There is no shortage of candidates for four seats on the Los Angeles Community College District board of trustees. There is simply a shortage of qualified people, the result of an undemocratic system that selects candidates at-large and does not offer a runoff for a candidate to win without a majority.
Despite the frustrating nature of LACCD elections, it is important for voters to pay attention. The Board of Trustees oversees the largest community college district in California. Voters who are eligible to vote in the four races must elect the four incumbents. They have not done a perfect job, but they are on top of things and are smart about where the board has gone and what needs to be done, including changing the way it conducts elections. Many of their opponents have never even seen a board meeting.
The Los Angeles Community College District, which is home to about 200,000 students, has made some good progress in recent years but has been disappointing in key areas. It has long struggled to help students planning to transfer to four-year schools. The transfer rate has increased a few percentage points but is still below 15%, which is unacceptable.
Nine colleges within the district have added 900 full-time faculty in recent years, diversifying their workforce.. More than half of the students are low-income and the district has organized Programs to support homeless students with food, clothing, medical care and other assistance. Community colleges offer a wide range of courses, from short professional certificates to nursing degrees, and students from many different backgrounds with very different educational goals.
At the same time, not all is well in the highlands of the region. In a sudden move, its president for the past decade, Francisco Rodriguez, resigned in early August. Meanwhile, the position of vice-chancellor has been open for a year and two other high-ranking positions in the district are vacant.
A well-run district should not face this type of leadership vacuum.
The district is also facing harassment allegations after a jury awarded $10 million to a teacher who accused a senior administrator of sexual misconduct.
In other words, there are many opportunities for improvement. Unfortunately, voters do not see this improvement in the challengers, so they have to re-elect the incumbents:
1st place: Andrea HoffmannAs director of career services and job placement at Glendale Community College, Hoffman helps students transfer to four-year schools and find careers in their chosen field. She also teaches as an assistant professor of political science at the college. She is a past chair of the San Fernando Valley National Women’s Political Caucus and mentors girls and young women.
3rd place: David VelaVela served as a senior adviser to the Employment Development Department, as a legislative assistant to former Assemblywoman Jackie Goldberg, and as a top deputy to the late Gloria Molina when she was a Los Angeles County supervisor. She runs her own consulting firm.
5th place: Nichelle HendersonAs a faculty advisor and clinical supervisor for Cal State’s TEACH teacher preparation program, Henderson instructs and directs preservice teachers. He is also active on the California faculty, where he serves as department vice chair and chair of the political action committee.
7th place: Kelsey InoueIino has worked as a community college counselor for over 15 years. He currently works at El Camino College in Torrance with students majoring in health sciences, athletics, creative arts, and MANA (Pacific Islander Scholarship Program). He serves as the president of the El Camino College Federation of Teachers-AFT1388.
Other candidates failed to impress. Most of them admitted that they did not attend board meetings, which can be viewed on the Internet. This is the minimum a candidate must do to learn the job. The conveners often could not explain what the role of a trustee was and sometimes could not say why they nominated a board member or called for a particular president.
Voters should be aware that they are voting for all four open seats; elections are not conducted by district, as they are for the Los Angeles City Council or the Los Angeles Unified School District.
And that’s one of two possible reasons voters don’t see viable challengers. Unlike most state agencies that cover a region and population like Los Angeles County, these elections are run on a sweeping basis. This means students and residents from different areas of the district don’t have a trusted person to turn to who represents their interests and concerns. It also means that running for one of these seats is an expensive proposition, as it requires reaching out to voters across a wide area. Without an interest group supporting the challengers, they’re up against practiced climbers.
There is no primary election for the board, as there is for council, school board and almost all other elections. There is only one general election, which can involve multiple candidates running against each other for the same seat, allowing one candidate to win a seat with less than a majority of the vote.
LACCD is the only community college district in California that has been granted the authority by the legislature to approve a primary. Combined with the general election, this is a system that favors incumbents. In a sea of unknown candidates, voters are more likely to opt for the candidate with the best-sounding name and title after their name. This usually means someone who is already in the job, and this prevents other qualified candidates from applying.
This time, the incumbents are actually the most qualified, but they may not be if the board of directors
They changed policies to organize fair elections. It should be on the trusts’ agenda for next year. Some of the current leaders said it would be too expensive to hold primaries. True democracy is more important than money and more important than holding elected office.
