmed the two convictions Thursday, saying that both came during a difficult period in his life when he was poor and struggling to make ends meet.

In 1992, shortly after moving to Los Angeles from Phoenix, Arellano said, he was caught stealing “about $10 of toiletries” from a Boyle Heights store. Then, in 1995, he said, he was caught trying to take a jacket from a Van Nuys department store. The jacket cost at least $400, according to court records.

For the second offense, Arellano said, he was sentenced to a few days in jail but received credit for time served after his arrest. He also was ordered to work for 30 days on a California Department of Transportation cleanup crew and acknowledged that it took him “several years” to fulfill the sentence. During that time, Arellano said, a judge issued a warrant for his arrest after he failed to appear to update the court on how many days of the sentence he had completed.

Between the two shoplifting incidents, Arellano legally changed his name in 1994 from Robert Christopher Bruce, saying that he wanted to disassociate himself from his father and his difficult childhood.

“I have been a troubled youth and a troubled young adult,” Arellano said. “But that was a long time ago. I’ve moved on. I hope people will look at all the work I’ve done over the past 11 years to turn my life around.”

After dropping out of school in the eighth grade, Arellano said, he enrolled in Los Angeles City College, before going on to UCLA and USC, where he earned a degree in social work.

Before joining the union as an area representative, Arellano said, he worked with at-risk students in a community theater troupe and then as a field deputy for City Councilman Eric Garcetti.

None of the several politicians, including Garcetti and Assemblywoman Jackie Goldberg (D-Los Angeles), or any of the organizations that had endorsed Arellano have withdrawn their support, he said.

The reports about Arellano, which surfaced this week when they were anonymously circulated to news organizations, were apparently part of an attempt to discredit the candidate in the final days of the five-person race.

When the union confirmed the reports earlier this week, Duffy said, he suspended support for Arellano for a day until Wednesday’s vote. He shut down phone banks and pulled teachers off the streets.

Arellano is running against four other candidates for the position that was left vacant when Jose Huizar won a City Council seat. They include Maria Lou Calanche, who is no longer actively campaigning; Ana Teresa Fernandez, a former Belmont High School student; Monica Garcia, Huizar’s former chief of staff; and Enrique Gasca, who owns a media relations company.

The district stretches from Boyle Heights to Mid-Wilshire and also includes Chinatown, Koreatown and the Pico-Union area.