SAN FERNANDO VALLEY, Calif., March 13, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Brian C. Johnson announced that The Valley Industry Commerce Association (VICA) had endorsed his candidacy for the San Fernando Valley's newly drawn 46th Assembly District. The announcement came after the organization hosted a candidate forum and a series of interviews attended by all the candidates in the race.
In an email announcement of the endorsement, VICA President Stuart Waldman praised Johnson's ability to "work across the aisle to find bipartisan solutions to the state's problems" as well as Johnson's commitment to "fight for the San Fernando Valley."
Responding to the announcement, Johnson had this to say, "I am honored and grateful that such a respected group of Valley business leaders has chosen to support my campaign. Their endorsement echoes the support we are encountering throughout the Valley for our message of creating and sustaining good paying jobs in the San Fernando Valley and ensuring that every child has access to a world class public education."
Johnson continued, "These business leaders understand what every Valley voter knows, that it is Sacramento's responsibility not only to create jobs today, but also to make sure our children are prepared for the jobs of tomorrow."
The newly drawn 46th Assembly District includes the Los Angeles neighborhoods of Sherman Oaks, Toluca Lake, Studio City, Valley Village, Valley Glen, Van Nuys, North Hollywood, Panorama City, North Hills, Lake Balboa and the Hollywood Hills.
Brian C. Johnson is a Democrat, the former Executive Director of Teach for America in Los Angeles, and the current Executive Director of the Larchmont Charter Schools, a network of high-performing and racially and socio-economically diverse public schools in Los Angeles. For more information please visit www.johnsonforassembly.com.
ABOUT BRIAN C. JOHNSON:
Brian has devoted his entire professional life to helping reform our schools and providing greater control of our schools to parents, teachers and principals. Brian began his career as a first grade teacher with Teach For America. After receiving his MBA and law degree from Stanford, Brian became the Executive Director of the Los Angeles chapter of Teach For America, a non-profit national service organization dedicated to improving the quality of education in public schools.
During his time there, Brian increased revenues by $5 million annually and tripled the size of his team so that Teach For America could bring in over 700 of the nation's top college graduates to serve as public school teachers in Los Angeles. These teachers have made a dramatic impact on the lives of 50,000 students throughout our city, including an emphasis on teacher placement in the San Fernando Valley.
Brian currently serves as the Executive Director of the Larchmont Schools, a network of high-performing and racially and socio-economically diverse local public schools. In times of massive state budget cuts, Brian has worked with parents and teachers to build a new middle school, grow the schools by 300 students, and create new jobs as the school has grown.
In the midst of this growth, Brian has led the schools in the Larchmont Schools network to be named among the highest performing schools in Los Angeles by the state department of education. He credits this incredible growth and success during tough economic times to strong fiscal responsibility, a commitment to putting kids first, and actively working with teacher and parent input.