蜜桃影视

Correction appended, updated Dec. 20

One lens into California鈥檚 sprawling size is its education system. Six million children under the age of 18 attend public schools 鈥� including 600,000 in charter schools 鈥� while nearly 3 million students are enrolled in the state’s storied higher education system, which is still struggling to recover from decades of underfunding.聽The largest teachers union has 325,000 members.

Although the contest to succeed Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown next November has only recently begun in earnest, early indications suggest education 鈥� along with issues like jobs, housing, and transportation 鈥� will be near the center of debate. With only 22 percent of state voters 鈥� and more than half saying Congress should refuse to work with him 鈥� the winner is likely to enjoy unusual influence in the state, and perhaps nationally, on education and other issues.

鈥淚 think this is going to be an important race,鈥� said John Deasy, CEO of The Reset Foundation, a Bay Area juvenile justice reform organization, as well as a former Los Angeles schools superintendent. 鈥淢y view is, the current regime in Washington has actually not pushed California further to the left, it has pushed it further into the national spotlight.

鈥淚 think we need a statesman,鈥� he said of the gubernatorial race. 鈥淲e need a proxy president.鈥�

For the first time in years, the candidates will have an opportunity to offer big-picture education solutions that aren鈥檛 tied to a funding crisis. Brown, who is 79 and will term out next fall after one of the most successful political careers in state history, has presided over , including boosts and a .

More is needed: California continues to score poorly in an annual , ranking 39th among the states. Student academic performance in reading and math is also below most of the nation, according to . The Democrats in the race all call for greater funding, but their discussion at recent forums also focused on charter schools, teacher tenure, and accountability, according to .

The early favorite is , 50, the talented, celebrity-backed lieutenant governor who served two terms as mayor of San Francisco, where he established himself as a star on the left with his early advocacy for same-sex marriage. Critically, in a state with several large media markets reaching 40 million residents, Newsom is a proven fundraiser who has banked $13 million so far, easily outdistancing the other contenders, and he has won the endorsement of the California Teachers Association, one of the most powerful and deep-pocketed unions in the country.

Newsom is running as the campaign鈥檚 progressive, which some find incongruous with his success as a businessman who founded and owns a constellation of restaurants and wineries. As a policymaker, despite CTA鈥檚 support, he has scant education credentials that appear more pragmatic than ideological. He supports community schools, a union job creator, but doesn鈥檛 reject charters.

Like the other candidates, he favors politically low-stakes proposals like expanded early education and reining in tuition costs for college students. He takes partial credit for California College Promise, a bill signed by Brown in October that aims to make the first year of community college free.

, which show about one-third of voters to be undecided, put Newsom鈥檚 support at 23 percent, followed by 18 percent for , a former state legislative leader and two-term mayor of Los Angeles (as well as its first Latino聽mayor). Villaraigosa shares with Newsom more than a little dash, an eye for well-cut suits, and a gift for campaigning. He鈥檒l run as a business-friendly moderate.

To Bruce Fuller, a University of California professor of education and public policy, the early self-sorting is ironic. “Newsom comes from well-heeled Marin County, while Villaraigosa actually comes from working-class Los Angeles and may be able to energize working-class Californians, regardless of ethnicity, hurt by Donald Trump’s attack on health care” and other policies, he said.

Unlike his younger rival, the East L.A.鈥揵orn Villaraigosa, 64, is known for his education record and ardent support in the school reform community, which believes he pushed for charters and more accountability in the nation鈥檚 second-largest school district with little political upside and clear risks.

鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 necessarily politically expedient for him to do that,鈥� said Ben Austin, past executive director of the Los Angeles reform group Parent Revolution. 鈥淚 thought it was politically courageous and ultimately transformational.鈥�

Villaraigosa also fought for teacher tenure reforms, backing the plaintiffs in the Vergara case, which challenged the constitutionality of state tenure and layoff statutes on the grounds that they harmed low-income students. The plaintiffs were ultimately defeated in court.

