51st Assembly District Candidates on Prop 39 (Video)

Four candidates in the 51st Assembly District June 5 primary race appeared at a forum Wednesday night in Echo Park. They were Arturo Chavez, Jimmy Gomez, Luis Lopez and Osar Gutierrez, all Democrats. (A fifth candidate, Rick Freidberg, did not attend.)

Moderated by Liza White of the Los Angeles League of Women voters, the forum featured an opportunity for Echo Park-Silver Lake Patch editor Anthea Raymond to ask a question submitted by a Patch reader: "Where do the candidates stand on Prop. 39 and the way it arguably splits resources between LAUSD and charter schools?"

See the candidates' answers in the video above.

Prop 39 made room for charter schools to apply for and inhabit unused classroom and administrative space in public school buildings—an issue that has been hotly debated in many communities.

Wednesday's candidates forum was co-sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Los Angeles, El Centro del Pueblo and Los Angeles Universal Preschool (LAUP).

Click through to see the League's voter information website, featuring candidates' profiles and other data.