Hats in the Ring

Twenty-seven people have filed papers to run for four at-large seats on the seven-member Los Angeles Community College District Board of Trustees.

Winners of seats on the board typically receive substantial financial backing from the district’s powerful teachers union. The teachers and staff unions have endorsed four candidates in the April 13 election: Sylvia Scott-Hayes, Mona Field, Georgia Mercer and Warren T. Furutani.

Campus mid-level managers, who formed a union affiliated with the Teamsters to counter the teachers union, have endorsed Peter Ford, Jules S. Bagneris III and Mercer, but have made no endorsement in the race for District Office 7.

The board oversees Los Angeles County’s nine community colleges, which are facing serious financial problems. Financial reserves have dwindled and shabby campuses have sent prospective students fleeing to other districts. A reform plan approved by the board last year has brought some signs of improvement, but is still in its infancy.

Below are candidates who have filed declarations of intent to run, and their stated occupations:

District Office 1 (open seat)

Addie Miller, minister

Sesar A. Carreno, educator

Richard Groper, college lecturer/educator

Gilbert Carrasco, education commissioner

Evelyn Metoyer-Williams, educational administrator

Sylvia Scott-Hayes, college teacher/educator

Marilyn Grunwald, business owner

Sergio Carrillo, community college advocate

Peter Ford, businessman/broadcaster

Nancy Pearlman, community college instructor

Alex Leonard Gantz, chef/businessman

Maria “Lou” Calanche, college professor

*

District Office 3 (incumbent Julia L. Wu)

Julia L. Wu, college trustee/librarian

Mona Field, community college professor

Jules S. Bagneris III, pastor/teacher/educator

*

District Office 5 (incumbent Georgia Mercer)

Georgia Mercer, college trustee

Khalil Khalil, engineer/financial manager

Gordon Murley, sales/medical educator

Floyd Xray Frazier, resource consultant

Jonathan Leonard, fire commissioner/

businessman

William D. Zuke, disability rights activist

*

District Office 7 (incumbent David Lopez-Lee)

David Lopez-Lee, professor/college trustee

Mark Isler, teacher/businessman/commentator

Warren T. Furutani, educator/legislative staff

Andrew Kim, attorney/graduate student

Diane Pasillas Araujo, college funding analyst

Cecelia Atwood, minister/businesswoman