For the first time in three elections, it appears there will be no contentious and expensive face-off next year for control of the Los Angeles Board of Education.
Two of the three board members up for reelection did not have opponents until shortly before the Saturday filing deadline, and neither of the last-minute filers was supported by the two organizations that long have battled for control of the school board.
Other Los Angeles offices to be contested in March are mayor, city attorney, controller, eight City Council seats and three community college trusteeships.
In all, 79 candidates have filed declarations since Monday for 16 offices.
The most heated of those races is for mayor. James K. Hahn faces four major challengers -- all of whom had announced their plans earlier -- and 15 others. The fields in some races will most likely narrow, as candidates must file nominating petitions with at least 500 voter signatures by Dec. 8 to make it onto the March 8 ballot.
Another hot contest is shaping up in the race to succeed 11th District Councilwoman Cindy Miscikowski, who is barred from seeking reelection because of term limits. The Westside district is the only council race that will not have an incumbent on the ballot.
In the school board races, incumbent Julie Korenstein will run unopposed. Board President Jose Huizar could face Manuel Aldana Jr., an electrician-package sorter who ran unsuccessfully as a Republican against Assemblyman Fabian Nunez (D-Los Angeles) in 2002 and 2004, garnering only a small percentage of the vote each time. Huizar represents portions of central and the Eastside.
Incumbent Marlene Canter will face Breck Charles-White, who identified himself in his filing papers as an educator and earlier in the week had filed to run for a community college board seat. Saturday, he changed his filing in order to face Canter, who represents the Westside and part of the San Fernando Valley.
The balance of power on the school board has shifted dramatically back and forth in recent years, as United Teachers Los Angeles and a civic organization supported by former Mayor Richard Riordan, who is now California's education secretary, and billionaire philanthropist Eli Broad jostled for control of the seven-person board.
But the Riordan-Broad group, called the Coalition for Kids, effectively disbanded last year and the union, United Teachers Los Angeles, does not have as much money to spend on political races as it did in the past.
