By J.K. YAMAMOTO
RAFU SHIMPO
Al Muratsuchi, who has represented the South Bay in the State Assembly for 12 years, is now running for California superintendent of public instruction in the June 2 election.
If elected, he will succeed fellow Democrat Tony Thurmond, who was elected in 2018 and 2022 and is now running for governor.
Muratsuchi, who is termed out, was first elected in 2012 and represents the 66th Assembly District, which includes Gardena, Hermosa Beach, Lomita, Harbor City, Manhattan Beach, Palos Verdes Estates, Rancho Palos Verdes, Rolling Hills Estates, Redondo Beach and Torrance. His term expires in December.
Looking back on his tenure in the Assembly, Muratsuchi said, “I have had the privilege of a lifetime to represent the Los Angeles South Bay in the California Legislature for 12 years. But I still have the passion to serve and make a difference. That’s why I’m running to be California superintendent of public instruction, to continue to champion public education.
“As an educator, former Torrance school board president, and public school parent, I enjoyed serving as chair of the Assembly Education Committee as well as chair of the Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Education.”
Muratsuchi and his wife Hiroko Higuchi are raising a daughter who is now in high school. He has taught civics at El Camino College and served as a California deputy attorney general.
Raised on U.S. military bases in Okinawa, he attended UC Berkeley and earned his law degree at UCLA.
As the only Japanese American member of the State Legislature for the past decade, “I delivered $5 million in state funding in 2021 to build a memorial in the City of Torrance for the World War II mass incarceration of Japanese Americans.
“In 2017, I delivered $3 million in state funding for the California Civil Liberties Public Education Fund, to provide community grants to teach and preserve the history of the Japanese American wartime incarceration.
“And in 2023, I delivered $10 million in state funding for the UCLA Asian American Studies Multimedia Textbook Project.”
Muratsuchi introduced 23 education-related bills that were signed into law. “Last year I authored AB 49, the California Safe Haven Schools Act, to keep ICE out of California schools. I also was a joint author of AB 1454 to improve reading instruction in our state.
“In 2024, I was the lead author of Proposition 2, the $10 billion state-wide school bond measure that California voters approved. I also wrote AB 1825, the California Freedom to Read Act, to fight book bans …
“I have been fighting for public education for decades. I’m a true believer in fighting for equal educational opportunity for all, and that’s why I’m running to be the highest elected statewide education officer, with jurisdiction from preschool all the way through our public universities and community colleges.”
Muratsuchi outlined his top priorities as superintendent: “First, fully fund and invest in public education and our children; second, attract, retain, and support good teachers in every school, every neighborhood; and three, close the opportunity and achievement gaps that exist between our affluent and low-income neighborhoods to fight for equal educational opportunity for all, regardless of who you are and where you live.”
While the superintendent is based in Sacramento, “I would like to hit the ground and visit school districts throughout the state, just as I did when I served as chair of the Assembly Education Committee …
“As chair of the Assembly Education Committee, I was making education laws and policies that impact California’s nearly 6 million public school students throughout the state, so I have worked with the state superintendent and the California Department of Education.”
In the 2014 election, Muratsuchi lost his seat to Republican David Hadley. In 2016, Muratsuchi retook the seat, but the mood was somber as Donald Trump had won the presidential election. Today, Muratsuchi says that Trump’s second term is weighing heavily on the state.
“While states like California provide most school funding and make state laws and policies governing public education, the Trump Administration has tremendous impact on California’s students and schools. For example, Trump’s immigration raids have had a huge impact on the social and emotional well-being of California immigrant students and families.
“Trump’s dismantling of the U.S. Department of Education has had a devastating effect on special education students and their efforts to seek access and support to receive a public education. And Trump’s attacks on ethnic studies are threatening to undermine decades of work to teach lessons on Japanese American and Asian American history, including the history of the World War II Japanese American concentration camps.
“As state superintendent, I want to lead the fight against the Trump Administration to defend public education and our most vulnerable students.”
While his base is in the South Bay, Muratsuchi said that as chair of the Assembly Education Committee, “I have visited schools from Shasta County to the north all the way down to San Diego County to the south.”
Now, as a statewide candidate, “I have participated virtually through Zoom in many candidates’ forums and interviews throughout the state. I have lost count of the debates that I have participated in with other candidates.”
Crowded Field
Last month, Muratsuchi’s campaign released a poll conducted by EMC Research — one of the nation’s premier Democratic opinion research firms — conducted in English and Spanish among 800 primary election voters. The poll found a plurality of voters undecided in the initial matchup, but after brief bios were provided, Muratsuchi was in the lead with 27%, followed by Republican Sonja Shaw, president of the Chino Valley Unified School District (24%); Democrat Richard Barrera, San Diego Unified School District board member (16%); and Democrat Anthony Rendon, former speaker of the Assembly (11%).
Results for the other candidates: Republican Gus Mattammal, former candidate for Congress and the Assembly (4%); teacher Ainye Long (3%); Frank Lara of the Peace and Freedom Party, education union leader (2%); Democrat Nichelle Henderson, Los Angeles Community College District trustee (1%); Democrat Josh Newman, former state senator (1%); and Wendy Castaneda Leal, superintendent of Semitropic Elementary School District (1%). Undecided was chosen by 8% of respondents.
Muratsuchi has served in the Legislature with Rendon and Newman but has not worked with the other candidates.
Muratsuchi has been endorsed by many labor organizations, including California Federation of Teachers, California School Employees Association, California Federation of Labor Unions, AFL-CIO, Association of California School Administrators, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 36, and United Steelworkers Local 675.
Elected officials on the endorsement list include Rep. Ted Lieu, State Treasurer Fiona Ma, Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, former State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell, Senate Majority Leader Lena Gonzalez, State Sen. Maria Elena Durazo, Assemblymembers Mark Gonzalez, Buffy Wicks and Blanca Pacheco, and many city council and school board members.
“Al Muratsuchi has shown throughout his career that he is committed to expanding opportunities for California students so that every child, no matter their background, can thrive,” said Lieu. “That’s why I’m excited to endorse Al … Given his background as an educator, parent, and Assembly Education Committee chair, I know Al will be the bold, forward-thinking leader California’s schools need to meet the tremendous challenges of the future.”