Money flows into first competitive Vallejo school board races in six years

VALLEJO – Over $21,000 has flowed into Vallejo’s school board races, with roughly $18,000 going to two of the five candidates: Trustee Area 3 candidate Rizal Aliga, and Trustee Area 1 candidate Judith Lerner.

The current elections mark the first time anyone has contributed to school board campaigns since 2020, which is the last time the Vallejo City Unified Board of Education races were competitive. In 2022 and 2024, all the candidates ran unopposed or were appointed after no one ran.

Rizal Aliga has raised more than any other candidate

According to campaign finance filings, Aliga reported raising roughly $9,200 as of Oct. 16, including $2,000 in loans. 

Roughly two-dozen people contributed $100 or more to Aliga’s campaign. The biggest contributors were Vallejo residents Dinah Villanueva-Ryan, who serves on the Filipino Community of Solano County board and gave $1,000, and Ruthe Ashley, a retired lawyer who helped found the Jesse Bethel Law Academy at Jesse Bethel High School, and gave $520 in cash and $300 in non-monetary contributions. 

Aliga also received several contributions from former elected officials. His mother, former Vallejo City Council member Rozzana Verder-Aliga, contributed $600. Former councilmembers Herminio Sunga and Pippen Dew contributed $100 each. Former Councilmember Erin Andrews, who has also served on Solano County Board of Supervisors, contributed roughly $150. 

Former Vallejo school board Trustee AC “Tony” Ubalde Jr contributed roughly $200. And West Sacramento Mayor Martha Guerrero contributed roughly $100.

Two current teachers at Jesse Bethel High School contributed to Aliga’s campaign: Stephen Murphy contributed about $300 and Lucy Marte contributed $100.

Aliga’s $2,000 in loans came from himself and his father.

Aliga has so far spent these funds on yard signs, brochures, and banking, fundraising, filing and reporting fees.

Irene Reynolds has altered her campaign signs after using the district’s logo

Aliga’s opponent in the Trustee Area 3 race, Irene Reynolds, has raised roughly $1,250, according to the most recently available campaign finance filings, with seven people contributing $100 or more.

Former district Director of Facilities Maintenance and Transportation Rebecca Oraboni contributed roughly $250. Former district Chief Operations Officer and interim Superintendent Mitchell Romao contributed $100. Former Director of Student Nutritional Services Kerri Braverman contributed about $100. 

Reynolds has so far spent these funds on signage. Earlier this month, Reynolds altered her signs after Superintendent Rubén Aurelio contacted her through a LinkedIn message in mid-September, asking her to take down or change them because they featured the district’s logo.

“Unfortunately, you can’t use district logos on your campaign materials,” Aurelio said in the message. “Please have them taken down or altered. By including the VCUSD logo, it gives the impression of an endorsement, which we cannot make.”

California law makes it illegal for a candidate to use the seal of a local government agency in campaign material “with intent to deceive voters.”

Reynolds said that she never intended to imply that the district was endorsing her, and that upon hearing her signs could give a false impression, she ordered stickers which say “VOTE,”  and placed them over the logo on her signs.

“I was just completely unaware that this was a no-no,” Reynolds said. “I really hope everybody understands it was just an honest mistake.”

In late September, the district published a press release clarifying that it had not endorsed any candidate, and that a candidate has used “colors and a logo closely resembling the official VCUSD brand and logo” on her “signage, website content, and social media posts,” which the district had not authorized.

It took until early October for Reynolds to alter her signs. She said the delay occurred because it took her several days to see Aurelio’s message, as she rarely checks her LinkedIn messages. It also took several days for the stickers to be printed and arrive after she ordered them, Reynolds said.

Reynolds said she had only put a few signs up when Aurelio contacted her, and she waited to put more up until the stickers arrived so she could alter them, but didn’t take down the signs she’d already put up. She also left a picture of her campaign sign on Facebook, which prominently displayed the logo.

“I didn’t feel like they were telling me to take it down,” Reynolds said. “I felt like they were telling me to get this fixed. And as soon as I fixed it, I changed the photo.”

Reynolds has continued to use gold and dark blue in her campaign materials, which the district objects to.

District spokesperson Celina Baguiao said that the district recently provided Reynolds “with a clarifying request that she discontinue the use of district colors that are a component of the district’s branding.”

Reynolds said she now plans to stop using gold and dark blue on her campaign materials, although those colors still appear on her website.  

Judith Lerner has raised more money than any other candidate in Trustee Area 1

Judith Lerner has raised almost $6,700 and loaned her own campaign $2,000, meaning her campaign can now spend almost $8,700, according to her latest filings. So far she’s purchased campaign literature and mailers with these funds.

By far, the biggest contributor to Lerner’s campaign is the Vallejo Education Association, which gave $5,000.

In total, five people and one organization contributed $100 or more to Lerner’s campaign. The biggest contributor from an individual came from Rochester, N.Y., resident William DeGroote, who gave $500. Lerner said DeGroote is a friend from college. 

United Democrats of Southern Solano County contributed $300 to Lerner’s campaign, and Vallejo-based attorney and Solano County Planning Commissioner Paula Bauer contributed $250. Another notable contribution came from former Vallejo school board Trustee Marianne Kearney-Brown, who gave $100.

Trustee Area 1 candidate Clarence Martin contributed $2,000 to his own campaign. 

Trustee Area 1 candidate Reba “Jill” Brown has not reported receiving any campaign contributions or loans.