There is no shortage of challengers running for four seats on the board of trustees for the Los Angeles Community College District. There is only a qualified disadvantage, which is the result of an undemocratic system that elects candidates by public and does not provide a runoff so that a candidate can win without a majority of votes.
Despite the frustrating nature of the LACCD election, it is important for voters to pay attention. The board of trustees oversees California’s largest community college district. Voters — who can vote in all four races — must vote for four incumbents. He hasn’t done a perfect job, but he’s on top of the issues and talks intelligently about where he’s been successful and what needs to be done – including changing the way elections are held. Many opponents have never watched a council meeting.
The Los Angeles Community College District, with about 200,000 students, has made some great strides over the past few years, but has been a disappointment in key areas. It has long struggled to help incoming students plan to transfer to four-year schools. The transfer rate has increased by a few percentage points – but it is still less than 15%, which is unacceptable.
The district’s nine colleges have brought on more than 900 full-time, tenure-track faculty over the past few years and created a diverse workforce.. More than half of the students are low-income and the district has set up programs to provide food, clothing, health care and other support to homeless students. Community colleges provide a variety of courses, from short-term vocational certificates to nursing degrees, to students from diverse backgrounds with very different educational goals.
At the same time, not everything is smooth sailing at the highest level in the district. In a surprise move, the chancellor of the last decade, Francisco Rodriguez, resigned in early August. Meanwhile, the vice chancellor position has been open for a year, and two of the district’s top-level jobs are vacant.
A well-run district should not experience a leadership gap like this.
The district is also under scrutiny for its handling of harassment complaints after a jury awarded $10 million to a female professor who accused a top administrator of sexual misconduct.
In other words, there is a lot of room for improvement. Unfortunately, voters won’t find that improvement in their challengers, so they’ll have to re-elect the incumbent:
Seat 1: Andra Hoffman. As director of career services and placement at Glendale Community College, Hoffman helps students transfer to four-year schools and find careers in their chosen fields. He also teaches as an adjunct professor of political science at the college. She is a past president of the National Women’s Political Caucus of the San Fernando Valley and is a mentor to girls and young women.
Seat 3: David Vela. Vela worked as a senior advisor for the state Department of Employment Development, as a legislative assistant to former Assemblymember Jackie Goldberg and as a senior representative for the late Gloria Molina when she was LA County supervisor. He runs his own consulting firm.
Seat 5: Nichelle Henderson. As a faculty advisor and clinical field supervisor with the Cal State TEACH teacher preparation program, Henderson precedes and mentors teachers in training. He is also active in the California Faculty Assn., where he serves as chapter vice president as well as chairman of the political action committee.
Seat 7: This is Kelsey. Iino has worked as a community college counselor for over 15 years. He currently works with students participating in the health sciences, athletics, creative arts and MANA (Asian American Pacific Islander grant program) at El Camino College in Torrance. He is the president of El Camino College Teachers Federation-AFT1388.
Other candidates failed to impress. Most people admit they haven’t watched a council meeting, which can be viewed online. This is the minimum that a candidate should do to learn about the job. Challengers are often unable to explain what a trustee’s role is and sometimes cannot explain why they are on the board or challenging a particular officer.
Voters must see that they are casting ballots for all four open seats; Elections are not held by district because they are for the Los Angeles City Council or the Los Angeles Unified School District board.
And that’s one of two reasons why voters can’t see a more viable challenger. Unlike most public bodies that cover an area and population as large as LA county, this election is held at large. This means that students and residents in various parts of the district do not have a single guardian they can look to who represents their interests and concerns. This also means that running for one of these seats is an expensive proposition as it requires reaching voters in a wide area. Without interest groups to retreat challengers, they face a hard climb unseating incumbents.
There is no primary election for council, as there is for council, school board and every other election. There is only a general election, which can include several candidates facing off for the same seat, making it possible for a candidate to win the seat with less than the majority of votes.
LACCD is the only community college district in California authorized by the Legislature to bypass mainstream schools. Combined with general elections, this is a system that favors incumbents. In a sea of ​​unfamiliar candidates, voters are more likely to choose the one with the best name recognition and the best title after their name. That usually means someone is already on the job, and that discourages more qualified candidates from running.
This time, the incumbents are the most qualified – but they may not be on the board
change policies to make elections fairer. It should be at the top of the guardian’s agenda next year. Some incumbents say it would be too expensive to hold a primary election. True democracy is more important than money and more important than holding an elected seat.
