Beverly Hills voters are poised to make history if they elect a write-in candidate in the Nov. 8 Beverly Hills Unified School District Board of Education race. “As of tonight the official numbers are not yet announced. But round-the-clock canvassing and some back-of-napkin tallying indicates that we’re headed to the School Board!” Noah Margo , the election’s only write-in candidate, posted on his Facebook campaign website late Friday. Should Margo get elected, he would become the second person in Beverly Hills to win a public office through a write-in campaign. Such campaigns are challenging because voters must be educated how to properly fill in a candidate’s name on a ballot. Also, a write-in candidate does not have his or her statement printed on the ballot. Mayor Barry Brucker was the first resident to win a write-in campaign when he was elected to the BHUSD Board of Education in 1997. Margo, a Beverly Vista parent who announced his write-in candidacy on Sept. 23, has spent two days watching the vote count at the Los Angeles Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk’s office, according to his campaign website. Also in the race for three seats on the five-member Board of Education are incumbent Brian Goldberg , El Rodeo parent Frances Bilak and educator/producer Lewis Hall . Because write-in and provisional ballots were not counted until after the polls closed Tuesday, no final election tally is available. Preliminary results released Friday afternoon on the Registrar-Recorder website show that Goldberg has 1,247 votes (40.04 percent), Bilak has 683 votes (21.93 percent) and Hall has 642 votes (20.26 percent). Andy Licht, who dropped out of the race—though his name and statement remained on the ballot —has 542 votes (17.41 percent). The next election tally is scheduled to be posted at 1 p.m. on Monday. More than 1,000 write-in ballots were received by the Registrar-Recorder’s office, making it possible that Margo will come in second after Goldberg’s commanding lead in the vote count. Some Margo supporters are already predicting a second-place finish. “Goldberg, Margo and…? The real drama now is in the race for third. Too close to call,” Planning Commissioner Brian Rosenstein wrote Friday on Margo’s campaign website. Rosenstein, who endorsed Goldberg and Margo, accompanied the latter to the Registrar-Recorder’s office on Thursday, according to Margo’s site. Bilak, who recently lost several high-profile endorsements over a controversy involving a candidate debate, feels confident she will get a seat, according to her campaign blog . “As of 4:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 11, 2011, I am still in second place for one of the three seats for the Beverly Hills School Board,” she wrote. “Hopefully, Monday will be the final counting of the remaining 100 or so ballots and I will remain in second place.” Neither Goldberg nor Hall had any election comments on their websites. Be sure to follow Beverly Hills Patch on Twitter and “Like” us on Facebook . Follow this link: Write-In Candidate’s Camp Is Confident in School Board Victory
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Patch Profile: BHUSD Board Candidate Brian Goldberg
At a time of dissatisfaction with local and national government, Board of Education Vice President Brian Goldberg sees his incumbency as an advantage. “I am the only candidate running with proven experience, leadership and the courage needed to continue pushing our district forward,” said Goldberg, one of four candidates running for three Beverly Hills Unified School District school board seats on Nov. 8. His opponents are El Rodeo parent Frances Bilak , educator and producer Lewis Hall and Beverly Vista parent Noah Margo , who is running as a write-in candidate. Goldberg consistently touts his record in his ads and at public forums. Specifically, he points to being an early and vocal opponent of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s proposed plan to tunnel under Beverly Hills High School as part of the Westside Subway Extension, as well as being the only board member to vote against awarding management of the Measure E bond to Karen Christiansen ’s firm, Strategic Concepts. (Christiansen is scheduled to go on trial next month on four felony counts of conflict of interest related to her management of the Measure E bond.) The candidate also highlights his efforts to transition BHUSD to basic aid status , which generates more funding for the schools. Under basic aid, which BHUSD became in 2010, the district receives its funding from local property taxes rather than on a per-pupil allotment from the state. Being a basic aid district may have helped the board lure Gary Woods to become the BHUSD’s new superintendent; Woods left the state’s top performing district—the San Marino Unified School District—to join BHUSD. The father of three Horace Mann students, Goldberg has been a strong voice for maintaining small classrooms. Earlier this year he successfully encouraged a board majority to vote against a new teacher contract that could have led to larger class sizes at the K-3 level. He also led efforts to end the BHUSD‘s money-losing adult education program . “I have taken stands that are not always popular, but they reflect my commitment to what is right for our children, parents, teachers and residents,” he said. Still, Goldberg has racked up an impressive list of endorsers. They include City Council members John Mirisch and Lili Bosse; Planning Commissioners Noah Furie and Brian Rosenstein; Human Relations Commissioner Sharona Nazarian; former mayors Nancy Krasne and Les Bronte; and former planning commissioner Kathy Reims. For his second term, Goldberg is running on what he describes as a “four point plan for the next four years.” The plan, which is explained in detail on his campaign website and includes balanced fiscal policies, a districtwide master facilities plan, curriculum for the 21st century, and integrating technology into every subject and each class. For more information about Goldberg, visit his campaign website. Voters are also invited to attend his last candidate coffee at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 3, at 321 S. Bedford Drive. To RSVP, email Julie Gilberg . Be sure to follow Beverly Hills Patch on Twitter and “Like” us on Facebook . See the rest here: Patch Profile: BHUSD Board Candidate Brian Goldberg
