Union Activist Named to L.A. District Post

Fabian Nunez, the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor’s highly successful political director, was named Wednesday to head governmental relations for the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Nunez leaves the county AFL - CIO after a three-year stint in which labor membership has reached record highs and has exercised a newfound political impact within the city and the county. Nunez brings to the beleaguered city school district an important mix of political acumen and strong union knowledge and skill, his supporters say.

Moreover, Nunez has strong relationships among the state’s Democratic legislators--some of whom he helped elect--that will greatly complement new Supt. Roy Romer’s national political connections.

Interim Supt. Ramon C. Cortines said he selected Nunez to aid him in his reorganization plans several months ago. Cortines said in an interview Wednesday that he didn’t know Nunez then, but that he was told he was “energetic, objective, that he made things happen and that he wasn’t bureaucratic.”

“I said, ‘Who is this guy?’ ” Cortines said.

Nunez’s plan to reorganize--and reduce--the district’s governmental relations section became the model that Cortines used when he presented his plan to the Board of Education.

The current head of the district’s governmental relation’s section, Ron Prescott, a veteran district lobbyist, is retiring and Santiago Jackson, another longtime lobbyist, will become an assistant superintendent overseeing adult education, Cortines said.

“It gives us the opportunity for a fresh look” at governmental relations, Cortines said. “And, it seemed I could meet the district’s needs and deal with all the personnel issues.”

The Board of Education has not yet discussed the appointment, but officials believe it will be approved. Nunez, who said he will begin July 1, will make $130,000 a year, officials said.

Nunez, who has worked closely with AFL - CIO Executive Secretary-Treasurer Miguel Contreras over the last several years, said he is looking forward to the new challenges and that he will remain a loyal supporter of labor and an advocate for the area’s working families.

“I’m going from representing workers to representing their children,” said Nunez, a father of three. “It’s all in the family.”

Nunez said he has become committed to “saving” public education, which he says is under severe attack. Nunez will work in Los Angeles, Sacramento and Washington.

“The microscope is on [the district],” Nunez said. “This is really about whether public education is going to succeed or not.”

Cortines said he sold Nunez on the nation’s second-largest district by discussing the urgent need to improve the education system. He said that message appeared to resonate with the labor activist.

As such, Nunez will bring a special knowledge and sensitivity to the district’s labor issues as well. Cortines said he believes negotiations should be ongoing--”not every three or four years”--and that Nunez will help to smooth labor relations.

Board member David Tokofsky said Nunez will bring another boost to the district: He could help bring together the splintered Los Angeles delegation in Sacramento on behalf of the city school system. Several influential members of the delegation became embittered toward the district after the board agreed to hire a new superintendent when members, some say clumsily, removed longtime administrator Ruben Zacarias. The board’s decision to abandon the Belmont Learning Complex also led to some ill-feeling toward the district locally and in Sacramento.

Nunez has a solid reputation in City Hall and in the county Hall of Administration, where unions are negotiating several important contracts. City Council aides said he will quickly become immersed in the district and that his current relationships will serve him well.

Nunez said he believes he will work well with Romer and that Cortines consulted the new superintendent before making the appointment. Cortines said he has asked Nunez to accompany the new superintendent to Sacramento next week, when Romer meets with the Latino legislative caucus.