Like Richard Daley in Chicago and Michael Bloomberg in New York City, Villaraigosa also worked to win control over Los Angeles鈥檚 schools. He successfully convinced Sacramento to pass legislation giving him authority, but two courts found that the bill deprived Angelenos of their right to participate fully in the city鈥檚 schools. City residents elect a seven-member school board; the spring 2017 race was the most expensive in history, with charter supporters and teachers unions .

(The new politics of charter-union proxy campaigns was even more extreme in 2014, when the state superintendent race attracted $30 million, three times as much as the contest for governor. The loser, reform advocate Marshall Tuck, is running again in 2018.)

Villaraigosa left the mayor鈥檚 office in 2013 on something of a sour note, having earned the enmity of the school board 鈥� which would have become mostly obsolescent under mayoral control 鈥� and of the teachers union, while leaving some past backers believing he was more interested in self-promotion than governing.

鈥淔airly or unfairly, probably fairly in many ways, he was viewed as a show horse, not a workhorse,鈥� said Larry Grisolano, a top adviser in both Obama presidential campaigns who has worked extensively in California.

Grisolano compared Villaraigosa to James Hahn, a career official in Los Angeles who was elected mayor in 2001. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a classic case of people always wanting what they don鈥檛 have,鈥� said Grisolano, who is not involved in the governor鈥檚 race. 鈥淛im Hahn was quiet, not publicity-seeking, a workmanlike guy, a technician. The next election people wanted something kind of flashier and inspirational and a leadership type, and they got Antonio.鈥�

Grisolano and other Democrats believe , 55, the state treasurer and former controller, could be a dark horse. Currently polling at 9 percent 鈥� tied with John Cox, a San Diego鈥揳rea businessman and the leading Republican, who is seen as having little chance 鈥� Chiang has raised $5.8 million, more than anyone except Newsom. He is little known outside the state but is liked by labor, particularly public employees, and, as the son of Taiwanese immigrants, he has appeal to the state鈥檚 large Asian communities.

Chiang鈥檚 education ideas have centered on better accountability for charters, more education funding and more flexibility at the local level to raise funds, early education, and free community college.

鈥淥ne thing about California politics is that the controller鈥檚 office is extremely important, particularly to state employees,鈥� said Grisolano. 鈥淗e鈥檚 always been a stand-up guy for them.鈥� Chiang became a folk hero to state workers while Arnold Schwarzenegger was governor, refusing to execute furlough and wage reduction orders that he considered illegal.

鈥淚 think he鈥檒l kind of wear well with people. I think he鈥檚 thoughtful, he鈥檚 a decent person, he knows what he鈥檚 doing. He has kind of a politician鈥檚 touch without looking like a politician. I think he may be kind of underestimated at the moment,鈥� said Grisolano.

Deasy agrees. 鈥淲hat strikes me is how different he is from the others,鈥� he said, calling Chiang 鈥減owerful and compelling in lifestyle, leadership, leadership style, track record. I mean, he鈥檚 brilliant.鈥�

Deasy鈥檚 remarks indirectly point to a big unknown in the race: what role, amid an extraordinary cultural shift in sexual mores, will extramarital affairs by Newsom and Villaraigosa play. In a race with personal attacks and character become more important; both of these seem to work in Chiang鈥檚 favor. (Chiang and his wife are divorcing.)

All of the candidates, irrespective of party, will run in a single primary in June, with the top two vote-getters 鈥� almost certainly Democrats 鈥� facing off in November. Given the similarity of Chiang鈥檚 and Newsom鈥檚 views on education, the campaign might turn to other issues should they finish at the top in the primary.

Another factor is age: Villaraigosa鈥檚 vigor notwithstanding, conversations about transitioning to a new economy and workforce will likely sound more authentic coming from Newsom.

A fourth Democratic candidate, Delaine Eastin, isn鈥檛 thought to have a real chance. But as a former two-term state superintendent, she may help keep education in the conversation.

Correction: Antonio Villaraigosa was Los Angeles’ first Latino mayor since 1872.聽聽Tom Bradley, who served from 1973-1993, was the city’s first non-white mayor. Information was corrected from an earlier version of this story.

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