Thanks to all friends, relatives and backers who talked, walked, wrote, worked and gave time and money to re-elect me to a second term on the San Diego Unified School District Board of Education. You made this victory possible: we have prevailed with more than 51% of the vote.

    It was quite a race -- with first-time-ever television attack ads, Union-Tribune editorial page anti-Zimmerman columns, the Chamber of Commerce, three rubber-stamp Board members, the Superintendent and three-quarters of a million dollars from real estate, business and development interests stacking the deck to elect a real estate lawyer in my place. And all in the name of empty "back-to-basics reform" sloganeering.

    On my side were our teachers and about 1,000 citizen contributors who gave $183,000 to this effort. We printed signs for yards and public places. We produced thousands of letters, personal postcards and four brochures, and sent them out by mail. The entire campaign lasted more than a year and the final price tag for the combined campaigns will likely exceed $1 million. Does this bode well for future public school Board elections in this city? Were past "stealth" attempts to take over other Board of Education seats in our community substantively different from this arrogant power-grab? Will this happen again? Only you can answer these questions.

    I am so grateful for everything you did on my behalf. The real work lies ahead, and I have some good ideas about how we can move forward to properly educate our 143,000 children. Stay turned, and please stay interested and involved. Good public schools matter in American life, and if we work together, we can make ours the best.