Tony Thurmond asked me to share this with you:

Dear Friends:
Yesterday, I made one of the toughest decisions of my career.  I have decided not to seek re-election to the Board of the West Contra Costa Unified School District. I will continue to fight hard for students until my Board term ends officially in December 2012.
It has been my pleasure to serve you, first as a Richmond City Councilman and now as a School Board member. But after 7 years of balancing being a part time elected official with holding down full time employment as a non-profit director, its time for me to take a look at other challenges.
I am proud of the work we have done together since I was elected to the school board in 2008. This includes creating the first ever student youth commission to advise the school board, and leading the district’s efforts to reduce the number of safety incidents, suspensions, and expulsions. I am also proud of the work we have done together with my board colleagues to return the school district to local control after being under state control for twenty years, and to re-build several schools in the district.
When they said it couldn't be done, together we found ways to preserve small class sizes in the primary grades, to keep small schools open in the neighborhoods with the greatest needs, and to implement a middle school math initiative to help our students receive a first rate education.
Going forward, I will continue working to increase state funding for our schools, to reduce violence in our communities, to stimulate our economy, to increase health care access, and to protect our environment. I will also begin exploring potential offices to run for where I can contribute the most to our community and help to make the most impact. My exploratory efforts will include consideration of a run for the Assembly in 2014. But I intend to make this an exhaustive process and I welcome your ideas and suggestions about how I might best serve our communities.
Thank you for the opportunity to serve you…an honor that I hope to have for the rest of my working career. I ask for your continued prayers and support for me and my family as I embark upon the next phase of my journey. Yours always in service,
Tony Thurmond