SEIU Local 99 members packed into our Valley satellite office on November 30th to meet and interview four candidates for Los Angeles School Board District 6, which covers the East San Fernando Valley.After reviewing the candidates’ statements and interviewing them, members gave our union’s official endorsement to Imelda Padilla, an LAUSD graduate, Valley native and longtime community advocate.
Imelda Padilla understands that, in order to succeed in school, students need support inside and outside the classroom. She values the contributions of SEIU Local 99 members to student learning. And she knows that when parents have good jobs, students have the stability at home that they need to stay focused on their education. Through her work with the Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy (LAANE), Imelda has worked to increase the minimum wage in Los Angeles and, with Pacoima Beautiful, she has worked on efforts to create safer communities. She also started an organization, Together We Do More, that helps students get on track for graduation, college and careers. Read more about Imelda here.
“We look forward to collaborating with Ms. Padilla on the goals we share: ensuring that schools are fully staffed so that students can learn in a healthy and safe environment, increasing after-school programs and access to summer school, ensuring that special needs children receive all they need to reach their full potential and expanding affordable health insurance to all District employees,” said SEIU Executive Director Max Arias.
District 2 candidate Monica Garcia and District 4 candidate Steve Zimmer are previously endorsed by SEIU Local 99 members. They retain our union’s endorsement.
Stay tuned for details in the coming weeks on our work to ensure these candidates are elected! We will talk to voters in the days leading up to the March 7th primary.
