Los Angeles: Reformers Challenge Sometimes Ally

This may be happening in other places around the country, but it seems noteworthy to me that the reform community in LA has recruited a challenger to run for school board against someone who at least some of the time is on their side.  

The challenger is Kate Anderson, a former staffer for Waxman and Harmon. See:  Can Kate Anderson, Mom of Twins, Fix LAUSD? LA Weekly. The "sometimes" ally is TFA alumnus Steve Zimmer.  Though they funded his candidacy in 2008, Zimmer isn't particularly close to the teachers union and he's regularly (if not automatically) voted with the block of board members who support hard-charging Superintendent John Deasy.  (Most notably, Zimmer split from UTLA with his vote for Public School Choice.) See: The Education of LAUSD’s Steve Zimmer Jewish Journal, Stuck in the Middle LA School Report, An Ambivalent TFA Reformer In Los Angeles TWIE.

In running a challenger against Zimmer, reformers have put themselves in the position of having to win all three of the March school board races that are up for grabs in order to retain control of LAUSD, rather than focusing on protecting current Board president Monica Garcia and winning the open seat being vacated by a reform ally who's running for City Council.