9 File for 3 School Posts; Pair Get Riordan Backing

Nine candidates filed papers Tuesday to run for three seats on the Los Angeles Board of Education, with two of the office-seekers clinching endorsements from Mayor Richard Riordan.

The mayor is backing small-business owner Tom Riley against San Fernando Valley incumbent Julie Korenstein. Riordan also is supporting land-use attorney Jose Huizar for the seat being vacated by board member Victoria Castro.

The mayor has not decided whom to endorse for the third school board seat, held by incumbent Valerie Fields. The uncertainty sparked a mini drama Tuesday.

Fields, who won Riordan’s backing four years ago, was surprised to learn that the mayor was wobbling this time. She said that Riordan endorsed her last summer and spoke at a fund-raiser on her behalf.

“He’s a man of honor. If he had changed his position, he would have called me,” she said.

A Riordan aide said that any conversations with Fields did not “constitute an official endorsement.”

Riordan’s support is key because of the funds he can raise and the political muscle he can bring to bear in a campaign. Two years ago, candidates supported by Riordan defeated three school board incumbents, while a fourth board member, David Tokofsky, won reelection with the mayor’s backing.

Riordan apparently is waffling on Fields because of what he considers her strong support for the teachers union as it engages in tough negotiations for a new contract. Although the mayor supports a pay increase for teachers, he believes that a hike in salary and benefits of substantial proportions--possibly 16%--would drain funds from other necessities, such as textbooks, art programs and maintenance.

Riordan is still assessing the four candidates in the district represented by Fields, which stretches from the Westside to the West Valley. But Riordan staffers have focused their attention on Matthew S. Rodman, a Westside real estate developer.

“They have lent me an ear. I’m hoping for an endorsement by the mayor,” said Rodman, 32, who was appointed by Riordan last year to be the head of a new neighborhood planning commission on the Westside.

Also running for the seat are former math teacher Rick Selan, 51, and Marlene Canter, 52, a onetime special education teacher who ran a teacher-training company for 25 years.

Korenstein said she will wage a spirited campaign for a fifth term. The Valley school board member enjoys strong backing from the teachers union. She has been an outspoken opponent of the Belmont Learning Complex, citing concerns over environmental contamination at the site.

She faces two opponents: Shawnna L. Tallant, 43, a parent outreach worker for the district, and Riley, 35, the mayor’s candidate. Riley said he opposes the Belmont project. Tallant hasn’t taken a position.

“There’s nothing I can do about the mayor running a candidate against me,” said Korenstein, 57. “All I can do is run on my record.”

Huizar, the mayor’s candidate for Castro’s seat, is expected to face only nominal competition. Ralph Cole, 51, a law student and former Los Angeles Unified teacher, is the other candidate for the district that stretches from downtown to the southeast portions of the school system. Huizar, 32, said he favors opening the new Belmont high school as long as it can be made safe for students.