Huizar has firsthand experience with the high stakes of board races. In 2005, he raised more than $330,000 -- much of it from construction-related companies and individuals involved in the school district's massive building program -- for a race in which he ran unopposed.
Board members, many of whom clashed with Huizar during his 4 1/2 years on the board, have chafed against his efforts. Because he is a close ally of Villaraigosa, the councilman's involvement is seen by some board members as yet another attempt to intrude on board territory.
"This is about politics, not principle," said board member David Tokofsky, one of the board's most outspoken critics of Villaraigosa and his long-running push to wrest some control of the district away from the board. Tokofsky decided not to seek reelection next month.
Still, the proposed amendment has backed the board into an awkward position: Those who disagree with part or all of the amendment -- most notably the fact that it does not provide public funds to match contributions from private donors -- do not want to appear to be defending their own self-interest. And those who might otherwise support some or all of the reforms are loath to publicly align themselves with anything coming from Huizar.
"It is a no-win response on any of this," board President Marlene Canter said in declining to reveal whether she supports the amendment. "I am just interested in seeing what the voters have to say."
Compounding the board's frustration is the fact that members lost track of the deadlines to submit an opposition argument and a rebuttal to the argument that has been printed on ballots in support of the amendment.
"We should have been more focused on it and we weren't," said Ed Burke, chief of staff to Lauritzen. "We missed it."
The fact that board member Monica Garcia, a former aide to Huizar and the mayor's lone ally on the board, added her name to the list of people supporting the amendment printed on the ballot has only added to her colleagues' annoyance.
Villaraigosa, too, supports the proposed amendment. "He believes it is a common-sense measure to provide ... appropriate ethical standards," one of his aides wrote in an e-mail.
Amendment L has received relatively scant public attention. Huizar scratched plans for a campaign to promote it after an unexpected challenger caused him to mount his own reelection effort. Nonetheless, polling has showed strong support for the amendment, with more than 75% of those asked saying they were in favor of it, a Huizar aide said.
