{"id":344022,"date":"2026-06-03T04:09:18","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T04:09:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/344022\/"},"modified":"2026-06-03T04:09:18","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T04:09:18","slug":"conservative-challenger-who-alarmed-teachers-union-trails-incumbent-school-board-president-long-beach-post-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/344022\/","title":{"rendered":"Conservative challenger who alarmed teachers union trails incumbent school board president \u2022 Long Beach Post News"},"content":{"rendered":"

A school board candidate who received enormous financial backing from the teachers union \u2014 approaching $200,000 \u2014 was in a celebratory mood at her election watch party on Tuesday night. Though ballots are still being counted, at 8:31 p.m., incumbent Diana Craighead had 53.9% of the vote, a commanding lead over her two challengers in an unusually heated school board primary<\/a>.<\/p>\n

If Craighead receives over 50% of the vote, she\u2019ll win the seat outright and avoid a November runoff against the second finisher.<\/p>\n

The race for the District 5 seat, which covers northeast Long Beach and parts of Lakewood, has been a historically one-horse competition. Craighead, a liberal candidate promoting student success and equity, has held the position for 14 years and faced only one opponent in that time. But the stakes rose this year when grassroots organizer Sara Pol-Lim and charter school teacher Maureen Flaherty announced their candidacies.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Flaherty champions vaccine choice, exclusion of trans girls from girls\u2019 sports and parental control over books and curriculum. Her ties to conservative groups, including Moms for Liberty, prompted the teachers union, one of the heaviest hitters in Long Beach education, to pour $175,000 into Craighead\u2019s campaign in an effort to keep Flaherty out of office.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That money comes from the union\u2019s own political action committee and the California Teachers Association, which can fund local PACs in special circumstances. Combined, the contributions have funded mailers, a promotional ad for Craighead<\/a>, an attack ad against Flaherty<\/a>, door-knocking and opposition research.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Flaherty fought back, sending out her own mailers, texts and attack ads<\/a>, positioning herself as the change candidate and dragging Craighead and the current school board leadership. She said that in the last month, her campaign has gained significant momentum, though she has had to contend with disparaging posters plastered around her neighborhood as well as the theft of her lawn signs around town.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Compared to Craighead, Flaherty has reported orders of magnitude less spending and campaign contributions, but she has sought her own list of endorsements from conservative politicians and leaders, including gubernatorial hopeful Chad Bianco, the current sheriff of Riverside County. Flaherty even resorted to planting her campaign lawn sign in front of the teachers union headquarters, according to video surveillance reviewed by the Long Beach Post.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like I\u2019m going up against a machine,\u201d Flaherty said, of challenging a union-backed incumbent. \u201cBut, ultimately, I\u2019m doing my calling and my purpose,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

Flaherty\u2019s had 34.76% of the vote, or 4,655 ballots, as of 8:45 p.m.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The focus on Flaherty and Craighead largely eclipsed Pol-Lim\u2019s campaign. After surviving the Cambodian genocide, Pol-Lim arrived in California and served most of a decade as executive director of the United Cambodian Community. She had 34.8% of the vote at 8:31 p.m., an unlikely path to victory.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Second school board incumbent also leads<\/p>\n

On the other side of the city, incumbent Maria Isabel L\u00f3pez sailed to a significant lead over challenger Deborah Betance for the seat representing District 1, encompassing Bixby Knolls and North Long Beach. As of 8:31 p.m., L\u00f3pez had 77.2% of the vote compared to 22.8% for Betance.<\/p>\n

L\u00f3pez won the board seat in 2022, defeating two other candidates (including one backed by the teachers union). Since then, she has been one of the more outspoken trustees and a rare dissenting voice on a board that often votes as a unanimous block.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Both District 1 candidates were seeking office despite significant negative publicity.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In March, L\u00f3pez\u2019s husband, a teacher at John Muir Academy, was placed on administrative leave<\/a> while the district investigates allegations that he abused a child at an LBUSD school several decades prior. L\u00f3pez said she looks forward to a full investigation to clear his name.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Her challenger, Betance, is a former LBUSD teacher. While she still worked at Longfellow Elementary, she was arrested in connection with a hit-and-run<\/a> that killed a 78-year-old woman in 2021. The district suspended her without pay, and Betance retired in early 2023. But prosecutors dropped the charges in spring 2023<\/a>, saying there wasn\u2019t enough evidence to prosecute her.\u00a0<\/p>\n

See the latest vote tallies at results.lavote.gov<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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