Nine People Pull Papers for Board of Ed Election

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Craig Foster

Nine people, including one Malibu resident, pulled papers in Santa Monica on Monday to run for seats on the Santa Monica-Malibu Board of Education.

Craig Foster, president of Advocates for Malibu Public Schools, is the only Malibu resident. 

Two board members are seeking re-election: Laurie Lieberman and Ralph Mechur. Oscar de la Torre is also up for reelection, but he had not pulled papers as of Monday, July 14. 

The other five people who pulled papers are Patrick Finer, Melanie Luthern, Dhun May, Richard Tahvildaran-Jesswein and Jake Wachtel.

The current school board includes seven members, all from Santa Monica. However, a shake-up of the board seems inevitable, as Nimish Patel, member since 2010, recently announced he will not be seeking a second term. Patel’s announcement came as fellow board member Ben Allen continues his bid for California State Senate. If Allen wins that election, an appointment will be made to fill his seat.