"Running for office is important, and you don't really need more than to be right on the issues, and to be able to articulate what it is you believe."
- Matt Gonzalez
On June 2, 2026, Los Angeles is scheduled to hold a primary election for Mayor, City Attorney, City Controller, odd-numbered City Council offices, and the even-numbered LAUSD School Board districts. If any candidate secures more than 50 percent of the vote, they will be declared the winner. Otherwise, the top two finishers will advance to a runoff in the November 3rd general election.
During the filing period from February 2 to February 7, 2026, aspiring candidates for offices in Los Angeles were required to file Declarations of Intent with the City Clerk to circulate nominating petitions. For the LAUSD races, all previously announced candidates followed through during the filing period. They were joined by three candidates who had not publicly declared before filing week.
A breakdown by board district, including updates to financial disclosures:
Board District 2:
Map of Board District 2. To find your LAUSD Board District, visit: lavote.gov/apps/precinctsmaps.
(Image by Los Angeles County Clerk) Details DMCA
"-In addition to Rocio Rivas (Boardmember/Educator/Parent) and Raquel Zamora (Public School Teacher), Joseph Quintana (Executive/Education Advocate) will also be circulating petitions in hopes of appearing on the June ballot. Candidates must submit 500 valid signatures from registered voters within Board District 2 and pay a $300 filing fee. Alternatively, the fee may be waived by submitting 1,000 valid signatures.
None of the candidates in this district filed new financial disclosures during last week's filing window. To date, Rivas is the only candidate who has reported receiving donations.
Board District 4:
Going into the Declaration of Intention filing period, it appeared Nick Melvoin (Educator/School Boardmember) might run unopposed. However, by the close of filing week, two challengers had emerged.
If successful in his petitioning efforts, Ankur Patel (Teacher/Outreach Director) will appear on the LAUSD School Board ballot for the second time. In 2015, he was part of a field of challengers that held Tamar Galatzan's share of the vote below 50%. In the resulting runoff, Scott Schmerleson defeated the incumbent. Patel later served on Schmerelson's staff during part of his first term.
On the final day of filing, Benjamin-Shalom "Bo" Rodriguez declared his intention to circulate petitions. He listed "Educator/Artist/Professor" as his ballot designation.
As with Board District 2, no new financial disclosures were filed during the period.
Board District 6:
With the filing window closed, only the two candidates who had previously registered with the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission declared their intention to file for the June 2, 2026, ballot. Incumbent Board Member Kelly Gonez and longtime special education activist John 'J.P.' Perron will face off in a winner-take-all battle.
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