Burke-Aaronson Is Top Spender in Los Altos School Board Race

Los Altos School Board candidate Amanda Burke-Aaronson, a Mountain View resident and a Bullis Charter School parent who seemingly came out of nowhere to become the top fundraiser, has spent the most in the three-way race for two seats, campaign finance records show.

Burke-Aaronson, who has campaigned on a platform of bringing together a riven community, raised $12,958 in the period ending Oct. 20, according to filings to the California Fair Political Practices Commission.

After the filing period, candidate Pablo Luther, however, according to a separate filing on Oct. 28, received a $2,428.77 infusion of cash from the Los Altos Teachers Association Political Action Committee that brought his campaign totals to at least $12,227, almost as much as what Burke-Aaronson had raised by the deadline eight days earlier.

In this hotly contested campaign, the funds raised verge into the realm of what is typically raised for a Los Altos City Council race—and most cases, exceed it.

Not only has she raised more, Burke-Aaronson also spent the most of either of her two rivals, Pablo Luther and Steve Taglio. Burke-Aaronson’s expenditures totalling $9,149, was spent mostly in the last 20-day reporting period.

Luther, a parent whose children have graduated from the Los Altos School District, had raised $9,799 and spent $3,743. And Steve Taglio, who is a LASD parent and former Covington PTA president, has raised $6,236 and spent $4,808.

Vladimir Ivanovic, a fourth candidate who announced earlier this month he was dropping out of the race, did not yet have papers on file for the latest reporting period, but had raised $675 by the last reporting period ending Sept. 30.

Luther had more cash on hand heading into the last week of the campaign with a little over $6,000 in his ending cash balance. With the teachers' PAC money the total would be more than $8,000.

Burke-Aaronson’s $9,149 in expenditures, which mostly came during the last few weeks, included a large $2,002 ad in the Los Altos Town Crier, postage services for $3,011, printing of a mailer for nearly $1,600, printing of custom T-shirts for $121, and mailing-related services of about $650. Her expenses also include campaign literature charge of $319 to Ron Haley, a fellow Bullis Charter School parent.

Luther, who raised $7,799 in cash and $2,000 in non-monetary donations, spent only $1,499 in the last period. He did the bulk of his fundraising during this time, however, bringing in $4,152 in the past three weeks.

Luther’s largest donor is the Los Altos Teachers Association PAC, which contributed $2,428.77 on Oct. 28 also contributed $500. Other donors include entrepreneur David Auerbach, who contributed $1,000, as did The Huttlinger Alliance for Education, a group that formed over concerns that education for district children was being threatened Bullis Charter School. 

Burke-Aaronson’s donors in the latest reporting period include Los Altos Hills residents Kristen Moore who gave $500, and Town Council member Jean Mordo, who gave $100. She brought in the bulk of her funds—$9,916—in the previous period. Many were cash donations of $500, including Christine DiBona, Buffy Poon, Leonora Tang, Susan Goldman, Kathleen Justice-Moore, Joan Mellea, Donna Young, David Beyer. Incoming Los Altos Hills Town Council member Courtenay Corrigan and BCS board member Anne Marie Gallagher gave $500 apiece.

Board member Steve Taglio’s only donations were $1,000 from the Huttlinger Alliance and $500 from the Los Altos Teachers Association PAC. He gave his campaign a $4,000 loan.

Taglio has spent $1,108 in the last period, $240 for design services for an ad, and $828 for an ad run in the Los Altos Town Crier.

The campaign finance statements for each candidate are attached, including those for the previous filing period. The next filing period will be well after the election is over.