I think you can look at this one of two ways — (1) that this is the reality of modern campaigning, something we simply have to deal with, or (2) that the small City of Hercules will never be able to compete with the big hired guns of the WCCUSD. The second is admittedly a more cynical interpretation, however it is my opinion that it is an accurate portrayal of the uphill battle we face as a growing city (although that is not saying we cannot improve the situation).

With schools and education, it is not about getting what you need (in this case, from WCCUSD), but getting what you want. And if a bureaucracy is limiting the potential to deliver what you want and desire in your schools, then that bureaucracy is indicative — in my opinion — of a systemic flaw, and it may be one that is not easily reconcilable.

Anyway, here is the article…

School board president far outpaces rivals in campaign funding

By Kimberly S. Wetzel

West Contra Costa school board member Karen Pfeifer has a huge leg up on the competition in her re-election bid: The first-term board president has raised $91,500, according to a recent campaign finance statement filed with the county Elections Department.

Documents show that the El Cerrito resident raised the money between May 1 and June 30. None of her opponents filed campaign statements, meaning they raised less than $1,000 during the same period.

Nearly one-third of Pfeifer’s money — $30,000 — came from The Seville Group, a Pasadena-based construction management firm that works on the school district’s $1 billion bond school rebuild program. The same firm contributed $20,000 to West Contra Costa board member Madeline Kronenberg’s campaign in 2006.

Other contributors who work on the district’s bond construction program include Powell & Partners Architects, which gave Pfeifer $7,500; Wallace Boyd Gordon of Deems, Lewis, McKinley Architects, which gave $7,500; and Baker Vilar Architects, which put in $2,500.

Pfeifer also received money from several unions, including the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 302, which contributed $5,000, and the Sheet Metal Workers Local 104, which gave $2,500.

Kronenberg and board member Charles Ramsey took heat in 2006 when they collectively raised more than $200,000 in contributions — more than any candidates in the district’s history.

They also were criticized for accepting money from contractors, architects, trade unions and other vendors who work on the district’s reconstruction program; donations from such firms raises ethical questions and could taint the integrity of the bond program, skeptics said.

Pfeifer, who anticipates that critics will come after her for her fundraising, disagrees with that argument. By law, the district selects vendors based on the lowest bid, and so she has no control over who ultimately is picked for the work, she said.

“There isn’t any way I can circumvent that system and give my friends a contract, even if I wanted to,” Pfeifer said. “People could say there’s an appearance of impropriety, but there’s no way I can be bribed.”

Pfeifer said things would be different if she were accepting money from the local teachers union, because she could sway a vote in their favor on such things as contracts.

She said she will not accept money from unions with whom the district works, and in fact will not raise any more funds for her campaign to hold onto her seat in November.

As of Tuesday afternoon, Pfeifer, along with El Cerrito resident Robert Studdiford and Richmond resident and current City Councilman Tony Thurmond, had filed the necessary paperwork seeking one of the two open spots on the board. Kensington residents Mark Woo and Charles Cowens each have pulled papers but had not filed.

San Pablo resident Antonio Medrano, who has indicated he will run, has not pulled papers, and neither has board incumbent Dave Brown, who has not publicly declared whether he will seek re-election.

The filing deadline is Friday, but if an incumbent does not file, the deadline extends to next Wednesday.