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Conservative California superintendent candidate Sonja Shaw told Fox News Digital on Tuesday that she would not back down from confronting the United Teachers Los Angeles union (UTLA), after a circulated video allegedly showed a union leader calling Shaw a “real threat” and warning that her election “would cause a huge problem for us.”
Shaw, the president of the Chino Valley Unified School District board, pointed to Los Angeles student achievement scores as she accused UTLA of protecting the education establishment rather than focusing on academic outcomes.
“I’m not surprised the Los Angeles teachers union sees me as a threat,” Shaw said, in a statement to Fox News Digital. “More than half of their students still can’t read at grade level, and nearly two-thirds can’t do math. Instead of working to help those kids, UTLA has fought to keep parents in the dark, excused failure, and protected the system that produced these results.”
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Sonja Shaw said the recording showed union opposition to her campaign. (San Francisco Chronicle via Getty)
California’s latest official assessment results lend context to Shaw’s criticism of Los Angeles Unified’s academic performance.
In 2025, 46.46% of LAUSD students met or exceeded the state standard in English language arts and 36.76% met or exceeded the standard in mathematics, according to California Department of Education testing data. That meant roughly 53.5% did not meet the ELA standard and 63.2% did not meet the math standard.
Shaw said the criticism described in the video would not change her approach to the statewide race.
“If putting children and families first is a ‘huge problem’ for their agenda, that tells you everything you need to know. I won’t back down,” she said. “They just admitted it. I’m a ‘real threat’ to their socialist agenda. Parents over politics. Kids over ideology. Girls over boys in their sports and locker rooms. Keep calling me a threat. I’ll keep being one.”
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DeAngelis, a research fellow at The Heritage Foundation who posted the recording on X, told Fox News Digital that he viewed the purported remarks as evidence of organized labor’s opposition to Shaw. (Getty Images)
In the clip — shared by Corey DeAngelis, a research fellow at The Heritage Foundation — a woman can be heard describing Shaw as a “real threat” and discussing efforts to prevent a “MAGA lady” from taking charge of public education.
The woman then warned about what Shaw taking office would mean for the organization.
“That would cause a huge problem for us,” the woman said.
The California Post reported the speaker was Julie Van Winkle, the UTLA AFT vice president.
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UTLA had endorsed Shaw opponent Richard Barrera as organized labor spent millions backing him in the statewide race. (AndreyPopov/iStock/Getty Images Plus)
DeAngelis told Fox News Digital that he viewed the purported criticism as evidence that Shaw was threatening teachers unions’ political influence.
“This leaked audio is the best endorsement Sonja Shaw could’ve ever received. When a power-hungry teachers union that fights to protect itself at the expense of kids calls you an existential threat to their socialist agenda, you’re officially over the target,” he said.
UTLA has publicly endorsed Shaw’s opponent, San Diego Unified School District Board President Richard Barrera, for California superintendent of public instruction. The union says Barrera has a “proven commitment” to working with educators and families and called for a superintendent who would work with unions on education funding.
Organized labor has also spent millions supporting Barrera.
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California Secretary of State data compiled by CalMatters showed the California Teachers Association Independent Expenditure Committee had spent $5,057,539 supporting Barrera as of Sept. 15, compared with $10,000 in reported outside spending supporting Shaw.
Los Angeles County Republican Party Chair Roxanne Hoge also pointed Fox News Digital to a Saturday post on X tying the controversy to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s recent overhaul of the superintendent’s authority.
“We knew [Sonja Shaw] was causing good trouble when [Gavin Newsom] stripped the office she’s running for of most of its power,” she said.
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Fox News Digital reached out to UTLA and Newsom’s office for comment.