Mayor Switches Candidates in City’s School Board Race

Mayor Richard Riordan has jolted the Los Angeles school board race by withdrawing his support from incumbent Valerie Fields and endorsing a political newcomer with no experience in education.

Riordan declared his support this week for Westside real estate developer Matthew S. Rodman, one day after he broke with Fields.

Fields was clearly angry at the mayor’s decision, saying he had endorsed her several months ago and spoke at a fund-raiser on her behalf.

She talked about what she considers Riordan’s growing efforts to have a say in Los Angeles Unified School District affairs.

“He has told me more than once he would love to be superintendent,” Fields said. Riordan’s office said it had no comment.

The mayor switched after Fields declined to join him in opposing a substantial pay raise being negotiated between the school district and the United Teachers-Los Angeles. Riordan endorsed Fields in her first school board campaign four years ago.

“We felt Matt is an independent-minded guy who’s going to vote his conscience and be an honest broker to get things going at LAUSD,” said a source close to Riordan. “He won’t be beholden to the unions.”

Riordan’s interest in influencing district policy has been clear since three Riordan-backed candidates won school board seats in 1998.

The break between Riordan and Fields began to unfold two weeks ago, when the mayor summoned her to a breakfast meeting at a downtown hotel.

Riordan was concerned that a proposal for a raise of as much as 16% in pay and benefits--now being discussed in negotiations over a new contract--would cut money for textbooks, arts programs and other services, a Riordan aide said. The mayor had been given documentation of such cuts by friends in the district.

According to Fields, the mayor said he wanted her to “hang tough” at limiting the teachers’ pay raise to 10%. Fields said she told Riordan that the 10% figure “was history,” meaning negotiators were no longer discussing that figure.

Fields said she left the meeting without any concerns, noting that Riordan solicited a campaign contribution for her from a friend of his who happened by during the meeting.

Fields learned the mayor was having second thoughts when a Times reporter called her Tuesday because of a tip Riordan was considering switching. She spoke to the mayor the next morning.

“He said, ‘I’m sorry it leaked out this way. I’m withdrawing my support because we don’t share the same philosophy,’ ” she recalled. “He said, ‘I don’t want kids to go without books.’ ”

Deputy Mayor Ben Austin, a Riordan spokesman, said the mayor did not single out Fields when he expressed concern about the size of the raise. Austin said that the mayor spoke about the negotiations in person or by phone with five of the seven school board members and that he was flexible on the 10% figure in those conversations.

Riordan’s decision to back Rodman throws open the race for a school board seat stretching from the Westside to the west San Fernando Valley.

Rodman, 32, would not say how much he expects to spend on his campaign. He was recently appointed by Riordan to head a citizens planning commission panel on the Westside.

Riordan decided to endorse Rodman partly because of his real estate background at a time when the district must build dozens of schools to accommodate a soaring enrollment.

Also in the race are former Los Angeles Unified math teacher Rick Selan and Marlene Canter, a onetime special education teacher who ran a teacher training business for 25 years.

Riordan is running candidates in two other school board races.

Fields said she will campaign as she did four years ago, out of her house. She said she will miss the mayor’s endorsement this time.

“He has political capital and old-fashioned capital,” she said. “But I’m not going to sell my soul for . . . political support. Should I lose, I know I can live with myself.”