Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1533049
Below are campaign statements of candidates for CTA officers in the April 2025 State Council elections. The statements are unedited and limited to 400 words. Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed are those of the candidates and not necessarily those of CTA and NEA. My name is Jesse Aguilar. I'm a high school art teacher from Bakersfield and a candidate for Vice President. I've served on the CTA Board of Direc- tors for the last 7 years. I've served on State Council for 20 years. Prior to being elected to the Board, I served as Vice President to the Kern High School Teachers Association and represented CTA as a liaison to the California State Board of Education. I am the son of farmworkers. My dad picked cotton and fruit in Kings County. My mom picked grapes and onions in Kern County. I understand what it's like to not have enough. I understand what it's like to be seen as less than. I know what it's like to be stereotyped, to be caricatured, to be the target of racial tropes. I also know what it's like to persevere, to grow confidence in a drought of support, and how to not let the bitterness of bad circumstance poison the possibility of a better tomorrow. I'm an unlikely candidate. I've been an unlikely candidate my whole life. Sometimes, the unlikely ones are exactly the people we need: the people who see the answer when nobody else can; the folks who see the world differently; the folks who see worth in those constantly overlooked and understand that our strength lies in our members and that every one of them has value. I represent educators from the largest high school and elementary school districts in the state to the smallest rural schools; educators dealing with crime and gang violence to educators dealing with transportation and access to mental health care; educators from basic aid districts to districts on federal land to districts serving Indian reservations. The political climate of the area is conservative with undercur- rents of progressivism. Home to both Kevin McCarthy and Dolores Huerta. Home to the United Farm Worker move- ment. The landscape grows perspective and life experience. The political climate sharpens the ability to grow relation- ships with people who are different in thinking and belief. I believe I can bring a new perspective to the office of Vice President. I can bring a new world view, a new under- standing, a new awareness that isn't present now. I can give voice to the many that feel they aren't being heard and make visible the many that feel they aren't being seen. Now, is the time for an unlikely candidate. It has been an honor to serve as your CTA Vice President these past two years. I am proud of the work done with David and Erika to implement a vision that focuses on organizing, advocacy and member engagement. We've spent the past 18 months working to build strong locals with organizing and president release time grants, supporting chapters in their bargaining campaigns to improve educator compensation and working conditions, and canvassing to elect school board members who will focus on what students and educa- tors need and not on politicizing public education. Knowing that our ability to fight against the toxic anti-public educator narrative rests with our collective power, over $60M dollars was allocated for chapters to organize school sites and build community coalitions. Strengthening our collective power will help us build upon past victories and set up new ones. We are at a critical moment in public education. While education funding has increased in years, it by no means is enough. Educator workloads have become unmanageable, resulting in burnout and few willing to enter the profession. Many teachers today are feeling acute levels of stress and are considering leaving the profession. No teacher should have to work a second job, as many do, just to make ends meet. California needs a sustainable solution to school fund- ing to address these and other issues. If reelected, working to renew Prop 55 to ensure current funding doesn't drop would be a top priority. In the hopes of increasing recruitment and retention of educators, I've spent the past 18 months focused on imple- menting the recommendations from the Teacher Pipeline workgroup. Looking for ways to offset the financial barriers to enter the profession, I've served on a workgroup with key state partners to develop a toolkit for launching teacher apprenticeships in the state, spoke in support of the Golden State Grant program that provides grants to BIPOC and low income teacher candidates, served on the teacher residency technical assistance council, and supported the legislation and workgroup efforts to eliminate the TPA. If reelected Vice President, I hope to continue working together with you building an even stronger CTA, one where we continue the fight for equity and equality in public schools, continue to support and empower locals, continue to develop new pathways into our profession and into our union, and continue to build the schools that our students and educators deserve. Candidate for CTA Vice President Jesse Aguilar Member, Kern High School Teachers Assn.; CTA Board Director Candidate for CTA Vice President Leslie Littman Member, Hart District Teachers Assn.; CTA Vice President 52 cta.org Littman Aguilar