The race to replace Trustee Cody Petterson, who represents coastal areas on San Diego Unified’s board, may be ending just as its kicking off in earnest. That’s because the union that represents San Diego Unified teachers, the biggest power player in board elections, has picked their man.
His name is Hayden Gore and it would be next to impossible to find a candidate that checks as many of the union’s boxes. He’s a veteran 18-year educator, a vocal progressive and a former teachers union president who … (wait for it) … unionized the High Tech High charter chain.
If Gore’s name rings a bell, it’s because I covered in detail the ups and downs of High Tech High teachers’ battle to secure their first contract. Veterans of that struggle still affectionately refer to Gore, who led the union during that time, as their “wartime president.”
While the union’s endorsement of Gore wasn’t a surprise, when they endorsed him was.
The San Diego Education Association announced its backing of Gore in a September post to social media. The endorsement came just three months after Petterson announced he would not be running for re-election and nine months before the June primary. It was a full half a year earlier than the announcement of the union’s endorsements during the 2022 election cycle.
As the district’s chief player in board elections, the union’s endorsement effectively cuts off the lane of any Democrats who would seek to run for the role.
A Tale of Two Races
During Petterson’s politically charged 2022 race against conservative Becca Williams, the union was the single largest contributor. Over the final month, the teachers union poured nearly $150,000 into the race, much of it in the form of pro-Petterson and anti-Williams mailers.
Petterson ultimately won the seat by 12 percentage points.
This cycle, the race for Subdistrict C looks like a ghost town. One candidate other than Gore filed paperwork to run in the race but has since decided against running.
That candidate was James Carter, a former director of homelessness programs at the city of San Diego and current director of program management at Family Health Centers of San Diego. Carter, a fellow Democrat, would have run a campaign centering special education services, a key issue for San Diego Unified. The union may even engage in a one-day strike later this month – its first in over 30 years – over unfair labor practice charges related to special education caseworkers’ over-contract caseloads.
Carter said that he ultimately decided it just wasn’t the right time for him to run.
“You don’t have to be an elected official to be an uncompromising, passionate advocate for those who need services the most, especially as someone who’s benefitted from an adequately resourced special ed program,” Carter said.
When asked if he felt constituents would have benefitted from a more robust field, Carter demurred, saying only that “democratic elections are grounded in providing the electorate with a choice.”
Union President Kyle Weinberg said the union accelerated their process for candidate identification and endorsement because of how early Petterson announced he would not be running. While they interviewed multiple candidates, their interview panel felt Gore was “most equipped to be able to advocate for our union educator values on the board,” Weinberg said. “As a full-time union classroom teacher he also has the experience and perspective that we were looking for.”
‘This Guy’s Got a Future’
Despite the head start, Gore’s campaign only officially kicked off this past weekend. At a supporter’s Spanish colonial style home in Point Loma, Petterson, Weinberg, longtime Trustee Richard Barrera and other backers heaped praise on the candidate.
Weinberg said Gore first came to his attention when he was presented with the San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council’s “Organizer of the Year,” award following High Tech High’s successful unionization. During Gore’s rousing acceptance speech, Weinberg said he realized “this guy’s got a future.”
“When we were like, ‘Who should we recruit to run for this school board seat?’ There was one obvious answer and that was Hayden Gore,” Weinberg said. “We were very fortunate that Hayden said ‘yes.’”
In a characteristically tearful speech, Petterson expressed deep confidence in Gore. Power is “radioactive,” he said, and corrupts almost all who wield even a trivial amount of it. To Petterson, though, Gore, was similar to “The Lord of the Rings” character Bilbo Baggins, who despite being exposed to the dark and intoxicating power of the One Ring, chose to destroy it anyway.
“I believe in you, and this board will support you,” Petterson said. “We finally have a great team and we’re all very confident you’re going to do amazing things for our kids.”
The most personal anecdote came from the parent of one of Gore’s sixth-grade students. She recounted an overnight field trip to Anza Borrego during which students were learning about Aztec mythology.
Around a bonfire, about 50 students and a handful of parents spoke about the connection between the cosmos and Aztec mythology. Reading from a book on the subject, the parent recalled Gore imbuing the importance of living with kindness and empathy as a way to counteract the evils of the world.
“Everybody had goosebumps walking away from that experience. That is what education means to him, to create that spark in students. We’re so grateful and can’t wait to see him in this leadership role,” she said.
During his speech, Gore described his deep connection to education. His mother had been an educator. So is his wife. He was proud to call himself a teacher, and with public education under attack by the Trump administration he wanted to push back.
He also broke down what he said were his four key priorities. He pledged to continue to invest in classrooms, continue the district’s work on building employee housing, advocate at the state level to increase school funding and to keep district schools safe of ICE’s immigration enforcement.
“I truly believe that public education is one of the most radically important projects that we have ever undertaken as a nation,” Gore said. “In this political climate, it is more important than ever that we continue to have board members like Richard, like Cody that will stand up –” but before he could finish his sentence, someone yelled “Like Hayden!”
A wave of cheers and applause rippled through the room.
What We’re Writing
After a bumpy start, San Diego Unified officially advanced a series of proposals to build workforce housing on district-owned sites. Across five sites, the district approved plans to build nearly 2,500 units of affordable education workforce housing. That’s more than any district in America has built, and more than currently exists in all of California. The approvals, however, are just a first step in what will be a negotiation process. The district has a long way to go before employees start to move in.
Longtime San Diego Unified Trustee Richard Barrera’s campaign for state superintendent officially got the endorsement of the state’s largest teachers union. While the state’s three biggest unions split on endorsements, the backing of the more than 700,000 strong California Teachers Association, which Barrera secured, is the biggest prize. The union’s president has also said he’s willing to “leave it all out on the line,” for the low-profile Barrera. That endorsement is something of an acknowledgement that, for years, San Diego Unified’s teachers union has copiloted the district.