by Mick Rhodes | editor@claremont-courier.com

The controversial move to fill the Trustee Area 4 seat on the Claremont Unified School District’s Board of Education via special election was made still more interesting this week when the man behind the push for the contest threw his hat into the ring.

Joshua Rogers, whose advocacy compelled the school district to mount and pay for the election, which is estimated to cost $273,000, joins Alex McDonald and Aaron Peterson in the race that will be decided Tuesday, July 25.

The path to the special election began last December amid protest about alleged impropriety by former CUSD Board President Steven Llanusa at his Claremont holiday party. Llanusa resigned December 10, and in February was chargedwith two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and a single count of providing alcohol to a minor under 21.

On January 18 the CUSD Board interviewed nine potential candidates to fill Llanusa’s seat, including McDonald, Peterson, Rogers, and former board member Hilary LaConte, who was its unanimous choice.

Rogers then began circulating a petition that was ultimately successful to compel CUSD to instead mount and pay for a special election to fill the seat.

The Claremont Faculty Association’s political action committee, Claremont Teachers Action Committee, recently endorsed McDonald.

The Courier will be publishing campaign preview stories on McDonald, Peterson, and Rogers in the coming weeks.