2026 is a critical year. Public education is under attack, and we have the power at the ballot box to fight back and dedicate necessary resources to elect champions of public education and unions — from school board members all the way up to the California legislature and Congress.

At our CTA’s January State Council of Education, 800 delegates voted to recommend candidates for the upcoming June Primary.

The highlight: Our union is all-in to elect longtime San Diego School Board member Richard Barrera as California’s next Superintendent of Public Instruction. As president of the San Diego Unified School Board, Barrera supported San Diego Education Association’s (SDEA) successful fights for smaller class sizes, competitive wages and benefits for educators, investment and expansion of community schools, more opportunities for bilingual instruction, and expanded science career pathways in San Diego and beyond.

“Barrera’s commitment to working families and public education is clear in his decades of experience,” said CTA President David Goldberg. “With Barrera’s partnership, educators increased their pay by more than 40% and protected fully paid family benefits. His leadership proves that when elected leaders partner with educators, students win.”

Recommendations for other critical statewide races include:

• California Lieutenant Governor: Josh Fryday (D)
• California Secretary of State: Shirley Weber (D)
• California Attorney General: Rob Bonta (D)
• California State Controller: Malia Cohen (D)
• California State Treasurer: Eleni Kounalakis (D)
• California State Insurance Commissioner: Jane Kim (D)
• California State Board of Equalization, 2nd District: Sally Lieber (D)
• California State Board of Equalization, 3rd District: Mike Gipson (D)

Note: CTA’s recommendation process is continuing; for the latest updates, see CTA Elections 2026.

Our Union’s Recommendation Process

Our recommendation process involves interview teams of local educators from throughout the state, who interview candidates and evaluate them on a variety of criteria, including:

Their positions on and vision for K-12, community college and higher education issues.

Their historical support for public education, students and educators, in such areas as education funding, budget stability, safe schools and campuses for all students, collective bargaining, educator professional rights, charter school accountability, and equal access to higher education.

Their viability for success in the office that they are seeking.

Teams then make their recommendations to the CTA Board of Directors for discussion before being brought to CTA State Council, which debates and makes final recommendations.

NEA/CTA Elections

Here are NEA/CTA election results from January State Council:

Paula Merrigan for NEA Board of Directors, District 3
Term of office: Sept. 1, 2026, to Aug. 31, 2029

Vanessa Barrera for NEA Board of Directors, District 10
Term of office: Sept. 1, 2026, to Aug. 31, 2029

Meg E’amato for CTA Board of Directors, District M
Term of office: Jan. 25, 2026, to June 25, 2027