Candidates Trade Charges in School Board Debate

Tempers flared early in a debate Wednesday night at Dorsey High School between Los Angeles school board member Barbara Boudreaux and challenger Genethia Hayes when they were asked to explain what sets them apart.

“My record really outstrips my opponent’s,” said Boudreaux, who is seeking a third term. “I do not speak to people in a very demeaning manner, and I don’t tell lies about my opponent.”

Hayes, executive director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, brusquely responded: “You have one person who builds bridges [of cooperation], and another who goes about the world simply trying to tear down her opponent.”

The clash drew boisterous applause from about 300 people in the audience at the first of back-to-back debates sponsored by the UCLA Black Alumni Assn. Also on stage were 10th District City Council candidates Madison Shockley, a pastor, and incumbent Nate Holden.

The council candidates avoided the bitter personal attacks leveled by the school board contestants, emphasizing what they see as their strengths.

Holden touted businesses that have opened in his district, describing supermarkets and drugstores as “built by a brother right here in the community.” The veteran councilman embraced his role as a lone wolf on the council, telling the audience his presence there is important because, “You need someone to get our share when the other 14 are opposing it.”

Shockley, calling himself the “candidate for the next century,” emphasized his ability to build multiracial coalitions and accused Holden of ignoring the deterioration along major thoroughfares in the district.

“This is a choice between creativity and imagination and the status quo,” Shockley said.

The heated exchanges between Boudreaux and Hayes kicked up most of the evening’s sparks.

Boudreaux and Hayes are African Americans with strong ties to the school board’s 1st District, which runs from the poor neighborhoods south of Los Angeles to the middle-class communities of Crenshaw and Baldwin Hills.

But they have been quarreling since Mayor Richard Riordan announced he would personally raise campaign funds for Hayes, who is one of four school board candidates he has endorsed. The other three were reelected in the April 19 primary.

Hayes received 391 more votes than Boudreaux, forcing them into a runoff election June 8.

Boudreaux is regarded as a staunch protector of African American rights. She insists that after years of decline, the district is finally beginning to show signs of revival: test scores are creeping upward, attendance is up, dropout rates are going down.

Boudreaux has repeatedly described Hayes as a puppet of the mayor, who she alleges has resorted to “plantation politics” to seize control of the Los Angeles Unified School District and its $6.7-billion budget.

Hayes is a seasoned coalition builder with a special interest in reaching out to Latinos, who constitute a majority of the district’s population, but a small portion of its registered voters.

Hayes is pushing for reforms to correct fraud, mismanagement and low test scores. She also insists that Boudreaux should be held accountable for the state of the 1st District’s schools, which are among the lowest performing campuses in the state. The four high schools in the district send the least number of students to college.

In her closing comments, Boudreaux suggested that dirty politics were behind a recent act of vandalism at her home last Thursday and an assault on her granddaughter four days later.

She elicited loud boos and applause when she added, “this race is not about Genethia or Barbara. It’s about the takeover of LAUSD by the mayor. I will not be bought, and I will not compromise.”

Turning to face her opponent, Hayes said, “This race is not about those red herrings and wedge issues. It’s about creating a school system that educates all children well.”