LAUSD stalls on first vote

UPDATE:The bill eventually passed with a 43-24 vote last night. In the end, the only Dems to oppose were Canciamilla, Oropeza and Dymally. Those who did not vote were Koretz, Goldberg, Liu and Ridley-Thomas. Republicans Todd Spitzer and Roger Niello supported the bill. After more or less sailing through the Senate, AB 1381, the bill that would give LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa greater control over Los Angeles schools hit a roadblock on the Assembly floor. The bill received a meager 30 votes, though it needs 41 to pass. Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, a close friend of Villaraigosa and author of the bill, hustled off the floor with orders to staff to get a vote count and see who he could get the votes from to pass the bill. No Republican voted for the measure. Assemblywoman Jackie Goldberg, D-Los Angeles, the chair of the education committee declined to vote as she is running for superintendent and saw an "ethical issue" with casting a vote either way. Among those Democrats voting no: Joe Canciamilla, long-time adversary of Nunez within the Dem caucus, Merv Dymally, who voiced his opposition in the Times earlier this week, Barbara Matthews, a mod from the Central Valley, Jenny Oropeza, a Long Beach legislator and Lois Wolk, who represents Davis. More than a dozen members layed off the vote altogether.