UESF Election Results: A New President

from the UNITED EDUCATORS OF SAN FRANCISCO E-NEWSLETTER, May 20, 2015 (via Joe Berry's COCAL Updates, email edition, June 5, 2015

UESF Election Results: New President for UESF. Moscone Elementary Teacher Lita Blanc to Assume Leadership July 1

The Elections Committee of the United Educators of San Francisco has certified that Moscone Elementary teacher Lita Blanc has been elected president of the union, narrowly defeating incumbent Dennis Kelly.

Lita Blanc has been a bilingual teacher in the San Francisco Unified School District for over 28 years, serving the students and families at Moscone Elementary. An educator and activist with nearly three decades of experience, Lita has served as Building Representative at her school, on the UESF organizing team, and as a member of the San Francisco Labor Council.

"I'm honored to be given this opportunity by the educators of San Francisco to serve as union president," says Lita Blanc. "We look forward to working with all UESF members and the San Francisco community to protect public education and to get the resources that our students and our educators deserve."

Outgoing President Dennis Kelly has held the office since 2003, and is widely regarded not only as a founding father of UESF, but as a key leader in UESF's state and national affiliates the CFT/AFT and the CTA/NEA. Throughout his tenure as president Kelly has had a string of successes, including obtaining substantial pay increases for educators represented by the union, spearheading a critical parcel tax campaign in 2008 that enabled the school district to weather the economic crisis and avoid mass layoffs, and establishing UESF as a powerful voice for students, educators, and working people throughout San Francisco. He is also credited with transitioning paraprofessionals out of their underfunded retirement system and into Social Security, and successfully establishing full work days for Early Education teachers and paraprofessionals.

Unlike corporations, however, unions are democracies with elected leadership ultimately held accountable to the members they serve. Every three years UESF officers and the Executive Board must stand before the members in an election, and while Dennis Kelly has served for twelve years, this time the membership decided it was time for a change.

"I am proud of the work that we have done together and proud to have maintained the tradition of teacher and paraprofessional unionism dating back to Jim Ballard and Joan-Marie Shelley," says Dennis Kelly. "UESF is a proud union with strong members who will continue the hard work in the classroom and in the community."

Lita is joined in her administration by UESF Executive Vice-President Susan Solomon, Vice-President for Paraprofessionals Carolyn Samoa, Secretary Lisa Gutierrez Guzman, and Sergeant-at-Arms A.J. Frazier, who all won re-election.

UESF has also elected a new Treasurer, Tom Edminster, who defeated incumbent Elaine Merriweather and a new Vice-President for Substitutes, Liz Conley, who returns to the position she previously held.