Endorsement: Jones and Alessio for county supervisor — and no on Measure A

The decision of the Democratic majority of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors to prioritize keeping public employee unions happy is no surprise. They’re the most powerful wing of the California Democratic coalition, which they made clear to a popular Democratic president after he took office. Despite Barack Obama winning 61% of the state vote on his way to an easy Electoral College win in 2008, his Race to the Top education reform initiative — emphasizing both teacher and student accountability — was dead on arrival in the Golden State. It’s no wonder that 17 years later, California badly trails dirt-poor states like Mississippi in educating its children.

But at least that power play was straightforward. In San Diego County, Supervisors Terra Lawson-Remer, Monica Montgomery Steppe and Paloma Aguirre have embraced a strategy of trying to drape their power plays with a noble veneer.