The Terminator Terminates First5 Commission Member...

Among one of Arnold's first moves as Gov. Elect is the removal of Kerry Mazzoni (see the blog on First5 and mandatory Preschool) as Education Secretary... EDUCATION • OUT: KERRY MAZZONI Mazzoni, 52, served six years in the Assembly representing parts of Marin and Sonoma counties, and headed the Assembly Education Committee, where she authored or worked on legislation targeting class-size reduction, student achievement, teacher credentialing and teacher incentives. Before coming to the Legislature, Mazzoni served on school boards in Novato and Marin County. Her legislation in Sacramento included the creation of reading academies for K-4 students. She was Davis' top spokeswoman for education policy. • IN: RICHARD RIORDAN Riordan, 73, was a two-term mayor of Los Angeles. As mayor, he set up reading programs for children with little access to books. He campaigned for reform candidates for the Los Angeles Unified School District and set up groups to boost literacy. Those include BEST, or Better Students for Tomorrow, an after-school program to help youngsters read and write. He created the Riordan Foundation in 1981 to teach children to read and write, distributing 21,700 computers to 2,100 schools in 40 states and enabling the purchase of more than 128,000 books for elementary classroom libraries. As mayor, he created the "Recreational Reading Mini-Grant Program," awarding $1,000 grants to teachers to help them create libraries in the classroom. He lives in Los Angeles and has seven children.