Political Career

Seeing the need for transparency in government, Ishmael decided to run for the local School Board in 2003 after a contentious teachers’ strike (where he walked the picket lines with the teachers’ union). Ishmael won election and went on to serve as a Board member his first year, then moved up to Board President in his second year.


Here are some of Larry’s accomplishments as the School Board President and member:

Restoring a Positive Environment- Larry immediately set to work on the task of healing the relational rift between the numerous and often competitive stakeholder groups. Through Larry’s leadership, the School Board was able to orchestrate a 70%+ voter approval of the February 2006 bond and levy ballot offerings.

Teacher’s Strike Prevention – Larry worked directly with the teachers’ unions to improve relations. In 2004, Larry’s leadership lead to the signing of three-year contracts, thereby avoiding emotionally charged strikes.

School Funding – In order to secure sufficient funding for our schools, Larry traveled repeatedly to Olympia, testifying in multiple hearings and met personally with legislators, which is critically important to getting specific funding. Larry also became a member of the prestigious Federal Relations Network and lobbied the US Congress (specifically with Senators Patty Murray (D) and Maria Cantwell (D), as well as Congressmen Dave Reichert (R), Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R), and Doc Hastings (R) for more money for our schools and to stop unfunded mandates.

Special Education Program Improvement – Larry successfully worked to develop new forums to enhance the dialogue between parents of special-needs children and the schools.

Academic Achievement – During his term on the School Board, the district achieved the highest SAT scores in the history of the state. They also produced some of the highest WASL scores in the state with 95% of the students passing both the reading and writing tests. His commitment to funding the classroom teacher and then establish accountability standards for students, teachers, and administrators was the key to these accomplishments. Larry also voted to gradually increase graduation requirements for more math and science to stress those important competencies in a competitive global workplace.

Policy Governance Model – While Board President and demonstrating his innovative style, Larry searched the country for the best consultants to help find a viable method for working with policy governance. Through this effort, the board was able to develop the best possible vision statement for the district. The Board’s work and vision statement have been acclaimed by experts as the best in the country for recognizing that our children need to be fully prepared for a globally competitive world.

Larry’s rise to Board Chairman put him in collaboration with City Council Members, Mayors, as well as State Legislators where he also testified on occasion. His popularity lead him to be approached about running for Congress in the 1st Congressional District in 2006 and 2008 facing incumbent Jay Inslee. In 2010, Ishmael was working on his Ph.D. and chose not to run, but has announced his candidacy for the 1st Congressional District in Washington state for 2012 as it is an open seat.

Community Involvement- From an early age, Ishmael learned from his mother the importance of being an active citizen in his community. He has always been involved in his community wherever he has lived, but especially so on the Eastside of Seattle where he served on the Issaquah Ski Council, the Issaquah Chamber of Commerce, the Issaquah School District PTSA, the School Board, one of the Boards of Overlake Hospital, the Board for his family church, the board of a child care center, and Rotary International.