Assembly candidate Ingrid Geyer is in it to win it

Karen S. Kim

While some legislative candidates on November’s ballot have done

little to campaign for an election just three months away, North

Hollywood teacher Ingrid Geyer has been pounding the pavement.

The 58-year-old Los Angeles Unified School District teacher, who

is challenging Assemblyman Dario Frommer (D-Burbank) of the 43rd

District, has been keeping busy in the past several weeks, canvassing

neighborhoods and meeting voters.

“I tell people, ‘I’m just like you and everybody I encounter every

day,’” Geyer said. “Because I’m just like them, they talk to me, and

I think they trust me. I know what people want.”

Geyer, who has lived in North Hollywood just past its border with

Burbank for 17 years, said she is a serious candidate who is in this

race to win.

“We’re working very hard, because we see it as a challenge,” said

Don DeSimone, Geyer’s campaign manager. “It’s like David and Goliath,

but we have our slingshot. We’re not just a name on a ballot, by any

means.”

Her dissatisfaction with how today’s legislators are representing

their constituents is what motivated Geyer’s first run for public

office, she said.

“I’m very concerned about the direction the government is going

in,” said Geyer, who teaches visually impaired children throughout

LAUSD. “I’m especially concerned with the economy and what it’s doing

to education because I’m in it every day of my life.

“A good, equal education, and equal opportunity upon completion,

is the key to curing our society’s woes. I’m unhappy with the way the

economy is now, and the people who are in power are the ones who

voted for the situation we’re in now.”

Geyer said the schools are suffering because of a mismanaged

budget. If she is elected, Geyer said she will focus mainly on

California’s energy situation, economy and education system.

“I’ve gotten my opinions from living my life,” she said. “And I

feel I offer a different perspective from what’s already out there.”