Scott Svonkin, San Gabriel Unified Board Member, Lets Teachers Down: Plays Hooky to Campaign For L.A. Community College Board

Beatlesfan062

That photo is Scott Svonkin attending the LA Democratic Party County Committee monthly meeting. He wasn't "schmoozing" or whatever the hell you call it. He was fulfilling his obligation as a member of the committee.

Joaquin Murrieta

Hey, San Gabriel, don't be angry with Svonkin for this latest transgression.

He was done with you last November when he and his partners in crime, Stadtler and Hu, fleeced you out of your school bond dollars to pay off their union campaign contributors.

What's the sense in being mad at a snake when it bites? It's just doing what it does.

SG Parent

How can you throw names of others into the mix? Just because people in elected positions vote the same way doesn't mean that they had the same motives or purpose for their decision. If people REALLY were concerned, they would have attended the Board of Trustees meeting where the PLA decision was made. You would have heard each Board Members vote and reason for their OWN decision. I personally thought Phil Hu gave the most educated explanation as to why he supported the PLA and rejected the slanderous attacks by the anti-PLA group ABC. I assure you his (Hu) response was not "because Scott says so"Sounds as if many people who are supposed to be educated adults are playing elementary games....I don't like him and you are "friends" with him so I don't like you either..... CHILDISH!!Why not leave San Gabriel to those of us that reside there....we enjoy our small town and don't appreciate it being dragged through the mud to accomplish personal attacks on one individual.

SG Teacher

Phillip Hu is a loser whose election was bought and paid for by the unions.

Joaquin Murrieta

I'm not impressed by elected officials who try to bail after one year of a four-year term when they've spotted the next rung on the ladder of their political ambitions. But that's what Hu did. Fortunately for San Gabriel, his campaign for city council was as botched as his explanation for his PLA vote.

Which was a complete smokescreen and utterly ridiculous. He claimed to have gone through stacks of documents to assure himself PLAs aren't illegal. But legal v. illegal wasn't the issue -- the issue was it's a raw deal, the issue was what the people want. (Hint: They didn't want a deal that shortchanges children, taxpayers and voters.)

After the Deep Thinker argument, he threw up another smokescreen, trying to distract attention from his clear quid pro quo relationship with his campaign contributors. The same relationship Svonkin and Stadtler had with the same contributors.

The three of them might have had different reasons for taken union money and signing off on a union-biased deal. But Svonkin, Stadtler and Hu are equally worthless.

San Gabrielite

While I agree with not lumping all who vote the same together reflexively, describing Hu's performance at the meeting you refer to as the "most educated" is surely damning with faint praise.

mikijackson

When I asked him why he missed an important meeting of the SG School Board, an angry Svonkin said "I know what was on that agenda, nothing was on that agenda". I guess the many citizens, parents, students, teachers and other board members will be glad to learn that they all showed up for a meeting that had "nothing" on the agenda. I wonder if Svonkin will still have an "excused" absence or if he will have to go to the principal's office. I wonder if he will insist on collecting his stipend for the meeting he missed, as he has in the past.

When the business as usual politocos defending Svonkin can't refute the most important points in the article SVONKIN LIED and shirked HIS DUTY to the SG school board, parents and students to go to a meeting to advance his political ambitions - they attack the Weekly and the writers.

Let's see, the Democratic Central Committee had a meeting at the UTLA headquarters and a lot of union big wigs were there along with other VIP Democrats. I was a tad confused myself until I actually went upstairs to the meeting. That wasn't so easy, since the attendant downstairs asked to see my driver's license and checked to see that the meeting hadn't officially ended yet. There is a lot of security at UTLA headquarters. The same attendant told me he hadn't allowed the Weekly reporter upstairs even though there were dozens of people hanging out and gossiping upstairs because the meeting had "officially adjourned". Of course that meant a number of political types, including some Community College Board members avoided being interviewed...but what's a little confusion among friends?

Observer

What kind of example is Scott Svinkin setting for the young people in his school district. I find it absolutely horrifying that in this day and age, a school board member exhibits bullying behaviour, rude behaviour and feels that lying is an option to cover his tracks. How can the city of San Gabriel tolerate this. He is all things real and imagined about wanna be politicians.

Michelle

San Gabriel Teachers: If you do not like Scott Svonkin (and who doesn't) then use your email networks to get out the vote on May 17th for Lydia Gutierrez, Scott's opponent. Lydia will shake up the the union flacks on the current LACCD Board.

It was not a UTLA event - it was the L.A. Democratic Party's april meeting, which is held in UTLA's building.

What shoddy reporting. A lame hit piece on Svonkin - meanwhile no one is reporting the huge news that the L.A. Democratic Party delivered a huge rejection to the Mayor's school board candidate Luis Sanchez & endorsed his opponent, on the eve of Antonio's big education speech.

mikijackson

Oh I think this piece reported accurately on Scott's self inflicted hit on himself. No one forced him to fib. On the subject of rejecting Sanchez - well I guess it is news when the party crawls out from under Antonio's thumb. It just so happens they have a candidate who is both qualified and a very decent man in Bennett Kayser.

SG Teacher

Doesn't matter what that meeting was, he had an obligation to attend the SGUSD board meeting where he is a director. The report was not "shoddy". Scott Svonkin is shoddy. He continues to put himself above integrity and responsibilities. He is disgusting.

Jstewart

Thank you to the commenter called "No." We will correct the reason for Svonkin's hobnobbing on the same night he lied to his fellow School Board members in San Gabriel that he was too "sick" and could not attend a major San Gabriel budget meeting. To be clear, it now appears Svonkin lied so he could hobnob with the LA Democratic Party group that endorsed his run for Los Angeles Cpommunity College District trustee. The LA Democratic Party group is helping to funnel endorsements and huge dollars to Scott Svonkin. Again, thank you to "No" for the correction explaining why Svonkin chose to lie to his school board colleagues and the public.-- Jill Stewart, LA Weekly news editor

SG Teacher

Jill. Those of us who live and teach in SG have known for a long time that Scott lies about many, many things. He is the Dishonorable Scott Svonkin.

Mars Melnicoff

Thank you, Mr./ Mrs. No. It's been corrected in the post. Svonkin played hooky while attending an L.A. Democratic Party event held at UTLA headquarters. My bad -- Sincerely, Mars Melnicoff