Ted Lempert moves down political food chain

"For me, education is top priority. More than half the state budget is for education if you include higher education," Lempert said.

While in the state legislature, Lempert championed education and authored a bill requiring smoke detectors and fire alarms in all state schools. He also wrote legislation to increase student access to technology and most recently authored a state resolution requesting that the federal government increase their funding for special education.

On Nov. 7, Lempert soundly defeated Libertarian candidate Jack Hickey to replace outgoing boardmember Ken Hill on the San Mateo County Board of Education. Although Lempert may leave before the four-year term is over, he plans on fighting for more special education money as well as bringing attention to the juvenile court system.

Although the board of education oversees the fifth largest district in the state, its power is somewhat limited since individual school districts do much of the daily oversight of this county's schools. The county board of education only oversees special education and the court and community schools program.

"The jurisdiction may be limited but it's important to have good people," Lempert said.

Still, Lempert is interested in increasing federal funding for special education from the 20 percent now allocated to the 40 percent budgeted. That discrepancy often creates animosity between school districts who often have to scrape for money to operate schools and undergo capital improvements.

"It really pits local versus local. Much of that would be resolved if the feds paid for what they promised," Lempert said.

As far as community and court schools, Lempert said he's interested in hosting community leaders who could show students the merits of heading down the right path.

Lempert said he was drawn to the board because he was looking to do some community service before he ran for senate. But since it's a part-time job, Lempert also plans on advocating for education as director of a state-wide non-profit funded by proponents of Proposition 39. That successful state ballot measure lowered the requirement to pass a school bond from two-thirds to 55 percent.

Although firmly trenched in San Mateo County, Lempert's political career path has taken a non-traditional route. Normally, politicians ascend from school boards to city councils or county boards before running for state office. Lempert was first elected to the Assembly in 1988 but his 20th district was eliminated due to reapportionment in 1992. He ran for a seat on the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors and was president in 1995. He then ran for Assembly again in 1996.