Galatzan Debate Press Release

Studio City – Tamar Galatzan, the leading candidate from Tuesday's School Board election in District #3, today challenged her opponent to participate in at least two debates or candidate forums per week until Election Day (May 15, 2007). "Educating our children is too important an issue to ignore. The voters want to hear what the candidates think about smaller class sizes, local control, safety and a whole host of other issues. They deserve to hear where we stand on the issues and what our future plans are. And, they deserve to hear us tell them in person. Therefore, I urge my opponent to participate in two debates or forums each week until the election."

The Galatzan campaign urged Jon Lauritzen to attend the forums in person and not send a proxy. Galatzan campaign consultant Samantha Stevens said, "Mr. Lauritzen only attended 2 out of the 9 debates that were scheduled. For some of the other debates he sent a member of his LAUSD staff in his place. The voters want to hear from the candidates, not others who cannot be held accountable after the election. As Vice President of the School Board, Mr. Lauritzen talks about the importance of a civics education but apparently doesn’t believe in being civically involved himself.”

Galatzan called on neighborhood organizations, local groups, community leaders, and the media to host the debates or forums. "Voter turnout was incredibly low on Tuesday. I urge all our local organizations and leaders, along with the media, to sponsor candidate forums so the voters can hear our opinions and ideas and they can ask us questions directly. If we engage voters in a discussion of the issues, not mudslinging, we may improve voter turnout. And, we may find that people will become more involved in improving our community, even after Election Day."

The announcement was made while campaign volunteers stuffed envelopes with letters to local community groups, neighborhood leaders, and the media urging them to host candidate forums. The Galatzan campaign also asked that the community groups and/or media outlets decide on the format so that it best reflects the needs of the community.