JOSE HUIZAR ELECTED AS BOARD CHIEF.

Byline: Helen Gao Staff Writer

Downtown Los Angeles school board member Jose Huizar, who led the fight to resurrect the troubled Belmont Learning Center, was unanimously elected as board president Tuesday with the backing of the powerful teachers union.

Westside board member Marlene Canter, who had privately expressed interest in the one-year rotating post, had bowed out of the competition earlier.

Before voting for president, board members were sworn in during a morning ceremony at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion that was attended by about 300 guests.

Sworn in were newly elected board members Jon Lauritzen and Marguerite LaMotte and re-elected board members David Tokofsky and Mike Lansing.

``The opportunity we have as a board is to provide opportunities for many lives - it's truly an honor,'' said Huizar, 34, the youngest of seven board members and part-time deputy city attorney. ``We can do better and must do better. Our kids deserve it.''

Huizar's unanimous election to the presidency is expected to further boost the political clout of United Teachers Los Angeles, which now counts five allies on the board. In addition to Huizar, UTLA also helped elect former educators Lauritzen, LaMotte and Tokofsky, as well as 17-year member Korenstein.

Huizar's political ascension is also seen by some as an affirmation of the growing Latino community. More than 70 percent of students enrolled in the Los Angeles Unified School District are Latino.

Huizar, whose father was a migrant farm worker and whose mother toiled in the meat-packing business, is the fourth Latino to serve as president in the district's 149-year history.

``You are the youth on the board,'' Korenstein said as she congratulated Huizar. ``I look very much forward to your leadership.''

The new board president vowed to raise student achievement, continue building new schools to relieve overcrowding and close the achievement gap between different ethnic groups. African American and Latino students in the district consistently perform below white and Asian students.

Huizar, who was elected two years ago with the support of the UTLA and former Richard Riordan's education reform group, the Coalition for Kids, also promised to be a consensus builder.

``I think a unanimous vote today is indicative of what will happen to the children of this district - the united effort we will put forward,'' said LaMotte.

The newly constituted board puts allies of the coalition in a distinct minority. Lansing was the only coalition-backed candidate who was re- elected. Caprice Young and Genethia Hudley Hayes, considered reform leaders by the coalition, were respectively defeated by Lauritzen and LaMotte, with the backing of the UTLA.

``We have to make decisions for the right reasons and make sure we get all the facts,'' said Lansing, who had previously expressed concerns about the new board being too heavily influenced by the union.

Helen Gao, [phone]

helen.gao(at)dailynews.com